Dr. Semingson taught bilingual students as a classroom teacher and a reading specialist for eight years in both Southern California and Texas. She received her M.Ed. in Reading Education from Texas State University–San Marcos in 2004 and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Language and Literacy Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008. In higher education, she is the recipient of the UTA President’s Award for Excellence in Distance Education Teaching (2010). Most recently she was awarded the prestigious Platinum level–Best Practices Award for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching from the United States Distance Learning Association (2013). She is also the recipient of the 2013 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award given by the UT System.