Assistant Director of Academic Support
Hello! My name is Dr. Nicholas Kirse (but Nick is fine); like many of the other staff that work in and around the Student Success Center, I'm also an alumnus of Northwest. I graduated with my bachelor's in English in 2014 and with my master's in English in 2016. During my time as a student at Northwest, I worked as a tutor and graduate administrator in the writing center. After graduating with my MA, my (now) wife and I moved to Carbondale, IL where I pursued my PhD in Rhetoric and Composition with an emphasis in writing center studies. As I was wrapping up writing my dissertation, I saw the posting for this position in the SSC and jumped at the opportunity to return to Northwest and apply all that I've learned in school to help support students.
When I'm not at work, I enjoy spending time with my wife, Sondra (who some of you may know as the academic advisor for the School of Education), and our cats, Sally and Maki. Both Sondra and I are avid gamers (a foundational part of our relationship), so more-often-than-not we're sequestered away in our offices playing games together. I also have a love for cooking, baking, reading, writing, and spending time at the gym when life (and the cats) allows it.