Louis. A native of Michigan, Nicholas spent the majority of his elementary teaching years as a 1st grade teacher, but taught in early childhood classrooms through eighth grade before beginning doctoral work at Indiana University. At UMSL, Nicholas prepares future literacy educators, conducts research into digital literacies, and provides professional development to local districts around the implementation of balanced literacy. His research has been published in national journals, such a Language Arts and The Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. He is currently reading Bailey’s Cheever, enjoyed The Girl on the Train immensely, and thinks Kevin Henkes cannot write and illustrate picture books quickly enough.