Member Spotlight: Kelsey McLendon
KELSEY McLENDON
Ann Arbor, Program in Technical Communication/College of Engineering
Lecturer III
What is your area of specialty?
Technical writing, social and emotional learning in engineering education, social justice in engineering and technology
Link to website: https://techcom.engin.umich.edu/mclendon-kelsey/
What are you proud of as a lecturer?
I give my students surveys at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester asking them, among other things, if they feel a sense of belonging in our classroom. I feel proud when the responses to that question are overwhelmingly "yes." I was honored to be the 2024 recipient of the Lecturer Excellence in Inclusive Teaching (LEIT) Award for the Ann Arbor campus, and I feel motivated to continue focusing my pedagogy on cultivating collaborative learning communities.
What might others not know about you?
One of my favorite TV shows is Pushing Daisies (taken too soon -- only 2 seasons!), and it combines two of the things I enjoy most: baking and cozy crime fiction.
What is something that you are proud of outside your role as a lecturer?
I love to bake, and I've gotten pretty good at it over the past few years -- to the point where I feel comfortable adapting recipes to my liking and achieve pretty consistent results. Here's one of my go-to recipes for a fall treat (adapted from a recipe from my mother-in-law):
Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
Dough Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Dough Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Add the butter, sugar, and pumpkin to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat together until thoroughly combined.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined.
Use a typical dining spoon to scoop small cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet. Baked cookies will be roughly 2 inches in diameter.
Bake for about 15 minutes. Use a toothpick to ensure doneness.
Frosting Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon dark maple syrup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 10-second increments until the butter is melted, the sugar is dissolved, and all ingredients can be combined with hand mixing. Let cool for about 5 minutes, but don't allow mixture to harden. Spoon frosting on top of cooled cookies.