Valerie Wayson
Writer and Traveler
Valerie Wayson is a writer and former teacher who's taught in Madagascar, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Texas. She holds an MFA from Georgia College and currently lives in Nosara, Costa Rica, where she is working on her debut novel.
Writing
Teaching
Over my thirteen year teaching career, I've had the opportunity to teach various forms of English (reading acquisition, argument, literature, creative writing, ESL) to students with ages ranging from five to fifty five. Each position has informed my teaching and taught me something valuable.
Service
A mission trip to Mexico in high school first whetted my appetite for service. After Peace Corps I joined Americorps, which gave me the opportunity to participate in 1700 hours of community service over the course of ten months. Many of these were education-based, but I also got to paint benches on Martin Luther King Day, sweep trash at Dia de los Niños, and, my favorite and of which there's a photo here, a creek clean-up in a creek I played in as a child. Some of these were caught on camera.
Traveling
Teaching overseas afforded me the chance to travel to over twenty countries and all four hemispheres.