About me

I live and work in a village about 30 minutes south of Milwaukee, WI, and I’m a self-proclaimed, proud nerd. I like The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, and I am a die-hard fan of the entire wizarding world of Harry Potter (just to name a few). I love reading, and I love quotes. I have a tubby tabby named Madeline, and a small, close-knit group of friends. My mother affectionately calls me “MC Grammar” and I have been referred to as the Grammar Police for many years by friends and family.

My journey

I went to high school in Olathe, KS, and my favorite class was English, even taking Independent Study hours with my sophomore English teacher. Not really knowing how to translate my passion for English into a career, I decided to study photography (one of my hobbies) in college. My attempt to turn a hobby into a career didn’t really work for me, so I changed my course of study to American Sign Language. After graduating with my associate’s degree from Johnson County Community College, I chose to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, continuing to study ASL. I moved to Milwaukee in 2010.

The story of my time as UWM is long, so here’s the short version: I changed my major a few times because I didn’t really feel a connection with any of the degree paths I chose. My various majors and minors included: ASL, Communications, Sociology, Entrepreneurship, Russian, and finally, Human Resources Management. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree from the Lubar School of Business and found the job market incredibly difficult to enter. I took an internship in HR at a company in Wisconsin, but the company was unable to offer me a full-time HR position when my internship concluded.

Ultimately, I took a job in inventory management with the same company, and after a few years I took a promotion to Purchasing and Inventory Management. My organizational skills made me good at the job, and my love for the company kept me there. But I still didn’t feel like I was doing something about which I was passionate. Finally, the 2020 pandemic gave me some extra alone time, and I was able to really think about what makes me happy.

Friends and family have always come to me for all kinds of proofreading. In every job I’ve had, my absolute favorite tasks involved reading and proofreading. I started researching how to use this passion. Lo and behold, I found I can actually just do that. It clicked. Everything immediately made sense, and I knew what to do. After feeling lost for so many years in college, bouncing from degree to degree, I finally discovered a sense of purpose. I took some courses on proofreading and copyediting, and I was off.

Now a freelance proofreader and copyeditor, I am finally doing something I really love with the English language. I get to work with new people and take on different and interesting projects all the time.

Contact me for your proofreading or copyediting needs!