Congratulations to Jessica Rivera-Mueller, Recipient of the English Faculty Mentoring Award

The recipient of the 2024 English Faculty Mentoring Award is Associate Professor Jessica Rivera-Mueller. Our English Faculty Mentoring Award was established by a generous donor who, many years ago, experienced the kind encouragement of faculty at a pivotal moment in her undergraduate career. This $5,000.00 award recognizes English Department faculty who have gone above and beyond in mentoring students. 

As someone committed to the ongoing endeavor to create accessible and just learning communities, Jessica views mentorship as an important and exciting pedagogical opportunity. Her work in and out of the classroom reflects the range of mentorship activities that she engages in. Jessica mentors individuals in varying stages of their professional development: undergraduate students, graduate students, and practicing teachers. She also mentors individuals working on a range of professional goals, growing as researchers, writers, presenters, and teachers. She is particularly proud of her mentorship work in the Undergraduate Teaching Fellows (UTF) program, through which she consistently offers English teaching majors an opportunity to co-construct curriculum with her. These opportunities to work collaboratively demonstrate Jessica’s commitment to robust mentorship experiences. In fact, Jessica’s approach to designing curriculum collaboratively is described in the chapter that she co-authored with one of her former UTFs. Beyond her work with undergraduates, Jessica regularly mentors graduate students, colleagues, and collectives of professionals through her work as leader of the concurrent enrollment program and president of the Utah Council of Teachers of English.  

Last month, Jessica happily accepted an invitation from one of her former students to deliver the keynote address for the National Honor Society (NHS) induction at his high school. As the NHS sponsor, he invited Jessica to speak on the role of scholarship in one’s life. Jessica reflects, “I was happy to accept his invitation and thankful to know that our collaboration could still be supportive of his work with students. My commitment to students doesn’t end at the conclusion of a course or upon graduation; I am committed to helping them learn and grow in a range of ways as members of a shared profession.” 

USU’s students, faculty, and the greater teaching community all benefit from Jessica’s dedicated and enthusiastic mentorship. The English Department is deeply grateful to the donor who has made this award possible and to all the many friends and alumni who encourage the wonderful work of our faculty and students.