Our Story
Before creating Essay Glimmers, Chelsea had spent countless hours in her classroom getting to know her students, their stories, and how they felt about writing. By taking the time to understand the humans sitting before her, she quickly learned that many of them had negative experiences with writing, often sharing sentiments such as “I’m not good at writing” and “I’ve never seen myself as a writer.” Perplexed and saddened by how her students felt about their writerly selves, she embarked on her Ph.D. journey, dedicating several years to understanding this phenomenon and to supporting youth and teachers in cultivating positive relationships with writing. Through her research, she learned that we can reimagine and rebuild our relationships with writing with the help of a caring, humanizing instructor or coach and by engaging in writing practices that allow us to see our authentic selves in what we write. Knowing this, she founded Essay Glimmers the same year she defended her dissertation, with bright eyes and an unyielding eagerness to help more people experience the power of writing. Whether helping a prospective student get into their dream school or seeing someone take pride in a collection of poems, Chelsea finds inspiration in guiding others to see the glimmers within themselves and their writing.
Where we’ve been featured
Notable Publications
Kent, C. R., & Kneeland, J. M. (2024). “Dear George, with Love”: Reading All Boys Aren’t Blue Through a Lens of Critical Love Amidst Rampant Book Bans. Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, 6(1).
Kent, C. R. (2022). Starting with the Self: A Pathway to Reimagining the Essay. English Journal, 111(3), 45-51.
Kneeland, J., Kent, C.R., Glaws, A. L., & Moore, D. (2022). Becoming together: Critical events across early career researcher experiences. In A.D. Broemmel and N. Vines, Teacher Reflections on Transitioning from K-12 to Higher Education Classrooms (pp. 133- 151). IGI Global.
Glaws, A.L., Kent, C.R., Moore, D. (2021). Preservice teacher identity development through elements of choice and reflection. Growing Scholars Chronicle, 13, 6-7.
Liu, Katrina, Zhang, Shaoan, Kent, C.R., & Cornejo, Malayka. (2017). Recruit, prepare, and retain teachers of color in Nevada.
Glaws, A.L., Kneeland, J., Kent, C. R., & Nowell, Z. (under review). Mediating Equity and Justice Across Learning Spaces in Teacher Education.
Kent, C.R., (2025, November 22). For the Love of Writing: A Collaborative Pursuit Towards Humanizing Writing Experiences for Preservice Teachers. National Council of Teachers of English, November 2025, Denver, CO.
Staley, S., Nowell, Z., Kent, C.R., Harton, D., Kneeland, J. (2025, April 23). Where Compassion and Interruption Intersect: Exploring Tensions in Facilitating Justice-OrientedPreservice Teacher Learning. American Educational Research Association, April 2025, Denver, CO.
Kent, C.R., & Glaws, A. L. (2023, November 19). Connecting to self and others through humanizing writing practices. National Council of Teachers of English, November 2023, Columbus, OH.
Kent, C.R., Ktsanes, C. (2023, November 17) Centering Critical Love in the ELA Classroom: Working to Understand Censorship and its Impacts on the Teaching Profession National Council of Teachers of English, November 2023, Columbus, OH.
Kent, C.R., Glaws, A. L., Kneeland, J., & Nowell, Z. (2023, April 16). Mediating equity and justice across learning spaces in teacher education. American Educational Research Association, April 2023, Chicago, IL.
Glenn, W., Kent, C.R., Kneeland, J. (2022, November 19). Through a Lens of Critical Love, Hope, and Heart: Exploring Teens’ Top Ten Young Adult Titles for Transformative Teaching. National Council of Teachers of English, November 2022, Anaheim, CA.