Shaw Patton, MFA fiction student

I have been in Tallahassee for seven years. Before that I lived in Gainesville where I went to UF and obtained my BA in journalism. I was a child of the west coast before moving to Florida but between Gainesville, Tallahassee, and the Space Coast, I have now been in the state for over 15 years. In that time I have toured the east coast multiple times in punks bands, worked as a baker, stayed up all night as a barrista at a 24 hour coffee shop, substitute taught, tutored at TCC, and taught high school and middle school. It was while teaching that I took some graduate level courses at FSU in the evenings. While taking these evening courses, I grew to love FSU's English Department: its cohesiveness, rigor, and creativity. My disillusionment with teaching at my last high school had been building, and I knew that I wanted to focus on my writing. I also wanted to work toward a means of teaching at the college level—a setting where, having also tutored at TCC, I felt my mindset fit best. Lastly, I wanted more than anything to hone my writing in an environment conducive to the craft amongst other inspiring writers. I knew from attending classes at FSU that the staff and students would create such an environment. I would have been content to go to any of the MFA programs I applied to, but was elated for FSU to acept me and to have the chance to continue growing my roots in this town. My long term goals include publishing a novel and teaching at a college.