Katy Rank Lev

Curriculum Vitae

I have over 10 years experience working in writing centers, working collaboratively with writers ranging from displaced industrial workers drafting their first resumes to CEOs looking to polish a grant proposal. I've written about motorcycle rallies and chiropractic technique with the same passion and diligence I use to create lesson plans or research a feature article. You might say I'm a chronic word junky.

Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2008 
 • Instructor for Reading Gender, Food Literature courses
Allegheny Intermediate Unit Gifted Education Apprenticeship Program, 2006 to 2008
 • Instructor for High School Memoir Writing course
Academic Support Services for Student Athletes, 2005 to 2008
 • Graduate Student Assistant: Writing and Composition Tutor
Western Pennsylvania Writing Project Young Writers' Institute, 2006
 • Teaching Fellow for creative writers' course
 • Workshop leader for elementary school nonfiction courses
Talent2Talent, 2003
 • Resume/job skills tutor for displaced industrial workers
Penn State Writing Center, 2000-2003
 • Writing Tutor/Peer Tutor Coordinator

Areas of Expertise
Preparatory Writing
I've worked with academically under-prepared students individually, in small groups, and at the helm of an intensive, 6-hour weekly writing and reading comprehension course. Introducing this student population to academic discourse while incorporating challenging reading and writing assignments and foundational writing skills has proved to be an exciting challenge.

Drawing on my professional experience in corporate communication, I have led courses preparing students to write in the workplace. My syllabi include units on grant proposals, email ettiquette, and new/social media, among other forms of written professional communication.

My experience with memoir and narrative nonfiction contributes to my creative writing syllabi, where I offer students opportunities to explore immersion experiences, the literature of food, sports writing, and travel narratives. My studies in the composition program at the University of Pittsburgh have led me to teach students to find the argument present in all forms of writing, and creative writing is no exception. My courses focus student writing on the "so what" element of each piece, so they are creating work that adds to the larger conversation of society.