Teaching Portfolio:
Laura Tichy-Smith, M.A.
Experience
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE REPORTING:
FGCU 360 Alumni Magazine, Fort Myers, Fla. 2016-present.
Writer of faculty and alumni profiles for this quarterly publication.
Florida Weekly, Fort Myers, Fla. 2014-present.
Writer of 80-plus stories about health, arts, entertainment, local news, community concerns, and home improvement for Charlotte, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, and Naples editions of the paper, which often ran as paper-cover or section-cover stories.
Also serve as the paper's second copy editor.
The News-Press, Fort Myers, Fla. 2013-present.
Writer of 350-plus stories about local events, entertainment, personal profiles, and charitable organizations, which often ran as section cover stories.
Currently hold the position of weekly "Go by Boat" columnist.
Neapolitan Family Magazine, Naples, Fla. 2011-present.
Writer of 70-plus monthly city park events articles and occasional feature article writer.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING COPY WRITING:
Paradise Advertising and Design, Fort Myers Beach, Fla. 2016-present.
Ghostwriter for local business owners who submit columns to newspapers.
Wildlife Education Project, Sanibel, Fla. 2016.
Writer of content for the launch of the nonprofit organization's website as well as copy writer of press releases, all of which helped garner national attention for the new organization.
GRANT WRITING (SUCCESSFUL):
Charlotte Art League, Charlotte, N.C. Total: $12,500. 2016.
Co-wrote successful grant proposal for the Charlotte Art League to obtain an operational grant from the Arts and Sciences Council of Charlotte. Co-writers: Executive Director Cindy Connelly, Jessica Bergel, and Isabella Gustave.
Lucky Parrot Sanctuary, Naples, Fla. Four-grant total: $19,002.75. 2012-2014.
Co-wrote four successful grant proposals to three separate funders (Community Foundation of Collier County, Pat Palmer Foundation, and Publix Super Markets). Made presentations at Florida Gulf Coast University to recruit volunteers to provide labor for the projects funded by the grants. Co-writers: John Brown, Tristan Froud, Yamira Fuster-Serrano, Sh'Lisa Hood, Warren Toebe, and Nick Zelfine. Advisor: Professor Amy Towne. (Professor Towne and I contributed work to all four grant proposals with the other students contributing work to one grant proposal.)
Back to the Roots, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Fla. Total: $125. 2012.
Co-wrote successful mini-grant proposal to a campus environmental organization to fund planting of a native plant garden at a local elementary school. Co-writer: John Brown.
Collier Campus GSLA Club, Edison State College, Naples, Fla. Total: $1,500. 2012.
Co-wrote successful grant proposal to the campus dean to obtain funds for the club to attend and present at the 2012 Florida Collegiate Pride Conference in Tampa. Co-writers: Kirsten Pettifor and Oscar Santiago Torres.
TECHNICAL WRITING:
Docents’ Guide, Bonita Springs Historical Society, 2015.
Advised by a committee from the historical society as to the organization’s needs, I researched and wrote a 30-page combination training and reference manual for the organization’s museum docents detailing the history of the community in a cross-referenced, easy-access format suited to the rhetorical needs of the audience, specifically older-adult volunteers who needed quick answers to visitors’ questions in an easy-to-read format.
PEER-REVIEWED ACADEMIC WRITING:
“Online Education: How Assuring Accessibility for Diversity Enhances Usability for All Students.” Florida Studies, vol. 9, 2017.
Forthcoming article in this journal published by the Florida College English Association. Distance education is not a new concept, given that colleges have long offered a few basic degrees facilitated by written correspondence through the postal service, but the rich resources offered by computers and Internet connectivity have transformed the field. With its convenience factors, online education sounds as if it would be the great democratizer to facilitate multiculturalism in education. However, achieving universal accessibility for all students requires more thought on the part of instructors than simply uploading some text, photos, graphs, and videos into their online course modules. To achieve true universal accessibility to materials in online classes, instructors need to learn about and apply universal design concepts to their online course content.
EDITORIAL WORK:
Florida Weekly, Fort Myers, Fla. 2014-present.
Serve as the paper's second copy editor; regularly proofread the Charlotte County edition and selected special advertising sections as assigned; proofread other editions and compile the weekly events calendars as needed when the head copy editor takes time off from work.
Check stories for Associated Press style, grammar, and facts, which is analogous to grading papers.
Writing coach and manuscript editor, Fort Myers, Fla. 2010-present.
Copy edit manuscripts as well as constructively critique story arcs and character development, which is analogous to grading papers.
Tutor and coach authors in creative writing techniques and grammatical rules in a tailored-to-customer approach intended to go beyond manuscript editing to help the authors improve their writing skills.
Coaching services provided both in person and by correspondence via email or U.S. Mail.
Senior copy editor, FGCU Eagle News, Fort Myers, Fla. 2012-2014.
Checked student reporters' stories for Associated Press style, grammar, and facts, which is analogous to grading papers.
Provided tutoring in the form of feedback, coaching, and mentoring to younger reporters and aspiring copy editors.
EDITORIAL CREDITS — ACADEMIC DISSERTATION:
Buckingham, Thomas. Every Teacher an English Teacher? Literacy Strategy Teaching and Research in the Content area of Science Education, UMI Dissertation Publishing, 2012.
Copy editor for this dissertation accepted by Indiana University.
EDITORIAL CREDITS — NONFICTION BOOKS:
Paradise, Peggy. Echoes of the Heart, Create Space, 2013.
