Hello everyone! My name is Rachel Nielsen (she/her/hers), and I teach 9-12 English at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. I participated in my first NEH Summer Institute several years ago, and it was a highlight of my 25 year teaching career, and I continue to be inspired by the amazing teacher colleagues and friends I met there. I am very excited to participate in another institute, to meet and learn from new people. Though I don't consider myself to be artistically talented at all, I'm a great fan of the arts, and I'm particularly excited to learn about several new art forms such as calligraphy, dance, and garden design.

When I'm not teaching I enjoy running, catching up on reading, and cheering on my teenage kids in their various pursuits. Lately, I've been spending time trying learning Swedish as our family gets ready to spend the fall term living in Uppsala, Sweden.