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ABOUT ME

I'm from Arizona but have lived in Salt Lake City since 2017. I've held a number of professional roles in higher education--accounting, IT support, advising, adjunct instruction, and learning design--and through it all I've been fortunate enough to live out my two biggest passions: writing and teaching. If after you've reviewed my portfolio are interested in hiring me, you can contact me here. Thank you sincerely for taking the time to read a little bit about me and my work.

I've always had a fascination with words and language, but I never could figure out how to make that "work." I explored nearly all the Humanities majors that exist while I was in college--English, writing, art history, history, linguistics--but none of them were quite the right fit. Fast forward to a year after graduation, when I started exploring the idea of graduate school, I stumbled across a degree in Professional Writing. This program, with its audience-minded, goal-based writing, combined my love of communication with my desire to get. things. done! Once I completed my graduate degree, I put my professional writing skills to use in my job as an advisor and also started a volunteer stint as an editor and writer with a fan site for another of my loves: the Irish rock band, U2.

As a writer, creating content that my audience can understand and learn from is my priority. Editing, the art of taking something good and making it even better, is my favorite writing task.

While in one of my first post-college jobs, I discovered another passion: teaching. I worked as an academic advisor at the University of Utah and was able to teach a major exploration class for several semesters. Though I have worked in higher education since I was 18, I had never TA'd in college or taught before that point. I absolutely fell in love with education: being able to share knowledge with others, to help them solve a problem or accomplish a goal, is one of the most important jobs in the world (in my humble opinion, at least!). Eager to expand my teaching skills, I completed a certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Shortly afterward, I completed the next step in my professional evolution and started a career as a learning designer. Working with faculty to create engaging, accessible online courses is so rewarding and allows me to employ tech writing skills as well. I also still get to teach, sharing my love of professional communication with students as an adjunct instructor of technical writing at Weber State University.

Teaching is in my blood: my mother and grandmother are both educators. But it is so much more to me than just genetics. It is a joy and honor to create and deliver learning experiences for others.

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©2026 by Allie McClaskey, MA. Proudly created with Wix.com

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