Writing coach, content editor, and copy editor for this non-fiction memoir.
Forbes, John Hazard. The Appraiser Calls, iUniverse, 2012.
Content and copy editor for this non-fiction memoir.
Naples Zoo. Naples Zoo Volunteer Manuals (Policies and Training), 2010.
Copy editor for two volunteer training manuals.
EDITORIAL CREDITS — FICTION BOOKS:
Hanser, Sally. A Christmas Mouse in a Christmas House, Jungle House Publications, 2017.
Copy editor for this children’s novel.
Forbes, John Hazard. Sheltering Palms: Murder, Madness and Magic in Old Florida,
Kindle eBook, 2015.
Content and copy editor for this historical mystery novel.
Forbes, John Hazard. Who Killed Dottie? A Comedy of Sex, Espionage...and Kellogg's
Cornflakes, Kindle eBook, 2015.
Content and copy editor for this historical mystery novel based on a true story.
Forbes, John Hazard. The Hinkletown Treasure: Love, Loss and Discovery in Rural
Michigan, Kindle eBook, 2014.
Content and copy editor for this historical mystery novel.
Aqua, Anthony V. The Predator: The Making of a Wise Guy, Create Space, 2014.
Writing coach, content editor, and copy editor for this thriller novel.
Noble, Helen. 25,000 Seeds: Where Love Grows, Balboa Press, 2012.
Writing coach, content editor, and copy editor for this romance novel.
TEACHING-RELATED:
Private hire tutor, Fort Myers, Fla. 2011-present.
Provide one-on-one tutoring and coaching for individual college students.
Topics tutored include English composition, grammar, American history, statistics, College Board CLEP Exam preparation (English), scholarship application essays, and test-taking techniques.
Writing coach and manuscript editor, Fort Myers, Fla. 2010-present.
Copy edit manuscripts as well as constructively critique story arcs and character development, which is analogous to grading papers.
Tutor and coach authors in creative writing techniques and grammatical rules in a tailored-to-customer approach intended to go beyond manuscript editing to help the authors improve their writing skills.
Coach services provided both in person and by correspondence via email or U.S. Mail.
Grammar tutor (volunteer), FGCU Grammar and Journalism Club, Fort Myers, Fla.
2013-2014.
Co-founded this student club and served as grammar tutor and club officer.
Provided weekly one-on-one and group grammar tutoring workshops for fellow students.
Grammar tutoring was intended to assist journalism students with passing a difficult two-hour grammar exam required to major in journalism at FGCU.
Students who had failed the exam several times passed after receiving this tutoring.
An English-language learner improved his score on the exam from failing to a high score in a single semester with this tutoring and became a co-tutor as well as a junior copyeditor with the student newspaper.
Senior copy editor, FGCU Eagle News, Fort Myers, Fla. 2012-2014.
Checked student reporters' stories for Associated Press style, grammar, and facts, which is analogous to grading papers.
Provided tutoring in the form of feedback, coaching, and mentoring to younger reporters and aspiring copy editors.
Peer tutor (volunteer), English composition I class, Edison State College, Naples, Fla. 2011.
Approached instructor of my own volition to volunteer as classroom teaching assistant due to my interest in pursuing a master’s degree in English to become an English composition instructor.
Provided students with advice about college-level research and writing skills as well as provided grammar and citation-format coaching.
The instructor often assigned me to provide one-on-one help to English-language learners.
Workshop presenter (volunteer), Crossed Quills Writers’ Club, Naples, Fla. 2010-2013.
Co-founder of club that served both fiction and non-fiction writers in the Naples community.
Wrote and taught workshops on subjects such as grammar, editing, and computer skills.
Served as moderator and facilitator for peer critique nights.
Sought out and booked special guest speakers on topics related to writing and publishing.
Trainer/recruiter of volunteers (volunteer), Naples Preserve Eco-Center, Naples, Fla.
2010-2013.
Wrote and designed standardized volunteer training workshop and recruitment brochures.
Staffed the recruitment booth during volunteer fairs at FGCU.
Helped conduct the training workshop for new volunteers.
Docent (volunteer), Naples Zoo, Naples, Fla. 2010-2011.
Provided interpretive educational services for zoo guests, interacting with individuals and small groups to provide information and answer questions about animals, the environment, and zoo guest policies.
Crew leader, U.S. Census Bureau, Naples, Fla. 2010.
Conducted 40-hour training class for staff of 15 new employees.
Proofread and edited employees’ completed work, which is analogous to grading papers, for the largest census territory in Naples, Fla.
Instructor, First aid CPR/AED (volunteer), American Red Cross, Ind. and Fla. 2009-2010.
Managed classroom; lectured, demonstrated, and coached form in classes with up to 15 students.
Upheld Red Cross curriculum and testing standards; ensured student safety; filed class records.
Instructor training included excellent diversity sensitivity and classroom technique training.
BUSINESS:
Owner, Intuitive Touch Massage Therapy, license #MT20902724, Bloomington, Ind.
1990-2009.
Performed therapeutic massages, specializing in chronic pain cases.
Many clients were international students studying at the Indiana University School of Music.
Created marketing campaigns, including writing advertising copy and designing visual layouts for advertising pieces.
Personnel secretary, Indiana University Alumni Association, Bloomington, Ind. 1988-1991.
Researched personnel policy issues in conjunction with the main human resources office.
Revised out-of-date job descriptions for the entire 60-person staff.