fsu creative writing faculty

Florida State University

FSU | Writing Resources

Writing Resources

The English Department

• Reading-Writing Center

The Writing Center is closed during finals week and for summer A. We will reopen for summer B on Monday, June 24. Thank you for a great year and congratulations to all the graduates!

The Writing Center |   We work best when we work with others.

The Florida State University Reading-Writing Center (RWC) is an inclusive resource for FSU students of all majors, programs, and backgrounds. Whether you are working on a paper or larger writing project, the RWC-DS can assist you during any stage of your work process.

In the RWC, our consultants act as practice audiences for ideas and projects. Here are some of the ways we can work with you:  

• You are working on a research essay that calls for using scholarly articles and synthesizing sources.
• You are writing a personal statement for different graduate programs.
• You are writing a piece of fiction, creative nonfiction, and/or poetry and would like feedback.
• You are putting together a conference article or research presentation.
• You are revising a thesis or dissertation section.

Whether in person or online, we're committed to providing sessions that help you to express your ideas in academics and beyond. 

Schedule a Meeting

The Writing Center is open for in-person and Zoom meetings.  If you have not used the writing center before, learn how to make an appointment .

631 University Way

Located in the English department on the second floor (room 222) , our main writing center holds sessions Monday through Friday.

Please note: the Williams building is  NOT  the William-Johnston building! This location is on the east side of campus near Westcott Fountain between Dodd Hall and Diffenbaugh Building. 

143 Honors Way

The RWC has a satellite location in the Johnston (William-Johnston) building on the ground floor platform area Monday through Friday.

The Johnston location is in the center of campus next to Landis Green and the Honors College. Look for the large writing center sign across from the main staircase in the lobby.

116 Honors Way

Looking for later times? The RWC is in Strozier library Monday through Thursday from 5-8pm. We are located on the first floor near the circulation desk.

Look for the writing center signs on the small kidney bean tables, in-between the computers and lounge area. Can't find us? Visit the circulation desk for assistance.

Make Your Appointment Here

You can view a map of our campus locations here .

Hours of Operation

Spring 2024 (jan. 16 - april 26).

We offer in-person and Zoom appointments across all locations. Please note our operating hours are in Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Writing Center @ Williams (English Building, Room 222)

Writing Center @ Johnston (Ground Floor Platform Area)

Writing Center @ Strozier (Near Circulation)

To make an appointment or to see our availability, go to  fsu.mywconline.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Reading-Writing Center (RWC)? 

The Reading-Writing Center is a writing resource for FSU students of all majors, programs, and backgrounds. In the RWC, consultants act as practice audiences for ideas and writing projects. 

What projects can I work on at the RWC?

The RWC welcomes all writing projects. We work with students on writing such as critical essays, research papers, theses and dissertation drafts, creative writing, and professional job documents. When you schedule a meeting, our consultants will discuss your writing goals and areas of focus (brainstorming, organization, formatting, etc.) with you. 

Who can I work with and how can they help me?

Our consultants are undergraduate and graduate students. Read their bios and learn more about their specialty areas: https://wr.english.fsu.edu/Reading-Writing-Center/Meet-the-Staff  

Whether the session is in-person or online, our consultants can work with students on any stage of the writing process from brainstorming to revising. They can work with you as you develop ideas or revise aspects of your writing, but please note that consultants cannot line edit for students. Our goal is to work with students and offer strategies or approaches for their writing projects. 

What should I bring to my appointment?

Please bring a laptop or have two paper copies of your writing ready at the start of the consultation. If you are working on a draft or have written ideas, you can upload the file(s) to your appointment form. 

How do I make an appointment? 

If you haven't used our service before, register for an account here .

Log in at fsu.mywconline.com , select a schedule, and make an appointment by selecting an available time. You will receive an email confirmation indicating your appointment has been made. You can log back into the system at any time to change or cancel your appointment.

What if I need to cancel my appointment? 

If you can’t attend your in-person or Zoom meeting, please cancel your appointment at https://fsu.mywconline.com . 

There is no penalty for a cancellation. However, if you miss your meeting and don't cancel, we will mark you as a no-show. After three no-shows, your account will automatically be deactivated until you contact the RWC Director ( [email protected] ). 

Will the RWC proofread or edit my work? 

