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Arts and Sciences | Lion VoicesOctober 31, 2025

The 鈥楢ha鈥檚鈥� of Teaching: Dr. Sarah Winterberg

Written By: Ian Silvester

It鈥檚 not often that someone is the first person from their hometown to receive a Ph.D. University of 香蕉视频APP 鈥� Fort Smith associate professor of English, Sarah Winterberg, is just that. Instead of shying away from the pressure that comes with the prestige, she has embraced it in her pursuit of teaching others and making Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, proud.

Winterberg came to UAFS in 2007 after earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Northwestern State University in Louisiana and a master鈥檚 degree from Mississippi State University.

While in Starkville, she taught English as a teaching assistant, which was her first time leading and managing a classroom. She was hooked on teaching others, despite it being a deviation from her dream of being a magazine editor.

As she looked for a teaching job, a position at UAFS was available as the Greek Life intramural sports coordinator. As a sorority alumna and university admissions counselor, Winterberg felt confident to accept the job as a way to get a foot in the door.

During intake, she said she was approached about her interest in working as an English adjunct in addition to her role with the Greek Life Office.

鈥淚 taught an English class, and it was really fun because it was a lot of the same students who were really active in campus activities who were taking my comp classes,鈥� she said.

The English department, now the English, Rhetoric and Writing, and Media Communication department, interviewed Winterberg for a full-time faculty position as a visiting instructor. She accepted and, in fall 2011, transitioned to assistant professor.

In the years since, Winterberg met a UAFS alum who would become her husband, welcomed a son, earned her doctorate, became a master gardener and certified yoga instructor, and has taught hundreds of students the patterns of English that can make writing a more enjoyable experience. While each of these can stand out as significant, she said it was when she officially became Dr. Sarah Winterberg and teaching that came to mind first.

During her undergrad, Winterberg was a peer tutor at Northwestern State University鈥檚 Writing Center, which was led by none other than Dr. Joe Hardin, a professor in the very department Winterberg works in. Hardin and Winterberg maintained a close professional relationship throughout her academic journey, so, naturally, he was the one she asked to serve on her dissertation committee.

After successfully defending her position, 鈥淗e called me Dr. Winterberg for the first time. He called me a colleague and said I could call him 鈥楯oe.鈥� It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life,鈥� she said through teary eyes.

Influences, like Hardin and teaching during her master鈥檚 program, Winterberg said, are reasons why she loves being an educator.

鈥淓nglish is one of the most complicated languages 鈥� I love being able to try different ways to help a student reach that aha moment where they get it,鈥� she said proudly.

Winterberg looked back on everything she had experienced since arriving at UAFS nearly 20 years ago and realized her own aha moments. From the impact of leading the gardening club, teaching mindfulness through yoga and breathwork, to having her life come full circle as the editor of a periodical, UAFS has been home to it all for her.

Winterberg is a board member of the 香蕉视频APP Council of Teachers of Language Arts and serves as editor of their academic journal, the 香蕉视频APP English Journal. In November, the journal will receive an Affiliate Journal of Excellence Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. Coincidentally, an article written by Hardin was part of the submission.

鈥淚n some ways, my sort of teenage or early 20s dreams of editing and being involved with writing have been met through becoming a professor,鈥� she said.

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