Tomasita Ortiz is a doctoral lecturer who teaches first year writing. She has been teaching general education English courses since 2007 and joined John Jay College in fall 2024. She received her doctorate from Fordham University in contemporary learning and interdisciplinary research with a focus on contemporary literacies. Her dissertation examined student perceptions of the freshman composition course. In 2007, she received an MFA in creative writing (fiction) from The New School. In addition to composition and rhetoric, her interests include black and latine studies, children’s literature, and teacher education.