Jessica Rapisarda

EXPERIENCE

Education

Master of Fine Arts 
Hollins University
Creative Writing, Poetry Concentration
Thesis: Unlikely Artifacts of Passion

Bachelor of Arts
Notre Dame of Maryland University
English Major, Writing Concentration
Art History Minor

Experience

As a writing and literature instructor, I am as enthusiastic about teaching freshmen how to communicate effectively as I am to explore rhetorical devices in content marketing campaigns or the poetic prose of a Jessmyn Ward novel.

Editor, Writer, and Strategic Communications Analyst

Although I have taught at the college level on and off since 2001 and earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, I spent nearly two decades honing my skills as an editor, writer, and strategic communications analyst in the corporate world. I have worked for The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Maryland, Living Social, and as a contractor for the U.S. Intelligence Community. I have worked with Nobel Prize-winning scientists, literary scholars, and government officials. To view examples of my creative writing, visit my Writing page.

College Educator

I joined Northern Virginia Community College in the spring of 2017 to dedicate myself fully to teaching. NOVA appealed to me, and continues to appeal to me, precisely because it is a community college with a diverse student body. In the course of any one semester, I may instruct recent immigrants in proper MLA citation style and guide a lawyer through the creation of an online writing portfolio. My values as an educator mirror the community college ethos: I believe that all students, no matter their backgrounds or future plans, can and should receive an education that is thorough, functional, and thought-provoking. To read about my classroom tools and techniques, visit my Blog.

I serve on the editorial board of The Northern Virginia Review and on the curriculum advisory board of the Northern Virginia Community College Professional Writing Program. I am also a certified trauma-informed educator.