In less than a decade after graduating from Ohio State with her master's degree in creative writing, Aimee Nezhukumatathil has become a highly regarded poet, visiting writer, and associate professor. For her, it is the fulfillment of a dream she envisioned while writing beside the waters of Mirror Lake.

For the past eight years, Nezhukumatathil has earned a reputation as a dedicated and inspiring member of the faculty at the State University of New York Fredonia, where she teaches creative writing and literature.

"Consensus among students is that she is a 'dynamic, supportive presence who is always available to students and who takes personal interest in their success,'" wrote SUNY Fredonia's vice president for academic affairs, Virginia Schaefer Horvath, in her nomination. Nezhukumatathil's classroom environment not only encourages students to flourish and to critique each other, it also challenges them to find their own creative voices. She is generous with her talents and her time, having served as an adviser to the university's student creative writing group for five years.

Nezhukumatathil has earned a reputation as a prolific and accomplished poet and writer. This year, she received a $25,000 poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, further recognizing her accomplishments in the field.

Her work, which is known for its lush descriptions, is inspired by Mother Nature, "the greatest poet of all," she says. She is the author of two full-length collections, At the Drive-in Volcano, winner of the 2007 Balcones Poetry Prize, and Miracle Fruit, which was the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year in Poetry and winner of the 2003 Tupelo Press Prize and the Global Filipino Award.

She has published two chapbooks: The Feathered Cape of Kechi and Fishbone. Her individual poems have been published in more than 70 literary journals, magazines, and anthologies, including Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Antioch Review, and Mid-America Review.

Several of Nezhukumatathil's poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, which she won for her 2009 poem "Love in the Orangery."

Nezhukumatathil's achievements as an educator also have been recognized. She received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity, the Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award, and the Nuala McGann Drescher Award.

Nezhukumatathil recently completed a sabbatical at the Georgia Aquarium, where she researched whale sharks for her forthcoming children's book about the mammals. She is currently working on her third manuscript of poems and a series of young-adult poems.

Even with her extensive schedule as a poet and professor, Nezhukumatathil serves the community as a visiting writer, leading a variety of creative writing programs and working with elementary and high school students. For her, it is a way of ensuring that "the love of language can be fostered in creative ways."