Dr. Kristyn Drew Woytkewicz

Spring 2025 Winner

Kristyn’s teaching philosophy centers on cultivating a classroom where enjoyment, agency, and community drive student learning. She begins each course with the goal of helping students find a text they truly enjoy, believing that enjoying learning fosters deeper engagement and academic growth. Her classroom is designed as a safe, inclusive space where students from all backgrounds feel empowered to participate, challenge themselves, and grow as confident scholars. By building a community of learners, she ensures that enjoyment and rigor reinforce one another.

To make literature relevant to students’ lives and career goals, Kristyn integrates interdisciplinarity and student choice into her curriculum. She encourages students to explore topics connected to their majors and personal interests, such as environmental concerns or social justice issues. Her assignments, like the socio-environmental essay in her British literature course, invite students to connect course texts to contemporary challenges and their own lived experiences. This approach honors the diversity of her students and affirms their educational agency, making literary study both accessible and meaningful.

Kristyn also emphasizes collaborative learning and intellectual openness. She reminds students that literary scholars often disagree, creating space for diverse perspectives and critical dialogue. Through scaffolded assignments like peer-led discussion boards and student-chosen essay topics, she fosters scholarly confidence and curiosity. Her students often choose to engage with complex texts like Paradise Lost, demonstrating their growth and enthusiasm. Ultimately, Kristyn’s philosophy shows that when students feel safe, valued, and empowered, they not only become better scholars—they come to love learning itself.

Kristyn graduated from Baylor in 2025 and is currently working as a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in collaboration with the Baylor Graduate School and the English department for the 2025-26 academic year.

What Students Say

It came as no surprise that Professor Woytkewicz once again fostered an engaging and exciting learning environment, making class both enjoyable and valuable. Her guidance in class made digesting and analyzing texts like The Tempest and Paradise Lost far more attainable than I had anticipated. Her evident enthusiasm and respect for each text and author resonated with each student, fostering an environment where conversation came easily.