Master Teacher: English 2
Classroom Teacher: AP^® English Literature & Composition

Emily-Rose Cockerham

BA, Patrick Henry College

Emily-Rose Cockerham graduated from Patrick Henry College in 2008 with a BA in literature. During her four years of on-campus education she had the privilege of learning from some truly brilliant teachers, including Dr. Steven Hake and Dr. Gene Edward Veith. These teachers gave her the opportunity to learn to write in a number of different venues and styles including analysis, novellas, poetry, and radio drama. During her junior year, she had the opportunity to mentor young high school writers—a vocation she continued until her graduation.

Since graduation, Emily-Rose has continued both to self-educate and to help train high school students in her hometown. She has taught several courses in worldviews in literature, as well as serving as an editor for writings varying from young adult novels to doctoral theses.

As she prepares lessons for her students, Emily-Rose enjoys the chance to grapple with great authors and share her enthusiasm for literature with others. She looks forward to learning something new from her students.

Emily-Rose lives in Columbia, South Carolina, where she is seeking to serve and grow in God as she walks the daily adventure of life in faith.

This is her fifth year teaching for the Academy.

Classroom Teacher

Katherine Juneau

BA, Louisiana State University

Katherine Brickson Juneau has been teaching in the homeschool community for over twenty years. She taught her own five children at home and saw them go on to graduate from universities and graduate schools such as Rice University, the Coast Guard Academy, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge (Honors College), and Johns Hopkins University. Once her own children were grown and gone, she continued teaching, tutoring many homeschoolers as well as teaching at a Christian high school for several years. Katherine has a special devotion to homeschoolers and thrives on seeing them launch successfully into the real world.

The child of a Navy JAGC officer, Katherine spent much of her childhood in the Philippines. Her father’s last post was New Orleans, so she graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She currently resides in southern Louisiana and enjoys many outdoor activities such as duck hunting, crawfishing, and searching for driftwood along the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain.

As a devoted believer, Katherine has been a disciple of Christ since 1980 and continues to marvel at His constant lovingkindness. Even though she has experienced the vicissitudes of life, His steadfast love has carried her through and continues to refine her and mold her for His good pleasure. One of her heroes, Corrie Ten Boom, says it best: “The school of life offers some difficult courses, but it is in the difficult class that one learns the most.”

Classroom Teacher

Lindsay Hill

MEd, Southwest Missouri State University
BA, Evangel University

Lindsay grew up in northern Wisconsin. Before homeschooling was a popular option, her parents chose to homeschool her through eighth grade. During her childhood, she spent most of her time reading everything she could get her hands on, including the following year's school books as soon as they came in the mail!

After graduating from a small, private high school, Lindsay attended Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. She received her BA in English education and met the love of her life, Chris. Ingeniously, they decided on a June 2000 wedding so they could always remember how long they had been married. Lindsay taught tenth and eleventh grade English classes for five years in the Springfield Public School district while simultaneously earning her master's of education in English.

Now Lindsay homeschools their four daughters and is very active in the local homeschool community. She shares her passion for grammar and writing by tutoring the Essentials course in the Ozark, Missouri, Classical Conversations group. Unless there is Moms’ Night Out to plan, Lindsay spends her days learning alongside her daughters, reheating her morning coffee, conjuring up dinner, and reading late into the night.

Classroom Teacher

Karin Morin

JD, Harvard Law School 
BA, Yale College

Growing up outside Boston, Karin Morin was the child who had to be gently reminded to put down her book so she could eat, play, or sleep. During college, she read mostly in French and Russian, with a sprinkle of German thrown in for fun. After college, she worked briefly in a job where she didn't have enough work to do, so she filled her time with English literature. Eventually she stopped reading long enough to marry her high school sweetheart. He has put up with her reading habits for nearly 32 years of marriage.

While briefly living in northern Maine, Karin and her husband began the wonderful adventure of home education with their children. In 2007, back in the Boston area, a homeschooling friend asked Karin to start teaching literature to homeschooled middle and high school students. What a great idea! Karin could read and re-read wonderful books, her kids could have an English class with other homeschoolers, and everyone would have a great time learning more about literature. Much to her surprise, Karin found that she enjoyed teaching (almost) as much as reading. After eight years in a variety of homeschool settings, ranging from dining room tables to a church-based co-op, she enjoys teaching even more than she did at the beginning.

Now she is enjoying an additional challenge—helping more homeschoolers enjoy great literature through HSLDA Online Academy. This is her second year teaching with the Academy.

Classroom Teacher

Melissa O'Brien

MEd, Georgia Southern University
BA, Georgia State University

Melissa O’Brien graduated from Georgia State University in 2005 with a BA in secondary English. She later earned her master’s degree in education from Georgia Southern University. She has taught high school English in a Christian school environment since 2005, instructing at every level from 8th–12th grade.

Melissa’s motto is “Eat, Sleep, Read!” She loves to see literature impact students for Christ as their reading takes them to exciting places they never dreamed possible. Her favorite part of teaching is those "light bulb" moments when students "get" it by recognizing something new—whether in literary or spiritual terms!

Melissa lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her young son Jackson, whom she plans to homeschool in the future. He already loves to read!

Classroom Teacher

Kyle Snyder

BA, Patrick Henry College

Kyle Snyder is a graduate of Patrick Henry College, where he earned a bachelor’s in political theory. He loves to read and has studied literature both in a formal school setting and in his free time. His favorite book is East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

For several summers, Kyle worked as a Teen Camp counselor for Patrick Henry College. He loves working with teens and is excited about teaching English 2 with the Academy. His goal is to ensure that students come away from his class with a deeper understanding of the books they read, as well as a thirst to read more.

In his spare time, Kyle loves spending time outdoors and playing sports. His favorite sports are soccer, basketball, and swimming.

Classroom Teacher

Graham Jackson

BA, Patrick Henry College

Born and raised in a little town north of Boston, Massachusetts, Graham Jackson has loved reading and writing stories from an early age. He enjoys analyzing and discussing the enduring stories of the past, their historic and thematic elements, and how they impact the present. Among his favorite books are Chaim Potok’s The Chosen and Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country.

As an amateur poet himself, Graham loves discussing unifying themes and imagery in literary works. He believes that the power of the imagination is of the utmost importance when studying literary traditions throughout the world. When readers use their imaginations for the glory of God, they begin to see how stories have the power to transform the world around them—and the power to renew the human mind.

Graham earned his BA in literature from Patrick Henry College. Ultimately, he aims to view the discipline of literature through the lens of the enduring story God is writing.