My Journey to Here

By Theodora Teddi Johnson

I attempted to start on this journey to pursue my M.A. in Rhetoric
and Writing in 1990 when I moved from Flint, Michigan back to
Arkansas, but I said, Ill wait until my children get a little older;
then, I said Ill wait until they get out of high school; then I said
Ill wait until they graduate from college. And I didalmost.
When I signed on to become a Literacy Coach in my school
district, I learned that one of the stipulations for the job was to complete a masters degree, so I
said, I cant wait any more. I didnt, and I applied at University of Arkansas at Little Rock
(UALR). I knew I didnt want another degree in English, nor did I want another degree in
education. I was very interested, however, in technical writing, so I applied for the graduate
program, declared a major in Professional, Technical Writing, and was informed that I had to
wait some more. I was directed to Dr. Karen Kuralt, the department chair, who informed me that
my G.P.A was too low (2.4) to get into the programit had to be at least at 3.0but that I could
enroll as a post-bac student, take some courses, pull up my grade point, and re-enroll as a grad.
That was a glimmer of hope for me, so I did as she said. I call those first two years of my
journeythe post-bac yearsmy redemption years or humble beginnings; the years I spent
redeeming myself of all the reasons I completed my under-graduate years with such a low
showing.

During my redemption years, I took these four courses that helped me develop my writing:
Literature in Film, Creative Writing, Writing for the Workplace, and Persuasive Writing. While
in those classes, I worked hard to make the grades I needed to get my grade point out of
purgatory, but they not only served as I thought, easy classesbecause they were notthey
made me face some truths about my writing and helped me improve my writing skills. As I
reflect back on those first years that I worked to gain entrance to a field I had wanted to pursue
for years and on the classes I signed up for, I can see where they served as just what I needed to
get prepared for the graduate-level classes.

After four semesters of work, I finally acquired the desired grade point and was admitted into the
graduate program. It has been a journey to go from a digital immigrant to a digital learner and
user. It has been a journey to watch my writing skills and increased knowledge about writing
mature, and it has been a journey to finally arrive at this point of defending my portfolio that
showcases my growth as a writer and rhetorician. I hope the work you see showcases my love of
writing, my growth as a writer, and my use of technology to bring life to the writing.