Hi! My name is Afton. I’m a lifelong reader and writer with a broad curiosity and a deep interest in how language shapes understanding, access, and belonging. I came to writing and editing as a way to follow questions wherever they led. From medical and institutional materials to literary criticism and poetry, I’ve always been interested in how communication works and who it works for.
Education
I hold a BA in English and a Certificate in Editing and Publishing from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and I completed my M.S. in Scientific Communication at the University of Minnesota in 2025. My academic training spans literary study, rhetoric, medical writing, editing, pedagogy, and public-facing communication.
While literature remains central to my work, my interests extend across disciplines. I’m especially drawn to spaces where language intersects with science, medicine, technology, art, and culture, and where complex ideas need to be made legible without being flattened. That interdisciplinary curiosity continues to shape both my teaching and my research.
Personality
My Myers-Briggs: INFJ, the Advocate.
Creative, insightful, principled, passionate and altruistic. Values interpersonal connections, service to others and strong communication.
My Cliffton Strengths: Input, individualization, learner, intellection, achiever.
Input: Inquisitive, an affinity for collecting and filing, whether facts or artifacts
Individualization: Keen observer of strengths and areas of opportunity, the ability to play into these observations
Learner: Motivated by learning and dynamic work environments
Intellection: Affinity for problem-solving, introspection and meta conceptualization.
Achiever: Driven by metrics and relentlessly exceeding expectations.
Access, Advocacy, and Design
Those who know me, know me as a passionate advocate for others, both in
my personal and professional lives; diversity, equity and inclusion has
always been at the forefront of everything I do. Accessibility and inclusion are not add-ons to my work; they are part of how I think about writing in the first place. My own background includes being a first-generation college student, a person with multiple disabilities, and someone who has navigated education and professional spaces without many of the usual safety nets.
I’ve worked in community-facing and advocacy-oriented roles throughout my career, including personal care work, community outreach, food security initiatives, and grassroots fundraising. Those experiences inform how I think about audience, power, and responsibility.
In practice, this means attending closely to language choice, register, structure, and design. From alt text and plain-language principles to tone and framing, I aim to create work that is clear, accessible, and attentive to the realities of the people reading it.
Afton Northrup 