Sarah Geist

sarahmgeist@gmail.com
424-219-2005
https://missgeist.weebly.com/

CERTIFICATION
Michigan Secondary Standard Certificate May 2021
6-12 English
6-12 Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, English May 2020
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Freshman Seminar Abroad: Folklore and Fairytales July 2017

Berlin, Dresden, and Munich, Germany

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Internship Placement, 11th Grade Honors English and 12th Grade Electives August 2020 – April 2021
Holt High School, Holt, MI
● Collaborated with mentor teacher and other colleagues to adapt multiple curriculums into online and
hyflex formats
● Lead taught two sections of 11th grade Honors English
● Lead taught two sections of 12th grade Film as Literature
● Planned and taught units on The Awakening and CLEvR Writing; Of Mice and Men and Close Reading;
Maus and Graphic Narrative Writing; and Cultural Analysis, The Catcher in the Rye, and the Teenage
Voice in an 11th grade Honors English class
● Observed mentor teacher design and implement the school’s new 12 th grade Graphic Novels course
● Planned and taught units on writing and delivering acceptance and demonstration speeches in a 12 th
grade Speech class
● Proctored PSAT, SAT, and ACT WorkKeys

Pre-Internship Placement, 9th Grade English September 2019 – March 2020

East Lansing High School, East Lansing, MI
● Co-taught 8 weekly Intercultural Race Dialogue lessons in two sections of 9 th grade English
● Customized the program lesson plans to fit the unique needs of students
● Facilitated student dialogue about group norms, historical moments in racism, understanding social
identity, individual racism, implicit bias and the cycle of socialization, exploring group privilege,
institutionalized racism, and allyship

Semester Long Placement, ELL Academic Support and ELL English Language Arts
September 2019 – December 2019
East Lansing High School and MacDonald Middle School, East Lansing, MI
● Observed mentor teacher advocate for students and provide support for language development and
overall academic success
● Planned and taught a lesson on informational paragraph writing with specific supports for students at
WIDA levels 5 and 6 in a 6th grade ELL English Language Arts class
● Helped students demonstrate their content knowledge to their full ability by assisting them with
homework and tests in English

Semester Long Placement, 9th Grade Honors English and Read 180 January 2019 – May 2019
● Observed mentor teacher work with students to establish class norms and expectations
● Planned and taught a lesson on identifying and analyzing literary devices in To Kill a Mockingbird in an
Honors English 9 class
● Introduced and practiced reading comprehension strategies for Refugee with three 7th grade students
WORK EXPERIENCE
Writing Consultant January 2019 – May 2021
MSU Writing Center, East Lansing, MI
● Collaborated with college students as they interpreted assignments and brainstormed the content and
organization of writing projects
● Guided students through the editing and polishing process and provided feedback on completed drafts
● Adapted in-person consulting into an online format using Google Docs and Zoom
● Facilitated workshops on academic writing, the writing process, and navigating the Writing Center
● Audited the website for accessibility and contributed to early drafts of the accessibility statement

Undergraduate Lab Lead August 2019 – August 2020

MSU Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab, East Lansing, MI
● Maintained responsibilities from previous position
● Coordinated between multiple interdisciplinary research projects focused on the neuroscience of close
vs. pleasure reading, neuroaesthetics of poetry, and narrative perceptions of music
● Collaborated with researchers at the University of Arkansas, the University of Hong Kong, and the
Timing, Attention, and Perception Lab at MSU for the cross-cultural music and narrative study
● Prepared and facilitated bi-weekly research design and career development workshops
● Converted lab meetings and activities into an online format
● Co-presented “The Story of Accessible Art at the DHLC” at the 2019 Accessible Learning Conference

Professorial Assistant, Music and Narrative Group September 2017 – May 2019
MSU Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab, East Lansing, MI
● Studied the relationship between music, narrative, and culture by asking participants from American
universities and Dimen, China to write stories in response to short excerpts of classical music
● Developed methodologies for data analysis of short stories using interdisciplinary techniques from the
humanities, neuroscience, and computer programming
● Co-presented “Mood in Music: Sentiment Analysis of the Stories We Hear in Music” (2018) and
“Enculturation of Music” (2019) at the University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum
● Successfully applied for the MSU College of Arts and Letter Alumni Association Grant to fund an
accessible art exhibition

Writing Center Consultant Summers 2019 - Present

Pioneer Academics, Philadelphia, PA
● Provided asynchronous feedback on completed drafts of research papers for advanced high school
students taking special summer courses with college professors

LEADERSHIP/VOLUNTEERING
Level 2 Coordinator August 2019 – May 2020
MSU Dance Club, East Lansing, MI
● Choreographed and taught three intermediate group dance numbers during biweekly team rehearsals
● Planned a game night and a costume decorating party to promote team bonding
● Facilitated stretching and conditioning workshops for dancers of all levels

Volunteer Curator and Art Class Assistant June 2019 – August 2019
Paint A Miracle, Rochester, MI
● Empowered local artists with disabilities by taking out and putting away supplies, describing the colors
and shapes of reference objects, and ensuring that the studio space was sensory friendly
● Organized the storage room so completed artwork could be more easily priced and displayed for sale

HONORS / AWARDS
MSU Board of Trustees Scholarship Award (2020)
Smith-Marshall Award for English Education (2020)

SKILLS
Spanish Language (basic conversational)