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Elizabeth Kellett is in her second year at Inver Hills. She started college unclear of her exact career path, but because of a very creative childhood with ten siblings, she knew that literature and writing would probably be involved. She was finally convinced of a career in English after working as a tutor in the writing center at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park. From there, Elizabeth went on to St. Cloud State University where she received her BA in Literature and Writing with a minor in Psychology and her MA in English. While at St. Cloud State, she also taught courses in the English Department and (what else?) tutored in the writing center. Her favorite writers include Bob Dylan, Rainer Maria Rilke, Sylvia Plath, and Seamus Heaney. She's also a fan of Jane Austen, and, after giving up on having her IT-analyst husband read all of Austen's novels, she's now working on having him at least watch all of the movies. Elizabeth is happy to be back in the Twin Cities again after a two-year absence living and traveling in other parts of the country.
Amanda Pruka is a native of southeast Minnesota. Being that cable television was not an option in rural Winona County, she was forced to turn to books and the outdoors for entertainment. Amanda attended Winona State University where she completed a bachelor's degree in English and a second in Political Science as well as a minor in Women's Studies.
After graduating, Amanda moved to Busan, South Korea, to teach English (and sometimes coloring) to EFL students ranging in age from three to twenty. After a year of teaching and two months of traveling in Asia, Amanda moved back to Minnesota. She then took a teaching position with Winona Community Education and became a long-term substitute teacher for Riverway Community School. In early 2008, Amanda moved to Minneapolis where she continued substitute teaching at metro area private and public schools. Amanda is happily unmarried and pet free. She is very much looking forward to working at IHCC.
Keith Richter is in his 13th year at Inver Hills and teaches English full time, although he continues to work in the Writing Center. He teaches mostly developmental and collegel-level composition, but his other teaching interests include American Indian fiction and gothic literature. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, near the banks of Salt Creek and within earshot of the public (inmate?) address system at the state penitentiary. He prefers tallgrass prairies to forests, and runzas are a part of his DNA. Forgotten president Franklin Pierce (the only incumbent president NOT re-nominated by his own party) and thespian Don Knotts (winner of five Emmy awards!!) are rarely-mentioned branches of Keith's family tree.
Before and after achieving a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Nebraska in 1992, Keith worked for the National Park Service's Midwest Archaeological Center. While there, he participated in archaeological surveys and excavations at such places as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Cuyahoga Valley National Scenic Riverway, the St. Croix River, James A. Garfield's residence, and Herbert Hoover's birthplace. After spending a few years carefully uncovering the rusty nails of dead presidents and pulling ticks off his body, Keith sought a career indoors, so he went back to school, receiving his M.A. in English from Kansas State University in 1996. Keith's office is in room 233 in the Learning Center (Library Building).
Laurel Watt teaches Reading, Writing, Study Skills and English as a Second Language at Inver Hills. In the idealism of her youth, which wasn't actually all that long ago, she worked as a musician and singer, having earned a couple of degrees in music which in effect forestalled the necessity of earning money. After marrying another musician, she concluded that one really cannot eat art. Hence, she turned to the lucrative field of education after a part-time tutoring gig at Inver Hills in the early 1980's convinced her that helping students improve their reading and writing skills was the next best thing to opera. Before joining the Inver Hills faculty in 1991, she taught reading and writing courses at the General College on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota while completing a second master's degree in Adult Education. During her five-year stint at General College, she also assisted the Coordinator of the Reading and Writing Center, which is where one might say she "cut her teeth" on writing center work.
Keith and Laurel share Writing Center Coordinator duties. They train student tutors and oversee scheduling for the Writing Center. Please contact them if you have any questions or suggestions for the Writing Center (Keith: 651-450-3541 or Laurel: 651-450-3673).
Please visit the English Department's web site at http://depts.inverhills.edu/English.