Following completion of a BA in English at UCA in May of 2002, Rachel continued on in the graduate program and received an MA degree in December of 2003. While a student in the graduate program, she served as a graduate assistant to Dr. James Fowler, the editor at that time of Slant, the Department’s journal of contemporary poetry. She completed her studies at the University of New Mexico, where she was awarded a PhD in English in August of 2009. Her areas of specialization were modern American literature, composition, and secondary education.
After completing a two-year Peace Corps Volunteer service term in Cape Verde, West Africa, Rachel and her husband moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is now a professor of English at Snow College.
Rachel has maintained her UCA connections by serving on the editorial board of Slant.