My focus at Northeastern Illinois University has been in freshman composition and research writing, although previous to that time my focus was on ESL when I was teaching for the City Colleges of Chicago. In that capacity I researched many different patterns of learning and language development of non-native speakers of English. I also continue to develop and hone my craft as a writer of short fiction. In regard to literature, my focus has been on 20th century American writers, although I have a broad interest of literature from British 19th century romantic poets to modern European writers such as Franz Kafka to Latin American writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In all my areas of concentration as an instructor I look to engage and challenge students to think for themselves and connect what they read and write for my classes to their own lives and the world at large in which they seek to establish their profession (or conquer).