NATCHEZ — Deren Konecky of Natchez has been hired as an English instructor at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.

Previously, Konecky was an English instructor at Alcorn State University and at the high school associated with Shanghai Teachers University in China.

She earned her master’s degree in secondary education at Alcorn State University, and her bachelor’s degree in English at Shanghai Teachers University.

Konecky enjoys traveling, reading, gardening and quilting.

“I traveled to the western part of the United States and took photos at Yellowstone National Park, Lake Powell and Los Angeles,” she said.

She was a writing coordinator at Alcorn and a Chinese teacher for Alcorn’s Summer Language Institute.

“I enjoy teaching, helping others, and learning new things. Recently, I started learning the Russian language,” Konecky said.

She is married to Larry Konecky, chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at Alcorn State University. They have one daughter, Diane, who is studying architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.