Malia Collins has been named the October 2017 Faculty of Distinction. Collins is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the College and teaches English Composition 1 (ENGL 101), English Composition Plus (ENGL 101+), Transformative Storytelling (CWID 101), and Creative Writing Nonfiction (ENGL 243). Collins grew up in Hawaii and has lived, worked, and traveled around the world. For years she worked as a teaching writer in The Cabin's Writers in The Schools program. Her great joy then, as now, comes from teaching writing and helping students find ways to tell their stories and lift up their voices on the page. Collins is a teaching artist with the Idaho Commission on the Arts and recently started an audio storytelling workshop on Urban Folklore. Her subject? Ghost stories.
As an avid reader and writer, she is currently working on creative nonfiction and short stories. She loves to swim in the ocean, wander in the mountains, and hike up Table Rock — particularly at sunrise.
During the fall 2017 semester, Collins started teaching a new CWID class, “Transformative Storytelling: Shift Your Worldview.” Her hope is that through oral storytelling and creative writing, her students will have transformative conversations, both on the page and with each other.
Each time she looks out at her students, Collins sees what a gift it is to be at CWI teaching. In her classroom, she helps her students think critically, become thoughtful people in the world, to take the time to see each other and recognize each other’s full humanity, and to feel like their voices are heard and matter. Please congratulate Collins on being selected as October's Faculty of Distinction!