Meet the Staff
Jaclyn Wells, Director
Jaclyn received a Ph.D. in English (Rhetoric and Composition) from Purdue University in 2010. Her book, Partners in Literacy: A Writing Center Model for Civic Engagement (co-authored with Allen Brizee), describes a three-year engagement project involving the Purdue OWL and two adult literacy organizations in Lafayette, Indiana. Jaci has directed the UWC since 2012. She is SafeZone certified. You can read more about her on the Department of English website.
Fun Facts: To date, Jaclyn has never lost a game of Seinfeld trivia. Her corgi mix, Travis, is Instagram famous.
Brianna Carnley, Program Administrator
Bri graduated from UAB in April 2022. Her major was English with a concentration in creative writing and her minor was Philosophy. Before becoming the Program Administrator, she worked as a tutor for the UWC during her senior year. She is also a graduate student at UAB pursuing a Master’s of English.
Fun Facts: Her favorite musicians of all time are Florence and the Machine and Hozier; however, she’s been into rock and metal music more recently, specifically Måneskin, Ghost, Bad Omens, and Sleep Token.
Kylie Golden, Graduate Assistant Director
Kylie is a second year MA student in English. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Alabama in English as well. Kylie taught high school in Texas for a bit before coming to UAB for grad school and is currently teaching composition courses here at UAB.
Fun Facts: Kylie’s favorite book is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and she has a collection of different versions (including some in other languages). Other favorites include The Hobbit, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and anything by Jane Austen.
Kaylie Rastegar, Graduate Assistant Director
Kaylie is a second-year English master’s student with a concentration in literature. Before becoming a graduate assistant director, she tutored at the UWC for three years. She loves reading and writing. In the future, she hopes to earn a PhD to eventually become an English professor.
Fun Facts: Kaylie loves to procrastinate doing her work by listening to true crime podcasts or falling down internet rabbit holes. Sometimes she does both at the same time.
Amber, Graduate Tutor
Amber (she/her) is a 2nd year English MA student on the Creative Writing track. She is a poet, fiction writer and teacher. She is a first-generation college student and hopes to pursue an MFA degree and continue studying, practicing, and teaching creative writing.
Fun Facts: Her favorite show is The Office US; she's seen it 17 times and counting. Her favorite things to read are anything by Ruth Ware or Fredrik Bachman. She loves to crochet and take walks with her dog Nala.
Anaya, Graduate Tutor
Anaya is a first-year graduate student studying English Rhetoric and Composition. She received her BA in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations and a minor in Professional Writing from UAB in 2022. After completing the graduate program, Anaya hopes to teach English in higher education.
Fun Facts: Anaya has two dogs, Theodore and Margot, and a cat named Maeve, who take up most of her free time. When she’s not busy taking them on walks and vacuuming their fur from every crevice in her house, she can usually be found thrifting, watching tv, or listening to the same four songs on repeat.
Anna, Graduate Tutor
Anna is a first-year graduate student specializing in literature. She holds a B.A. in English and Political Science from the University of Alabama and has a passion for assisting with all forms of writing. Anna's love for literature knows no bounds, and her favorites range from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to Jane Eyre.
Fun Facts: Anna is an avid baker, a Swiftie, and an enneagram 7. She has two cats, Marcus and King Julian, who are her entire world.
Anoushka, Undergraduate Tutor
Anoushka is a sophomore student majoring in English with a focus in literature. She plans to minor in either Japanese or art. One day, she hopes to find her footing as a sports journalist.
Fun Facts: She loves watching silly little cartoons (specifically, Avatar: the Last Airbender) and attending UAB basketball games.
Audre, Graduate Tutor
Audre is a master's student seeking a degree in English. She received her BA in English Literature from Alcorn State University in Mississippi, her home state. While not the first to go to college, Audre will be the first in her family to receive a graduate level education. She plans to enter the publishing world after graduating as an editor for a Publishing house.
Fun Facts: She's a superhero fanatic thanks to her mom and has seen just about every superhero movie to be released and enjoys writing short stories.
