Dennis Etzel, Jr (MA '06) "To Be a Kansas State University Alum (MA 2006)" By Dennis Etzel Jr To look back at the brief two years, not just out of fondness and freedom, but transformation. To be given the privilege of having a Graduate Teaching Assistantship. To realize how much I love teaching. To be … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Dennis Etzel Jr
Ashley Brown Morris (BA '09, MA '12) I began my love affair with the K-State English Department in during the fall 2005 semester as an undergraduate freshman student. I came to K-State without knowing what I wanted to major in but knowing that I had always loved my English classes. This love only grew, and, … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Brown Morris
Steven Tolson (MA '10) In 2022, I was invited to speak on an alumni panel to current K-State English students and faculty. What follows is an adapted version of that discussion. How did I end up in Kansas? My partner and I applied to Master's programs all over the country, and K-State gave us the … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Steven Tolson
Screenshot of the Comp/Rhet virtual reunion (21 April 2023) One of the benefits of not having a Ph.D. program is we’re able to focus on our M.A. students, getting to know them well as scholars and as people. The downside, of course, is that after two years, they move on to other opportunities. Many of … Continue reading Comp/Rhet Virtual Reunion
Mel Hammond (MA '14) In August 2012, I drove through the golden-yellow Flint Hills for the first time. I’d applied to K-State’s Children’s Lit program because I wasn’t sure what else to do after college. I liked kid’s books and I liked school, and the thought of getting a job gave me existential dread. It … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Mel Hammond
Lamees Al Ethari (MA '08) “The best two years of my life” seemed a bit of an over-exaggerated description, especially to the professor who was conducting my exit interview during my final days at K-State. I think that’s why he replied, something along the lines of, “I mean, I have heard good things, but the … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Lamees Al Ethari
Elizabeth (Symm) Schroll (MA '13) When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I play with words. My official title at the human-scale publishing company where I work is copy editor, but I’ve had authors refer to me as a fairy godmother, a wizard, a savant. The thing is, … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Elizabeth Schroll
Dustin Vann (BA '16, MA '20) I approached my latest job search with more calm and practicality than even I thought I could muster. Unlike previous searches, where the stakes were higher to find a job due to the end of a lease or a global pandemic, this time around, I wanted to have more … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Dustin Vann
Anita Mihelic (MA '07, right) with Edgar Mihelic (MA '21, left), December 2021 in the English Department Main Office. 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 … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Anita Mihelic
Jill Clingan (MA '03) “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 … Continue reading Alumni Spotlight: Jill Clingan
