Class of 2022

Josie Campos

Concentration: Pedagogy

Thesis: "The Social Construction of Language: Identity, Reality, and Trauma in American Composition Courses"

Update: Josie is a Subject Matter Field Consultant at the Institute on Digital Health and Innovation at Florida State University.

Rachel Hauch

Concentration: Pedagogy/TESOL

Practicum: Summer Language Institute at LCC International University, Lithuania

Update: Rachel was the Outstanding M.A. Graduate for 2022!

Jennifer Johnson

Concentration: Writing

Capstone: Creative Writing Portfolio

Karmann Ludwig

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "'What If We're on the Wrong Side?': Police Brutality, Protest, and Player Culpability in Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human"

Update: Karmann is a Digital Content Producer at WTOL 11, a CBS affiliate in Toledo, Ohio. Her play, The Forecast, debuted as a staged reading at Bowling Gr...

Class of 2021

Jennie Baker

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Human As We All Are: Posthuman Subjectivity in The Paper Menagerie and The Three-Body Problem"

Update: Jennie is pursuing a PhD in English at the University of Washington.

Jacob Bonetti

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Engaging Secondary Students: The Beneficial Intersection of Young Adult and Classic Literature"

Autumn Cejer

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "The Gender Epidemic: Intersecting Disease, Gender, and Sexuality in a Graphic Novel"

Update: Autumn recently worked as an adjunct instructor in English at the University of Pittsburgh and is now pursuing a PhD in literature at Kent State University.

Mallory Jones

Concentration: Literature and Pedagogy 

Capstone: Portfolio

Update: Mallory is a Youth Services & Collection Development Assistant at Hamilton East Public Library in Indiana and is working on a master's degree in Library and Information Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indiana.

David Robinson

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Chameleon Boy: An Autobiographical Literary Critique of Biracial Subjects in a Racialized Society"

Update: David was the Outstanding English M.A. Graduate in 2021 and will begin PhD studies in English at Howard University in 2024.

Tiffany Stachnik

Concentration: Pedagogy with TESOL Certificate

Capstone: Portfolio of critical and pedagogical projects

Update: Tiffany is an Assessment Specialist at Michigan Language Assessment, a non-profit EFL/ESL testing organization jointly owned by UM and Cambridge.

Class of 2020

Kawther Abbas

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "The Catastrophic Open Wound: The Application of Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Linda Hogan's Solar Storms and Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach"

Update: Kawther is a Writing Instructor at Baghdad Business School, where she helps to empower Iraqi youth by addressing employment and skills gap...

Ruth Abbott

Concentration: Pedagogy

Capstone: "Gaming Without a System: A Practicum Seeks More"

Kristen Codey

Concentration: Writing

Capstone: "Where is My Mind? Hijacked Thoughts of a Lost Girl"

Maggie Finch

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "Touching the Center that Burns: An Exorcism"

Miranda Findlay

Concentration: Pedagogy/Literature

Thesis: "Queering the Curriculum: Establishing Equity for LGBTQIA Students and Educators in Michigan"

Update: Miranda is pursuing a Ph.D. in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Oregon State Univ. She is also the Managing Editor of Feminist Formations.

Maddie Gombis

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "Almost Trued: An Urban Exploration"

Update: Maddie is an instructional designer, accessibility coordinator, and course instructor for Mary Lou Fulton Teacher's College at Arizona State University. She is also earning a Master's of Education in Learning Design and Technology.

Jessica Halter

Concentration: Writing

Capstone: Porfolio Project

Anissa Johnson

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "T.Hanks for Everything"

Rebecca Keyes

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "Crossroads"

Ryne Menhennick

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Survivor's Guilt and the Ethics of Remembering in Isaac Bashevis Singer's The Slave and Cynthia Ozick's 'The Shawl'"

Update: Ryne is a Senior Editor at Ellis Porter, PLC, working in immigration law. In 2023 he will complete his goal of visiting all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states!

Joe Rowles

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "Snow Ghost"

Class of 2019

Nicole Garabelli

Concentration: Pedagogy and Literature

Capstone: TESOL Internship

Kendra Klein

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "'Devoted to Influenza': An Analysis of English and Nigerian Archival and Literary Depictions of the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic"

Update: Kendra earned a Graduate Certificate in High Impact On-Demand Learning Solutions at Colorado State University and is the LMS Support Technician at the University of Northern Colorado. 

Shannon Konoske

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "Parts Tethered Elsewhere"

Kari Lutes

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "From River Road Plantations to The Underground Railroad: Bringing the True Story of American Slavery to the Present Racial Divide"

Kayleigh Rodgerson

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "Secret Wars"

Indigo Villanueva

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "In Color"

Class of 2018

Ollie Bartlett

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "I Was Thinking Something in the Car, But Now I Forgot"

Jacob Hall

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "The Wrong Side of Yesterday"

Tianli Kilpatrick

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "The Immortal Jellyfish and Other Things That Don't Know About Love"

Caytie Maurer

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Healing Through Humility: An Examination of Augustine's Confessions"

Taylor McAllister

Concentration: Pedagogy and Literature

Capstone: TESOL Internship

Elizabeth Michael

Concentration: Writing

Capstone: TESOL Internship

Bill Nyfeler

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Presume Not That I am the Thing I Was: Altering Perceptions of the Disabled via the Staging of Disability in Early Modern England"

Anne Okonowski

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "Lonely This Side of Nowhere"

Kim Rosewall

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Close Reading and Critical Theory"

Update: Kim is pursuing a PhD in Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture at Michigan Technological University.

