You know how sometimes you just need life to point at you and say "Hey! You! Yeah, you in the flogging t-shirt! Congratulations, you're headed in the Right Direction^TM ." Well, (woohaaa!) I needed that, and I just got it. It seems Humboldt has extensive teaching opportunities for graduate english students, which is exactly what I need. Let's look at this piece by piece and see why it's perfect for me...

Internships
Graduate students may intern in literature or composition classes where they work closely with experienced professors. Interns are exposed to a wide range of teaching activities and experiences.

This sounds a lot like what I'm doing now as a writing fellow. Granted, I'm sure it's taken up a notch for graduate students, but with writing fellows on my transcripts, well, it will improve my chances a bit.

Consulting in the Writing Center
Graduate students are encouraged to work in the Writing Center as volunteer writing consultants, working one-on-one with undergraduates helping them develop as readers and writers. Well-qualified volunteers may become paid Graduate Assistants.

See above. I can volunteer to get more experience... hopefully I can even do this as an undergraduate, but we'll see about that when I get there. At any rate, if I volunteer it will improve my chances of getting one of the following positions:

Teaching Freshman Composition
After completing prerequisite course work, graduate students who have prepared themselves well in internships may be considered for paid teaching positions in Freshman Composition or Introduction to Literature.

WooHaaa... paid teaching positions. This is where we hit paydirt. Granted, it probably pays next to nothing, but thats better than actual nothing, and it will give me more experience teaching. And, if I'm really lucky, there's also this little gem:

Future Faculty Preparation Program
The Future Faculty Preparation Program is a cooperative program with College of the Redwoods, a community college about twelve miles south of Humboldt State University. It is designed to prepare students for teaching in a community college. Participation in this program is not required for the M.A., but it is an excellent way to obtain teaching experience. It has proven to be especially attractive to students who plan on applying for a teaching position at a community college after they receive their degree. Because the number of placements as teaching assistants at College of the Redwoods is limited, entrance to the FFPP is competitive.

teehee.

Now all I have to do is hope I get accepted to Humboldt in the first place. They should be getting my transcripts either today or tomorrow, so hopefully by the time I get home, I'll know if I'm in or not.