When I drove west from the Shenandoah Valley to Manhattan, Kansas for the first time, I remember stopping to pump gas on the West Virginia Turnpike at the base of a mountain that felt so much larger and more dramatic than the misty blue ones I had left behind. Just across the road, the landscape … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Julie Hensley
For the past six years, I’ve been working on a book on Black Country Music performers and fans. I stumbled on the topic chatting with my father about his time as a session musician in Nashville in the 1970’s. (Dad — Philip Royster — taught in English and Ethnic Studies at Kansas State from 1981-1987.) … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Francesca Royster
If you would have told me in 2005 that 15+ years later I would be working at a construction data and software company, I probably would have backed away slowly and found the nearest exit. And yet, here I am! You did predict the future, and I was wrong for doubting you. I’m sorry. While … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Anita Mihelic
“Stories matter. Teaching Language Arts is important because we make sense of our world through story—both by reading the stories of others and narrating our own.” I said these words to a group of enthusiastic teachers in Brazil in 2018 where I was helping lead an educational conference with my Mizzou Academy colleagues. Mizzou Academy … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Jill Clingan
“Better done than perfect.” I don’t remember when I first heard Dr. Greg Eiselein say that. What I do know, though, is that I say it at least once a semester (usually more) to the McNair Scholars that I work with. I explain to them that a professor from English would tell that to all … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Maggie Borders
Since 2005, the English Department has hosted an alumni career panel to connect our current students with the expertise and life experiences of our alumni. On Friday November 5 (tomorrow!), we’ll host our 2021 edition. Alumni Connections was initially inspired by a project that Greg Eiselein, in his previous role as Director of Graduate Studies, … Continue reading Alumni Connections, 2016 and 2021
I was recently in yet another virtual professional development workshop, and if I am honest, I spent about 80% of my time listening in on what the presenter was saying, and the other 20% catching up on emails and putting out fires…I may be fibbing on the ratios, but you get the gist. I was … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Shaunte Montgomery
“Late Have I Taught You” Whenever I told people I wanted to study English, they would invariably reply, “So you want to be a teacher.” I would laugh—ha!—and tell them I’d never be a teacher. I wanted to be a great novelist. Apparently, they knew more than I did. After a decade of trying out … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Steven Miller
“How about we start a podcast?” In the summer of 2020, Ayanni Cooper, a member of my Ph.D. cohort at the University of Florida, asked me this question. Like many other people, the early days of the pandemic left us feeling lonely and adrift. And, since research in the field of English is often an … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Corinne Matthews
“No single computer changed the world, but computer pain has changed us all”: This week, as we wrap up a third consecutive semester experienced online more than in person, we feature a recent publication by alum Laine Nooney (MA ’06) on the embodied history of computing. As Nooney explains in “How the Personal Computer Broke … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Laine Nooney
K-State English 