Chloe, Undergraduate Tutor
Chloe is an undergraduate senior studying Education with a concentration in literature. She plans to teach middle school English.
Fun Facts: Chloe collects vinyl, mostly 70s-90s including Daryl Hall & John Oates and Steely Dan and some RnB. She’s also addicted to banana pudding.
Clay, Graduate Tutor
Clay is a first-year English M.A. student concentrating in Literature. He received his B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Psychology from Samford University in 2023. Since then, Clay gathered experience in teaching English and Reading Comprehension across multiple grade levels and continued to work on writing and editing any number of his various poems and short stories.
Fun Facts: A true jack-of-all-trades, Clay is an amateur blacksmith, a proficient drummer, a massive fantasy nerd, and a half-decent fisherman. His favorite movie is A Knight’s Tale, and his favorite book (right now) is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.
Crys, Graduate Tutor
Crys McKissick is a first-year graduate student studying English Literature. She completed her undergrad at UAB in English with a concentration in Literature and minors in History and Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies. Prior to returning to school, she worked in a public library and taught reading intervention. She is passionate about literacy and the power of a story. After completing her MA she intends to pursue a MLIS with the goal of becoming an academic librarian. If she's not at school or hauling her children to their various activities, Crys knits compulsively, consumes too much coffee, and is diligently making her way through her towering TBR list.
Fun Facts: Her superpower is the ability to sleep basically anywhere at any time, including crowded public places. This is why she hasn't seen a movie or TV show in more years than she cares to admit. Also, she does costume sewing, primarily for ballet.
Elizabeth, Undergraduate Tutor
Elizabeth is a senior English major with a focus in literature. She transferred to UAB from Bevill State Community College in 2023. Elizabeth loves helping students with writing and polishing up essays.
Fun Facts: Elizabeth is a Swiftie! Her favorite album is reputation.
Emmett, Adjunct Tutor
Emmett is a second-year doctoral student at the University of Alabama. He earned his BA and MA from UAB in 2015 and 2022 respectively. His writing has been published in Aura Literary Magazine, Screen Door Review, Rogue Agent, and Black Napkin Press. His writing and research aims to celebrate the Southern Queer Experience.
Fun Facts: Emmett enjoys woodworking and sometimes you may be able to catch him using a pen he himself made!
Gracie, Undergraduate Tutor
Gracie is a junior majoring in Psychology. She is a transfer student from Wallace State CC, where she worked as a Psychology and English tutor for two years. After taking a Psychology class during her first year of college, she fell in love with the field. Gracie hopes to graduate and pursue a career that will allow her to advocate for teen mental health within school systems.
Fun Facts: Even though she has a deep love for music, she has never been to a concert. She wants to change this by the end of the year!
Lauren, Adjunct Tutor
Lauren is a recent UAB English M.A. graduate who now works for UAB's Neonatology division where she assists the faculty with writing and editing. During grad school, she tutored in the UWC and taught English Composition. Lauren loves helping students with all types of papers and projects.
Fun Facts: During undergrad and grad school, Lauren worked or volunteered in the UAB Theater Department’s costume shop and made costumes for a variety of shows.
Leah, Undergraduate Tutor
Leah is a junior majoring in English and Secondary Education with a concentration in literature. She hopes to pursue a career as a high school English teacher. In their free time, they enjoy reading, volunteering, and going thrifting. Her favorite books are anything written by Toni Morrison.
Fun Facts: They are obsessed with the color pink. She enjoys watching shows such as Steven Universe and Adventure time on repeat.
Ligaya, Undergraduate Tutor
Ligaya is a sophomore Psychology major and Sociology major despite how much he is encouraged to switch to English. He loves helping people with all kinds of writing but prefers literary analysis and creative writing. He hopes to become a child psychologist after getting a PhD in Psychology.
Fun Facts: Ligaya is the word for “joy” in Filipino. His interests include Hadestown the musical, going to vintage markets, and eating as much food that fits on the table.