Adam Uhrig

Concentration: Literature and Pedagogy

Thesis: "Exploring Empathy in Medical Narratives"

Class of 2017

Kait Anderson

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: "Claiming Primordial Landscapes: Science and Imperialism in Turn-of-the-Century Science Fiction Novels"

Greg Beamish

Concentration: Pedagogy

Thesis: "Authorship in Cinema: Observations on Film Pedagogy and Critique of Polish National Cinema"

Hayli Cox

Concentration: Writing and Literature

Thesis: "The Saleing Subculture"

Update: Hayli is a PhD candidate in Creative Writing and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Sarah David

Concentration: Writing and Pedagogy

Thesis: "Walking in Waves"

Reannon Dykehouse

Concentration: Writing and Literature

Thesis: "Gaming For Meaning: Video Games and Evolving Reader Response"

Amy Hinrichs

Concentration: Writing

Thesis: "A Walk Through Trauma"

Courtney Mauck

Concentration: Pedagogy and Writing

Thesis: "In Post Memoriam: An Exploration of Family and Grieving"

Update: Courtney earned a PhD in Rhetoric & Composition, and a certificate in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, from Ohio U. in 2022 and is an Assistant Professor of English and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum at Hiram College. 

Hali Tavalsky

Concentration: Pedagogy and Writing

Thesis: "Examining How Novices, Apprenticing Experts, and Disciplinary Experts Approach Reading Academic Texts"

Class of 2016

Ashely Adams

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "The Trash Birder's Guide"

Davi Baldussi Alves

Concentration: Writing and Pedagogy

Capstone: TESOL Internship

Rachael Belmore

Concentration: Literature and Pedagogy

Capstone: Portfolio Project

 

Serenity Dougherty

Concentration: Writing and Pedagogy

Thesis: "Check the Box Marked Other: Exploring Gender in Family Life"

Update: Serenity earned an MFA in Fiction from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2020, with certificates in women and gender studies and university teaching. She is currently working on a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.&nbsp...

Jessica Duncan

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "That Hateful Prairie Wind: Violence and Ecophobia in Twentieth Century American Gothic"

James Dyer

Concentration: Pedagogy and Writing

Capstone: TESOL Internship

Molly Fox

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "Dredge"

Johanna Hardy

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "Remain"

Jill Harris

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Capstone: "Writing Center Practicum: Annual Report"

Sara Johnston

Concentration: Literature and Pedagogy

Capstone: Portfolio Project

Benjamin Kinney

Concentration: Literature and Writing

Thesis: "The Inversion Layer: Essays"

John LaPine

Concentration: Pedagogy and Writing

Thesis: "An Unstable Container"

Update: John worked as a full-time instructor at Butte College in California for three years and is now an MFA candidate at the University of Minnesota. He has interned at Graywolf Press and will soon teach poetry classes for the Loft, a non-profit group in Minneapolis.

Kelsey Lueptow

Concentration: Writing and Pedagogy

Thesis: "Expatriates of 'Good' Motherhood: Bearing Witness, Guilt, and Burdens of Transgressive Motherhood"

Update: Kelsey is the Corporate Relations Specialist for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 

Alex Nye

Concentration: Writing

Capstone: Portfolio Project

 

Ben Van Howe

Concentration: Pedagogy

Capstone: TESOL Internship

Class of 2014

Lucy Blair

Concentration: Writing

Capstone: Portfolio 

Update: Lucy is Communications Director for Calhoun County Government. 

Class of 2013

Tyler Dettloff

Concentration: Literature and Pedagogy

Thesis: "Return and Recovery: The Influence of Place on Blues Murder Ballads and Laguna Ceremony Cycles"

Update: Tyler is an Assistant Professor at Lake Superior State University, teaching composition and Native American literature. His chapbook, Belly-Up Rosehip, appeared in 2019, and his album, Dynamite Honey, was released in 2020.

Rebecca Flitton

Concentration: Literature and Pedagogy

Thesis: "Dog-faced Deflores: Disability in Early Modern Literature"

Update: Rebecca is a Contingent Instructor of English at Northern Michigan University and co-chair of the Two Books Two Communities Committee. She is also a freelance writer and an avid cross-stitcher.

Lucy Johnson

Concentration: Pedagogy

Thesis: "Bridging the Gap: Transcending Multimodal Pedagogies Used in Composition Courses to Teach Literature"

Update: Lucy earned a PhD in Rhetoric & Composition from Washington State U. and was a professor of Digital Literacies at the U. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before returning to NMU as Global Campus Operations Coordinator.

Ash Goedker

Concentration: Literature

Thesis: Divergent Patterns: Re-written Maps, Myths, and Mr(s) in Sarah Kemble Knight and Elizabeth House Trist's Travel Narratives"

Update: Ash earned an MFA in poetry at the University of Idaho and teaches at Nicholls State University in Louisiana. She is an assistant poetry editor at Narrative and is widely published...

Class of 2011

Jodi Lampi

Concentration: Pedagogy

Update: Jodi is the first person in the world to hold a Ph.D. in Developmental Education with a focus on literacy. She earned that degree from Texas State U. in 2014 and is now an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Northern Illinois U.

Jeff Koval

Update: Jeff is an Audiovisual Technology Coordinator at NMU, where he supports AV event services, videoconferencing and streaming, webinars, and digital signage. 

Class of 1999

Steve Thayer

Concentration: Writing and Pedagogy

Update: Steve worked in health care communication for several years, then taught full-time for ten years at Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin. Since his retirement from full-time work, he has been teaching as an adjunct instructor at Tarleton State University in Texas. 

If you are interested in NMU's Masters program, visit our English MA Page or contact english@nmu.edu for further details. If you are an English MA alum and would like to share an update, please email english@nmu.edu.