Eastern Wyoming College English instructor John Nesbitt recently attended the 49^th Annual Orland Alumni Association recognition dinner and meeting held in Orland, CA. Nesbitt was honored as the 2018 Alumnus of the Year by the Association.

After graduating from Orland High School in 1966, he attended Chico State College; he went from there to UCLA, where he received his B.A. in 1971. After that he went to UC Davis, where he earned an M.A. in 1974 and a Ph.D. in 1980. For these degrees, all in English, he studied British and American literature, eventually specializing in literature of the American West and writing his doctoral dissertation on the classic western novel. During that time he had part-time and limited-term teaching positions at Solano College, Yuba College, Sacramento State University, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis.

“I was overwhelmed by this award. I never expected it,” said Nesbitt. “The most significant thing about this award to me is that it’s about education. Education has been the most important force in my life. I’ve always valued my public school education and have always gone back for events and reunions.”

Nesbitt has been a full-time faculty member at EWC since 1981, teaching courses in basic writing, composition, introduction to literature, the short story, Western American literature, and creative writing. In 1988 he took a semester sabbatical to study Spanish at the University of Wyoming. In 1994 he went to Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, where he earned a diploma in Spanish philology from the Instituto de Filologia. He has had a number of his own works published since 1978 and has won many awards for his work.