MA Candidate – Asian Studies, East Asian Literature and Languages

Beginning Fall 2024

Panel Description: A panel examining Japan's rich spiritual heritage, including Shintoism, yōkai mythology, and the impact of these beliefs and myths on Japanese animation and manga. Using the series "Natsume Yuujinchou" as the frame for this discussion, this panel demonstrates how the yōkai mythos continues to find a place in modern society.

30 min. Presentation

Presented: 

• Anime Expo 2024 (Los Angeles, CA)

Panel Description: This panel on starting and managing a blog is an informative and practical session that equips aspiring bloggers with essential knowledge and tools to begin their blogging journey! Join as the presenter explores areas such as niche selection, content creation, audience building, communication strategies, and a few monetization techniques to those starting out. The objective is for those attending to gain valuable insights through some general information and personal anecdotes on the best practices to effectively engage with their community, develop their unique voices, maintain consistency, and navigate potential challenges. By the end of the session, participants should be well equipped with the necessary skills and inspiration to launch or relaunch (and, hopefully, sustain) a successful blog!

60 min. Presentation

Accepted Presentation (unable to present at the convention due to travel constraints): 

• Sigma Tau Delta's (The International English Honor Society's) 2024 International Convention (St. Louis, MO)

Role: Writing Instructor in the Department of English at Irvine Valley College.

From December of 2021 to present day, I have been working at Irvine Valley College. First in a supplemental instructional role as an "Embedded Tutor," also called a Teaching Assistant/TA or an Instructional Aid/IA. In that role, I provided administrative work (setting up, managing Canvas systems, etc.); editorial and qualitative feedback on student work; assist professors with tech support and information gathering for classes; and teach/assist in portions of the WR1, WR2, and WR2H courses on rhetorical analysis, academic writing, researching, and more. 

As of January 2024, I started a new role at IVC, that role being a Writing Instructor in the Department of English. 

Accomplishments:

• In 2022, I created an Embedded Tutor website for the Department of English as a source to host information and workshop samples for others in a similar role. It can be viewed here: https://sites.google.com/ivc.edu/ivcet 

  • Link to workshops and lecture samples

• Mentioned in the President's Report for the August 28, 2023, Board of Trustees Meeting for speaking at Anime Expo | https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/socccd/Board.nsf/files/CUSNB65F0483/$file/IVC%20President's%20Report%20August%202023%20Final.pdf 

Role: Freelancer: Writer, Editor, and Tutor

Since 2018 I have been a freelancer, mostly in the field of publishing but also in education as a freelance tutor.

Writer: I provide ghostwriting services, copywriting, and, occasionally, write articles.  

Editor: I provide line editing, copyediting, and proofreading services to writers. I also provide services in marketing research and comprehensive social media planning. 

Tutor: I provide tutoring services to high school students (9th - 12th grade) and early college students. I specialize in elevating student writing to collegiate standards.

Essay Coaching: Working with The College Blueprint, LLC as an essay coach. Helping students prepare their Common App essays and PIQ replies for college applications.

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As of 2022, I rarely work in freelance editing or writing because of my busy schedule. I do, however, continue to take on tutoring clients because of the higher flexibility in hours. I hope to return to publishing sometime soon.

Editor of The Anime View at theanimeview.com.

Founded by me, Peggy Sue Wood, in 2013, The Anime View started as an outlet for my obsession with the anime and manga I was viewing at the time. It has since developed from a solo blog to a blogging team, wherein we aim to create content that provides our audience of anime and manga fans with a mix of content that engages the mind to look critically at the media we love and consume.

Content Creator of LitGradLife at litgradlife.com.

In 2022, I felt totally lost in my personal life. I wanted to write but hadn't been able to do so consistently for a few years outside of my anime blog or work. I decide to restart my personal blog, this time under a pen name to give me a bit of mental separation. 

I chose a new name to give me a chance to release my work without the same bias or predispositions I have been holding towards myself and my work for the last few years. I chose a name that was still mine, in a sense, but also not mine... and it worked! I've been kicking out content there weekly (sometimes multiple times a week) under the name "Margret Wood" and will probably continue to use this pen name/persona for the rest of my writing career!