Liz, Undergraduate Tutor
Liz is a sophomore majoring in Chemistry, which she thinks is a strange thing to be when working in a writing center. Nonetheless, she loves reading and has fun with writing, and is prepared to help with papers of all kinds.
Fun Facts: Liz likes to draw in her free time, and can beat Minesweeper without using flags. Some of her favorite things in the world are large bodies of water and public transportation.
Lorice, Adjunct Tutor
Lorice is an Adjunct English Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she currently teaches Freshman Composition. With a passion for nurturing young minds, she also writes children’s books, inspired by her desire to encourage her young family members to develop a love for reading.
Fun Facts: In her free time, Lorice has taken up gardening—a hobby that, much like her writing, involves plenty of patience and a sense of humor. While her plants don’t always cooperate, she remains optimistic that one day her garden will flourish. Until then, she’s mastering the art of growing weeds and keeping pesky insects well-fed.
Madeline, Undergraduate Tutor
Madeline is a senior majoring in Psychology and English. She loves helping students find joy in the writing process, and she also tutors personal statements at the Office of National and International Fellowships and Scholarships. She taught creative writing at a summer fellowship and aspires to teach writing at the college level.
Fun Facts: Madeline’s current guilty pleasure is The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and her favorite movie is Guardians of the Galaxy. You can usually find her drinking espresso of some kind.
Maggie, Adjunct Tutor
Maggie recently completed her master's in English at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (2023), as well as her BA in Literature (2021) with a minor in Linguistics. Her next goal is to obtain a MLIS and continue to work at the Foley Public Library, facilitating her love of reading to patrons and helping to foster the local community as a librarian.
Fun Facts: Maggie knows all of the lyrics to songs in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, an operatic, techno-pop musical based on seventy pages from Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.
Maria, Graduate Tutor
Maria is an MA student in English focusing on Rhetoric/Composition. She is from south Louisiana and has four years of Writing Center experience under her belt. She is a first-generation student and the first to pursue a Master's in her family. Maria loves helping students piece together their ideas and make them feel confident in their writing!
Fun Facts: Maria is getting married in November! She also loves musical theatre.
Marianee, Undergraduate Tutor & Tutoring Coordinator
Marianee is a senior majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in English Language Arts. She hopes to teach middle school. Marianee can also speak Spanish and plans to teach English as a Second Language. She is interested in exploring immigrant and inclusive literature.
Fun Facts: Marianee is a Student Mentor and Retreat Team (SMART) leader for the Honors College and a School of Education student ambassador. In her free time, she enjoys finding decor inspo for her future classroom, watching K-dramas, and adding to her ever-growing collection of strawberry-themed memorabilia.
Marsh, Graduate Tutor
Anna Marsh is a second year Master’s student in the English program. They also teach an English Freshman Composition course at the University, and earned their Bachelor’s in both English Literature and Sociology from UAB in 2021. They hope to go on to earn their PhD in English Literature and study 20th and 21st century American novels from an ecocritical perspective. Marsh is particularly excited to help students in the writing center who must consider the relationship between the writing process and mental illness.
Fun Facts: Marsh is either outside right now, or wishes they were. They are utterly convinced they could win one of those outdoor-survival shows, despite evidence to the contrary.
Maya, Graduate Tutor
Maya is a first year PhD student studying Environmental Health Sciences with a specific focus in Industrial Hygiene. She received her Bachelors of Science in Public Health at UAB in the spring of 2023 and loved it so much she came back to continue her education. Passionate about health literacy and access, Maya plans to use her love of scientific communication to connect findings from research labs to her community to improve health outcomes. At the writing center, Maya loves to see her students grow in their scientific writing and personal statements.
Fun Facts: Maya loves to travel and has studied abroad in England and Wales. In her spare time, she loves to take up new “grandma” hobbies, like cross stitch, macrame, and attempting to bake sourdough bread. One of her ultimate goals is to convince her cats it’s fun to go outside and be adventure kitties.
