In 2012, Amy, along with Dr. Meg Roland the English Department Chair at Marylhurst University, created a personal study abroad program. During her three weeks of English Literature education in London and Cambridge, Amy studied Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens. Credits from Cambridge University were added to her long list of English credits at Marylhurst University to award her an English Literature Degree from Marylhurst in 2013.

As an adult learner, Amy returned to university in 2010 to be awarded her Bachelor of English Literature and Writing in 2013 from Marylhurst University. While she worked on her degree she also worked a part-time job teaching K-4 students reading skills. During her time at Marylhurst, she also became the English department’s work-study student, performing tasks for the wonderful professors at Marylhurst. She engaged in three separate study abroad programs: 1) 2012 in London and Cambridge as a single student, 2) 2013 in London, Cambridge, and Bath as a single student, 3) 2013 in Rome with fellow Marylhurst students. In 2015, she returned to Cambridge on her own, an avid lifelong learner. She also assisted Dr. Roland in 2015 with a study abroad group to London and Bath, teaching students about Jane Austen’s life and work during their trip to Bath, England.

Amy then moved on to get a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Cedar Crest College which is in Allentown, PA. This is a low-residency program that incorporates travel and cultural studies as a part of the creative writing curriculum. During her two full years, there were three two-week residencies: 1) Vienna, Austria, 2) Dublin, Ireland, 3) Barcelona, Spain. With all her travels, her connection to literature, and her love for the written word, it was exactly the type of master’s program that she appreciated and enjoyed. During those two years, she also worked a full-time job as a Federally Funded Grant Facilitator in a school district around her hometown. She received her master’s degree in July of 2017.