Emma's department oversees the extra- and co-curricular student communities at HISA, across all of our academic partners. This includes all sporting, clubs, societies, and the Student Networks. The department also oversees our work with external community organisations to provide additional opportunities to students like community sports, community support, active travel, and volunteer opportunities. Lastly, Emma chairs HISA's EDI Committee and leads HISA's provision of awareness campaigns and activities supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion.
An American transplant, Emma has spent most of her life in education, both teaching and studying. She has an MA, MPhil, MFA, and PhD in the disciplines of literature and creative writing with an emphasis on Scottish literature. She served as editor for University of Arizona's English textbook alongside working as an English Lecturer for six years. She has published in creative and academic journals, and spoken at a variety of conferences on literature and pedagogy. She served for two year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama, and has worked with various charities in the US and in Scotland. She was a Director of Visit Mearns, a collections assistant for the Grassic Gibbon Centre, and a volunteer docent at Walter Scott's Abbotsford. She is deeply passionate about equity and diversity, and she loves socio-political fantasy novels. Emma spends her free time wrangling her crazy rescue dog, wandering across the dramatic scenery of the north coast, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.