Mike, Adjunct Tutor
Mike is an adjunct tutor who also teaches classes in English composition at UAB and Jeff State. He recently received his Master's in English Literature from the university, completing his thesis on Cormac McCarthy's Suttree in Spring 2024. He also holds a Master's in Education from UAB, having previously taught high school English for 5 years. His passion for teaching is driven by a love of helping reluctant students find a gateway to understanding and enjoying all things English -- from expressing themselves through writing to analyzing literature. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, Jessica, basset hounds Izzy and Zoe, and cats Lyle and Butterball.
Fun Facts: Mike has a completely useless talent of spelling words alphabetically (a-a-a-b-c-e-h-i-l-l-l-p-t-y).
Rachel, Undergraduate Tutor
Rachel is an English major who, no surprise, loves reading. A Birmingham native, she loves the diversity and culture of the city. Rachel loves the process of editing papers, especially when it comes to grammar.
Fun Facts: Rachel is a French minor and hopes to study abroad in the summer (and maybe never come back)!
Rebecca, Undergraduate Tutor
Rebecca is a senior at UAB, majoring in Medical Sociology with a minor in Biology. After graduation, she aspires to attend PA school here at UAB. Currently, she balances her time as a Medical Assistant and a tutor at the University Writing Center. This is her second year at the UWC and she has loved every minute! She is from a little town about as south of Alabama as you can get, but has loved moving to Birmingham and attending an institution so integrated with the city.
Fun Facts: She fills her free time with various travels, most recently studying public health in London and Scotland, and working in a clinic in the quaint village of Luweero, Uganda. She plans to continue her work in Uganda and explore more parts of Africa later this year.
Shannon, Adjunct Tutor
Shannon received her M.A. in English Literature from UAB in 2019. She's worked in a variety of roles for the UWC since 2017 and loves seeing students' confidence in their writing grow after a tutoring session.
Fun Facts: Shannon is notorious for watching movies and immediately logging them on Letterboxd. You can usually find her at Sidewalk or Saturn catching free bad movie and B-horror movie nights. Her Starbucks order is a Grande Iced Shaken Espresso, but in the fall, she obsesses over O'Henry's Christmas Blend Cold Brew.
Tamaa, Graduate Tutor
Tamaa is a first year graduate student in English and the author of two novels. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications Studies (Journalism Major) from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2020, and her Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Ghana in 2024. She also served as the Director of Communications for the Federation of African Law Students. To Tamaa, sharing the little knowledge she has with others, is a way to get a deeper understanding of things, ideas and perspectives.
Fun Facts: Tamaa is a literary blogger and loves to read fiction. In her spare time, she likes to draw and watch movies. She is a lover of long tennis, and a fitness enthusiast.
Tiaundra, Undergraduate Tutor
Tiaundra is a senior English major with a concentration in linguistics. She is currently learning French and wants to teach English as a second language internationally. She has tutored for a year and plans to continue for many years throughout the world! She loves anything to do with languages and hopes to be a polyglot. She is very comfortable with English as a second language speakers and is a TA for EH 108 and 109 this fall semester!
Fun Facts: She has an archive of random kpop knowledge readily available but only from before 2020. She lived in Alaska for 7 years. She has been to many concerts including Beyonce, Kehlani, Megan Thee Stallion, Monsta X, NCT, and Sik-K.
Tisha, Adjunct Tutor
Tisha is a collector of degrees, ranging from Psychology and Counseling to Literature. She loves writing and focusing on the Gothic, with an emphasis on the use of doubling and the sublime. Currently, she works at UAB as an academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Fun Facts: As an avid reader of the young-adult, fantasy, and gothic genres, Tisha also appreciates the occasional work of romanticism and the like. A proud Ravenclaw, she makes sure to read the Harry Potter series every single year.
Tucker, Graduate Tutor
Tucker is a first-year graduate student studying English Literature. He holds a B.A. in English from Birmingham-Southern College, graduating in 2022. His favorite writers include Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Jennifer Egan, and George Saunders.
Fun Facts: Tucker is a die-hard New York Knicks fan.