I work with medical students as a standardized patient, helping to train students with their interpersonal skills in various kinds of encounters with patients. In my role, I perform the part of a patient in encounters with students. It differs from communicating in writing--not solitary, but engaged deeply with students. I approach this with a commitment to give students the best education possible. I perform copyediting and layout assistance work at Friends Journal, a monthly Quaker publication. I have also contributed writing to Friends Journal and other publications.I bring a passion for communication to all of my work, and awe and reverence for the power of words and language. Writing is deeply rewarding work; it affords me the power to inspire, comfort, challenge, and inform readers. The author Anne Morrow Lindbergh once wrote, "Communication is stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after." This quote resonates with me. Awards: Bread Upon the Waters Scholarship at The University of Pennsylvania; and Linda Bowen Santoro Award at The University of Pennsylvania, for "displaying unusual motivation and dedication in pursuit of an undergraduate degree."In addition to Montgomery Newspapers, published in The Pennsylvania Gazette, The Green Couch, the web site of The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, The New York Times, Drexel Online Journal, Ms. Magazine, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Performed non-academic online research for author Cathy Crimmins for her book "How the Homosexuals Saved Civilization," 2005.Serve as a grant reviewer for The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, Anoka, MN.Proficient in Spanish.Familiarity with American Sign Language.Specialties: I've done feature writing; I've also done magazine and encyclopedia copyediting and proofreading.