As usual, we are proud and excited to welcome our new graduate students, who come to study English with us from across Kansas and across the world.
Name: Mizanul Bari
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Alma mater: University of Dhaka
Areas of study: Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I worked as a professional wedding photographer for four years before coming here.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Definitely The Flash—traveling around the world in a short time would be a great opportunity.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? Moving to Manhattan and meeting all these amazing people.
Name: Rachel Koontz
Hometown: Gainesville, Georgia
Alma mater: United States Military Academy
Area of study: Literature
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I lived in Italy for seven years and have traveled to 49 countries.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Either Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings because he lives a peaceful life in a fantastic magical world or Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea because it’s such an exciting exploration of the natural world!
What has been your best source of joy this summer? My son, Nolan, who was born in July.
Name: Grey Hedenkamp
Hometown: Lee’s Summit, Missouri
Alma mater: Kansas State University
Area of study: Creative Writing
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I am uncannily adept at identifying Victorian Era poetry from a variety of authors! (Blake, Wordsworth, Rossetti, etc.)
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Severian from The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. Becoming him would be to enter into an interminable hall of mirrors, wherein all the action appears to occur just on the far reaches of one’s vision. It is a nebulous place that encircles layers of history cast by the wayside, each dustier and grimier than the last, and who can say how far back the layers go?
What has been your best source of joy this summer? My careworn copy of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The funniest book I’ve read in my life bar none. Toole is a master of the contemptuous character and a constant source of inspiration for my own works. If I could write dialogue even a quarter as well as he, I would be very happy indeed.
Name: Kori Travis
Hometown: Tonkawa, Oklahoma
Alma mater: Oklahoma State University
Area of study: Literature
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: In undergrad, I wrote a thesis about trans linguistics in Oklahoma. I also minored in ASL.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? This is a little odd, but I would want to be Lady (Lucy) Audley from Lady Audley’s Secret to see what it’s like in her head.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? Spending the summer with my family and friends back home.
Name: Daniel Effah
Hometown: Bekwai-Ashanti, Ghana.
Alma mater: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Area of study: Rhetoric and Composition
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I overthink everything.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become? Santiago in The Alchemist.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? How close the Kansas weather is to Ghana’s. It has made my transition here much easier.
Name: Maria Tardiff
Hometown: Willard, Kansas
Alma Mater: Washburn University
Area of Study: Literature
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I’ve lived in the same small town my whole life, and I love it.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Anne Shirley (of Green Gables) for the joy of experiencing Prince Edward Island, and winning that one short story contest would be cool too.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? Smiling and laughing with my baby nephew and godson.
Name: Ruth Okon
Hometown: Calabar, Nigeria
Alma mater: University of Calabar
Area of study: Cultural Studies (specifically Feminist Discourses)
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I rewatch old movies a lot rather than seeing new ones.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? No one!
What has been your best source of joy this summer? The welcoming community I have met since arriving at K-State.
Name: Taylor Graves
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Alma mater: Liberty University
Area of study: Creative Writing
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I was a military brat who grew up mainly in Japan. My family and I were in Japan in 2011 when the tsunami and earthquake hit the country. Now, I am a military spouse who desperately wants to go back to the country that I called home for many years so my children can experience its beauty.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Pippi Longstocking because she is carefree, lives in the moment, and, despite her many quirks, doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. I admire her self-confidence.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? My two sons bring so much light into my life, and I really don’t know where I’d be without them.
Name: Abdullah Mustafa
Hometown: Salmiya, Kuwait
Alma mater: Kansas State University
Area of study: Creative Writing
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I love rhythm video games and have a collection of controllers only for those games.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Sabrina from The Chilling Adventures book series by Sarah Brennan, just to prove how easily avoidable all her problems could be if she had common sense.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? My cats, family, and friends.
Name: Caitlyn Crane
Hometown: Snyder, Texas
Alma mater: Texas Tech University
Area of study: Creative Writing
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I am a fraternal twin, meaning that my sister and I don’t look alike. Different eye colors, hair colors, face shape. Opposites in personality as well!
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Telemachus because I’d like to sit in his head a bit to see how he feels about everything that happened.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? My twin sister has been planning her wedding all summer, so it has been really fun to help her figure out everything. Her excitement is everything to me, and it’s making me aware that I will be crying during my maid of honor speech.
Name: Sydney Kelso
Hometown: Graham, Washington
Alma mater: University of Idaho
Area of study: Composition and Rhetoric
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I have published hunting stories in magazines like Eastman’s Hunting Journal.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? I’d like to be a background character in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series because it is my favorite series, but a lot of important characters die, so if I were a background character, I’d hopefully survive.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? I really enjoyed creating the Washington Wild Sheep Foundation’s Summer 2025 magazine, as I got to not only utilize my English degree but also programs like InDesign.
Name: Aidia Kite
Hometown: I was born in Wichita, but my dad’s an army veteran, so I don’t really feel as though I have a “hometown.”
Alma mater: Kansas State University
Area of study: Creative Writing
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: When I am interested in something, I really dig into it—researching, analyzing, interacting with as much content as I can—and come out quite knowledgeable on the strangest of things. For example, I could probably tell you weird game mechanics within the Pokémon games despite not knowing a lot about coding (the 1 in 256 glitch in the original Red and Blue games comes to mind). When ideas interest me, I want to explore every aspect of them
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? If we are considering only the classic definition of literature, I am left scratching my head for an answer—because most of my favorite characters either die or have lives I most certainly don’t want to live. But if we were to broaden that idea a little, then I would say either Professor Oak from Pokémon (as he gets to just research the creatures all day and be eccentric to his heart’s content) or C-3PO (because I think I may relate to him a little too well—plus who doesn’t want R2-D2 as a companion?).
What has been your best source of joy this summer? The knowledge that I would be going back to school in August, alongside moving into an apartment with just my girlfriend, me, and our cats.
Name: Aidan James (AJ) Ellis
Hometown: Reading, Vermont
Alma mater: St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Area of study: Creative Writing
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I compose hiphop instrumentals and dabble as a lyricist. When I’m not working on my short stories or novels, it’s a fun way to express myself and touch on some of the subject matter I wouldn’t put into prose.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Either Edmond Dantés from The Count of Monte Cristo or Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. I like how Gandalf (unlike Dumbledore) is stoic and dignified and isn’t trying to flex his magic powers all the time.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? I became an uncle!
Name: Seun Sobola
Hometown: Abeokuta (a rock refuge during the Yoruba civil wars and the slave trade)
Alma mater: Olabisi Onabanjo University
Area of study: Cultural Studies
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I like writings that are not clear.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Godot in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Although the does not appear in the play, the illusion he creates in the minds of Vladimir and Estragon is a longing that ties infinite hope to a world of terror.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? God!
Name: Taylor Axtell
Hometown: Montezuma, Kansas
Alma mater: Fort Hays State University
Area of study: Literature
Please tell us something interesting/unique about you: I love to crochet and sew! I have a never-ending list (and closet) full of projects.
If you could transform briefly into a literary character, who would you want to become and why? Jim Smiley from Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” I’ve always found him incredibly endearing.
What has been your best source of joy this summer? Spending time with my friends and family. They are all so important to me.
K-State English 