Dawn Elmore:
CLASS OF 1985
Cahokia High SchoolClass of 1985
Cahokia, IL
St. Louis University - Graduate SchoolClass of 1997
St. louis, MO
Southern Illinois UniversityClass of 1990
Edwardsville, IL
McKendree CollegeClass of 1989
Lebanon, IL
Dawn's Story
Life
After high school, I attended McKendree College for my B.A. in English, which I finished in 1988. I was very fortunate during my time at McKendree to meet the wonderful man who became my husband. We married in 1990, the same year I completed my M.A. at SIUE. After that, we lived in Belleville for four years while I completed my Ph.D. coursework at SLU and he finished his master's thesis at SIUE.
In 1994, we moved to Texas. I secured a tenure-track job teaching college English in 1995. I finished my dissertation in 1997. I am at the rank of full Professor am very happy with my job. Teaching people to write and think is one of the most rewarding things in the world. I specialize in teaching online courses, which has been a lot of fun and has given me great opportunities to learn new things. I particularly enjoy attending conferences to meet my colleagues from all over the world and share ideas. I also spend a lot of time doing research for my college. It's ironic because math was my least favorite subject in high school, yet I spend quite a bit of time working with statistics to help my department design programs and services for our students.
My husband and I will be celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary this August and have been a couple for 21 years. We're happily childfree. We enjoy spending time together, playing with our pets, traveling, and attending concerts. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have him in my life. He has stuck with me through all life's joys and challenges; he's a good man with a good heart who knows the meaning of the word commitment.
We go back to the St. Louis area a couple of times a year to visit friends and family (us...Expand for more
ually during school breaks as my husband is also a professor). I still have some family in Cahokia, and my husband's family is scattered throughout Southern Illinois. We are blessed to have several good friends from high school and college with whom we still keep in touch. Loyal friends are a rare gift, so I am glad we've been able to maintain those relationships over the years.
A few years ago I had some serious health problems but am now nearly recovered. During the trying times, I learned the importance of not taking anything for granted. I'm happy to report that good medical care combined with exercise and lifestyle changes are working together to make me well again. I am also a lay leader at my synagogue and enjoy participating in activities there. I find that spirituality is a key component of healthy living for me.
I think intellectual challenges are important as well, so I keep myself busy by taking courses to improve my computer skills and reading vociferously in my spare time. My work is very stimulating; there is always more to learn about being an effective instructor and understanding rhetorical theory. I love working with my students and seeing how they grow and change during the course of a term. I love it even more when the good ones come back and take classes with me again! :)
When I look back at what I planned for myself in high school, I'm amazed at how differently things turned out. I did reach my educational and family goals, but nearly everything else changed. It just goes to show that even if you don't get what you think you want, things can still turn out for the best! I'm very happy with my life overall and look forward to the years ahead.
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