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Originally from Salem, Ohio, Valerie earned undergraduate degrees (Vocal Performance, English) and a Master of Arts (English/Creative Writing) from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She’s also a proud graduate of the BSU Honors College, where she served as Student Honors Council President for two years and wrote an honors thesis on integrating opera history into the BSU Honors humanities curriculum. 

Val has sung in operas, art song programs, choirs and for special events in many settings, from a piazza in Lucca, Italy, to the top of an apple picker in Canfield, Ohio. A variety of interests has led her to disparate work experiences: she’s worked as a basketball scoreboard operator; behind a deli counter; in the Ball State Choral Library; on the River Teeth literary journal’s editing team; and, most recently, at the Koszalin University of Technology as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Koszalin, Poland. She enjoyed teaching Polish university students and participating in Polish-American cultural exchange—her only regret is not keeping a tally of the number of pierogi she ate. 

Val’s current interests include golfing (poorly), crocheting (slightly less poorly), writing and reading flash fiction and becoming more involved with the Columbia and University of South Carolina communities.