Jordyn Manczyk, MFA, ABD

Assistant Director of Peer Mentorship and Academic Achievement

Jordyn Manczyk is a Lexington native and a UK alum. At UK, she completed all but dissertation in the Higher Education PhD program in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She also earned a BA in Creative Writing from Asbury University. Before overseeing the Success Mentor program, she was the Assistant Director of the UK 101/201 (Academic Orientation) program. Prior to joining the Transformative Learning team, she taught college-readiness courses in reading and writing as a graduate assistant, as well as creative writing fiction and poetry courses as an adjunct instructor.

Prior job that shaped her: Although Jordyn’s work at UK has been truly transformative, Jordyn also worked as a legal assistant while completing her master’s degree. She was primarily responsible for maintaining case files and communicating with clients. There, she learned a great deal about the legal system, but more importantly, her work with personal injury cases taught her that compassion should permeate all things, especially when those you serve have been through difficult and harrowing experiences. Her time as a legal assistant showed her that empathy and care are the primary values that drive her work. These values continued into her role as an instructor, and she is thankful for the rich experiences that helped her to see all her students as whole people who teach her as much—if not more—than she teaches them.

How she describes herself: Compassionate, friendly, dedicated, and creative

What she enjoys doing outside of work: Spending time with her husband, two children, and beagle, baking, crafting, photography, playing D&D with her friends, and writing poetry. 

A goal in life: To publish her collection of poems about Alzheimer’s, dementia, and caring for loved ones and their legacies.

Fun fact: She loves to learn new crafting skills!