Written by Kaylie Weideman. Media by Joseph Wood.
Alexandria LaFaye is the Associate Professor of English at Greenville University. She has been at GU since 2011 and has taught Introduction to Creative Writing, Advanced Creative Writing, Introduction to Literary Theory, Cross-Cultural Literature, and Introduction to Multimedia Storytelling, amongst many others. Her areas of responsibility are Creative Writing, Cultural Representation in Literature, Children’s Literature, and Young Adult Literature.
LaFaye was raised in Hammond, Wisconsin — a rural farming community about forty-five minutes outside the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN. As a young child growing up in the country, LaFaye spent a good amount of time exploring nature.
After she graduated from high school, she attended the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities and has lived in various places since. She worked at Mankato State University as a student assistant for a professor, and soon after she began her teaching career at Plattsburgh State University. She has now taught in Minnesota, Illinois, California, Virginia, New York, Washington, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
LaFaye received a Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She then went on to receive a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature at Hollins University, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Memphis, and a Ph.D. in English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
She was first introduced to GU by a former board member and family friend, Marjorie Smith. She remembers praying for this opportunity to work out when she first came on campus. She recalls,
“In the summer of 2011, while I was teaching in the low residency program in writing for children at Hollins University, I saw an ad for a summer hire in the English Department and I jumped at the chance to apply. I applied on a Sunday, interviewed early that week, and was on campus by the end of the week. I loved the Christ-centered community of Greenville from my first visit.”
“God impacts my life daily and has done so since I was born,” said LaFaye,
“…Because God is working to improve not only my life, but the lives of all the people I encounter on any given day, I pray to open myself up to God’s guidance so that He can impact as many people as possible through the way I live my life on a daily basis. He has given me so many amazing blessings both personally and professionally and I hope to use them to honor Him and share His love with others.”
Such a well put way to interpret God’s love and blessings given to us.
LaFaye’s favorite part of campus is all the people and the community. She likes the energy and connections people bring throughout GU. She also loves watching students and faculty members strive to study, teach, and work to the best of their ability. LaFaye continues to work hard to foster this approach and to expand this commitment in terms of spirituality, personal connection, diversity, and understanding.
A former student of hers, GU senior Brent Lehr, took Research and Writing his freshmen year and he said, “She made a writing class super interesting. Almost every class, she pulled out one of her many great accents, which would always grab our attention.”
Be encouraged to take one of her courses or to stop by and say hi because she always has a story or an accent to share!
