Sasha Turtova comes to ORU after years of teaching and training students in her home country of Bulgaria. She has served both as a teacher and a translator within Eastern, Western Euopean and North American contexts. Sasha Turtova became a believer as a child, in the days of communist totalitarian oppression in her native Bulgaria. Her background instilled in her the desire for excellence in learning, freedom and discernment of the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. Having worked with Bulgarian and European leadership on developing post-communist young leaders, Sasha fully embraces ORU's vision of "Developing whole leaders for the whole world."
At Oral Roberts University, Sasha Turtova has worked as an instructional designer in online and residential classes. She teaches composition writing and supports students in their academic success at the University, with special emphasis for learners from other language backgrounds. Her instructional strategies focus on the individual learner and enhance learning through interactive activities, formative assessments, face-to-face classroom and virtual discussions, as well as online learning.
She has a B.A. in Bible and Theology, with a minor in Missions from the Continental Theological Seminary, St. Pieters-Leeuw, Brussels, Belgium; M.Ed. in TESOL from Regent University, Virginia Beach; and an MBA with emphasis in accounting, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD degree in Applied Linguistics at Mary Immaculate College at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Her postgraduate research explores genre analysis in English academic writing and the linguistic features that characterize academic writing, seeking to bring the role of English for Academic Purposes to the forefront of the first-year writing composition courses; thereby, helping both students and teachers bridge the language and writing gaps through innovative teaching methodology.