Katelyn Moorman
Staff Writer
Val Pexton is a Senior Lecturer for the English Department. Pexton came to the University of Wyoming in 1996 to finish her Masters in English Literature when she was offered a job in the English department.
Although Pexton said she “had no intentions of teaching,” she joined the department in 2001.
“I found out that I liked [teaching],” Pexton said. She smiled and let out a short laugh. “That’s the reason why I’m still here.”
Pexton finished her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing while she was teaching a full load of classes at the University of Wyoming. At first, she mostly taught English 1010 and Freshman Composition. After teaching at the university for several years, Pexton said she got the chance to expand the classes that she could teach.
“After you’re here for a while, the job becomes more about realizing what you’re good at, and then creating and teaching classes in those areas,” Pexton said.
In her Monsters in Literature & Film class, Pexton teaches film adaptation—which she said she taught herself.
“Because I’ve proven that I’m good at film adaptation, I get to teach it,” Pexton said. “This is a job where if you show you’re learning new skills, you can turn those skills into classes.”
Pexton has designed and created three new classes while at the University of Wyoming, one of them being First-Year Seminar: Zombies. She said this class was her favorite, and that she did most of her scholarship on zombies in different forms of media.
Pexton said she enjoys designing her own classes, and she likes to teach small classes to get more one-on-one time with students. She said she likes to meet new students every semester and she enjoys working with different people. Some of Pexton’s students have been accepted into great MFA programs, which Pexton said she was proud of.
“I get to learn from you guys as much as you learn from me,” Pexton said, smiling softly. “That’s what I like about it.”
