Bio
Jennine “Doc” Krueger is a distinguished alumnus from Huston-Tillotson University (HT) graduating summa cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in English. She went on to study in both English Literature and Education at Texas State and Concordia University earning her M.Ed, and is a recent graduate from Spalding University with her MFA. As a lifelong member of the HT family she joined the faculty full time in August of 2013. Ms. Krueger currently teaches first year writing, sophomore level literature, and intro to creative writing courses. She engages students with pop culture and current events to make learning more interactive and relevant. She was also named the Adult Degree Program (ADP) faculty of the year for 2016. She has had poems published in various anthologies and recently a poem published in the Imaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzalduan Borderlands. She also has a short play The Coven, that was in the Santa Fe Literary Review, and was recently extended and presented at the 2019 Frontera Fest Fringe Festival at Hyde Park Theatre. She leads writing workshops and open-mics regularly to include one at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) and she previously presented at Austin Comicon and the National Pop Culture conference in San Diego, CA with a presentation titled “Black: Beyond the Cape and Under the Mask,” analyzing marginalized heroes in comic books. Her most recent project is a hip hop envisioned Camelot and retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written as a hip-hop musical called Green, and it is currently in development the Theatre Now New York's Musical Lab.
In addition to teaching and scholarship, Ms. Krueger is the mother of four beautiful daughters and is a nationally recognized performing poet. She has trophies from the National Poetry Slam in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018. She continues to work with a community of writers on campus with poetry and off campus coaching and mentoring for local slam poetry venues for local and national competitions. She regularly visits middle and high schools presenting poetry as a mentor for the Speak Piece Poetry Project, a writing program for local youth interested in slam poetry. She hopes to continue to promote poetry, make medieval texts more accessible for POCs and is working on a collection of poems focusing on identity and intersectional feminism.
Personal Statement
I have been a creative for as long as I can remember. In thinking back, I remember my mother designing clothes, participating in poetry readings, and teaching art classes for camps. I tagged along and was inspired to follow in her same direction. Even now, my family is full of creatives (I am a writer, my daughter is a fashion designer, and my sister is a visual artist in painting and welded sculptures). I think for the most part, the creativity in my family started as hobbies and it wasn’t until a deeper understanding of any one avenue of art, that we have found there can be money made from creativity, but even more is happiness.
As a performance poet I have had the opportunity to be an actress in original playwriting projects, start programs for youth in spoken word, host events as an MC, create chapbooks and record CDs of my poems, as well as keynote multiple speaking engagements. With all of that experience, I still see a need to learn about updated avenues to grow and share my art. People rarely listen to CDs anymore and I recently went to a show where poets sold flash drives with their work or had cards for sale with QRC scan codes to download their work. Entrepreneurship in the arts rapidly changes. In addition to that, updating sites and posting on social media to brand oneself is time consuming and constant. Because of all this, performance is part of my own branding in teaching.
My teaching philosophy stems from creativity and connection. Though creative writing isn’t exclusively taught in all of my courses, I like to encourage students to have a space to tell their stories or connect with stories they read by reflecting how it is relevant in the present. Through this experience I have seen students develop not only as writers but also apply their learning to their own lives. I also consider myself an artivist in bridging relevant issues with art. The idea of reflecting social issues when coming to terms with difficult events allows me to get to know my students better and meet them where they are.
More than anything my passion and commitment stems from my artistry and wanting my students to be inspired to follow their own path and dreams. I want them to see me and know that they are free to be their authentic selves and that learning is lifelong. The phrase I always live by and repeat to my students is to "stay ready to keep from getting ready." I am here. I am ready. I am able. I will be here (commitment). I will stay ready (sustainability). I will stay able, relevant, and passionate about this work (excellence).