Zach Gasior is a PhD candidate in the RPC program. Before coming to Iowa State, he received his JD from Michigan State University College of Law (2010) and MA from the University of Toledo (2015), and taught Freshman Composition and Introduction to Paralegal Studies at Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana. His first children's book "The Tale of Turtle" is currently in print and available on Amazon. In his PhD, Zach will pursue interests in pedagogy, looking at how to make the composition classroom more accessible to students, and the many forms that may take. Currently, he is working to investigate the role that cooperative conversation can have on understanding the elements needed for achieving multi-modal academic literacies. Thanks to his Miller Graduate Scholarship award, Zach is able to look more closely at development of these literacies over time, and how students are best able to acquire them early on in their academic careers.