Beginning in 1982, Lee Hobbs was the young man who airbrushed t-shirts, painter caps, auto plates, and converse sneakers at the “Shirt Closet” of Singing River Mall (Gautier, MS)—do you remember him?

An alumnus of numerous secondary schools: Live Oak Academy (Kreole, MS: 1974-81), Lyman Ward Military Academy (Camp Hill, AL: 1981-82), Marion Military Institute (Marion, AL: 1982-83), and Our Lady of Victory Catholic School (Pascagoula, MS: 1983), Lee graduated from Moss Point High School (Moss Point, MS: 1983-86) in 1986. After attending Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (Gautier, MS), he transferred to the University of South Alabama in 1993 and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Art (English minor).  Immediately afterwards, he relocated to Katowice and Krakow, Poland to teach English (ESL-EAP) and start up three airbrushing and body art businesses.  He worked abroad extensively in Western/Central Europe from 1993 -99. In 1999, he returned to the U.S., worked for awhile as a licensed dermagraphic technician in D'Iberville, MS and (for 7 months) in Las Vegas, NV. In 2003, Lee earned his Master's of Liberal Arts degree (Emphasis: Literature) from Spring Hill College (Mobile, AL) and in 2008, he received his Doctorate of Philosophy in Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

His Ph.D. dissertation focused on Turn-of-the-Millennium American Expatriate Narrative.  Dr. Hobbs, who has previously taught at the University of Silesia (Sosnowiec, Poland: 1994-95), Seton Hill University (Greensburg, PA: 2007-08), and Saint Francis University (Loretto, PA: 2007), will be relocating this summer (2008) with his spouse to Tampa, Florida where he has accepted a tenure-track teaching position with the faculty of Saint Leo University’s Department of English (Saint Leo, FL). Lee would love to hear from you!  Any old friends or fellow alumni are welcome to contact him at hpll[at]iup[dot]edu.