The RWC will not proofread or line edit for students. Instead, a consultant will work with you to learn skills and strategies that will help you proofread and edit more effectively. 

If you are a graduate student who needs assistance with Electronic Thesis & Dissertation (ETD) formatting, please consult the Graduate School’s formatting guidelines.

Do I need to bring a draft to my session? 

No. You are not required to bring any writing to the RWC. Consultants can assist you at any stage of the writing process including the early idea stages. Simply make an appointment and note brainstorming as one of your goals in the form. 

What is the Digital Studio (DS)? 

The Digital Studio is a learning facility for digital and multimedia projects. Consultants in the DS can help students with digital projects such as websites, video editing, or layout design.

Digital Studio computers all have access to the Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere). For more information, visit: https://wr.english.fsu.edu/digital-studio-home . 

I am an undergraduate. How can I get more involved in the Reading-Writing Center and Digital Studio? Do I need to be an English major? 

The RWC hires undergraduate interns from any major who have taken ENC 3493: Peer Tutoring in the Reading-Writing Center and Digital Studio. This prerequisite course explores how learners approach writing and why these approaches are highly individualized. ENC 3493 is an experiential learning course that includes observation and co-consulting with current RWC consultants.  

Stay in Touch

[email protected]  |  @fsurwc         .

Florida State University

FSU | Arts and Sciences

Arts and Sciences

Alumnus of creative writing program wins 2013 pulitzer prize in fiction.

Florida State University’s Department of English is widely recognized as one of the best in the nation. That golden reputation was burnished recently when an alumnus of the department’s creative writing program won one of the most coveted of all literature prizes.

“My time at FSU was very important and formative for me — I was lucky to have an amazing set of teachers and peers, and the support to get a great deal of work done,” Johnson said.

Adam Johnson, who earned a doctorate in creative writing from Florida State’s Department of English in 2001, learned on April 15 that he is the winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel “The Orphan Master’s Son.”

Johnson is now an associate professor of English with an emphasis in creative writing at Stanford University. His novel, published in 2012 by Random House, deals with intertwined themes of propaganda, identity and state power in North Korea. Johnson provides a “riveting portrait of a world rife with hunger, corruption and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love,” according to the publisher.

In one of many glowing reviews of the novel, The Washington Post stated that “Adam Johnson has taken the papier-mâché creation that is North Korea and turned it into a real and riveting place that readers will find unforgettable.”

“We are all incredibly proud of Adam for both the artistic achievement of ‘The Orphan Master’s Son’ and for the recognition that this novel has earned,” said Florida State English Professor James Kimbrell, director of the university’s creative writing program. “That it has now garnered a Pulitzer Prize brings us great satisfaction and, no doubt, will inspire FSU creative writing students for generations to come.”

For his part, Johnson said he remembered his time at Florida State, and in Tallahassee, fondly.

“My time at FSU was very important and formative for me — I was lucky to have an amazing set of teachers and peers, and the support to get a great deal of work done,” he said. “I truly found my voice in Tallahassee, and I really do treasure those years: readings at The Warehouse, gathering for workshops, thinking about stories as I rode my bike down the St. Marks Trail.

“I miss you, FSU!”

Florida State English Professor Emeritus Janet Burroway, who served as Johnson’s dissertation director, praised him as “truly talented.” 

“He arrived at FSU with everything he needed: voice, style, command and a prodigious imagination — the Miracle-Gro of imaginations,” said Burroway, who was nominated in 1970 for a Pulitzer Prize for her novel “The Buzzards.” “‘Teaching’ him was a matter of asking a few questions and identifying favorite phrases. The only advice I ever gave him, really, was at his dissertation orals when I said, ‘There is no way you can fall short. The only danger is over the top.’”

Robert Olen Butler, Florida State’s Francis Eppes Professor of English, taught Johnson at McNeese State University in Louisiana before joining the faculty at Florida State.

“In the three years I taught Adam in Louisiana, I was particularly struck by his ravenous engagement with life experience,” said Butler, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1993 for a collection of short stories, “A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.” “As impressed as I was by his emerging talent in the workshop, it was his avid exploration of everything from cockfighting to zydeco music that spoke to me of his nascent genius.”

The Joseph Pulitzer Medal

FSU’s creative writing program, located within the College of Arts and Sciences , has long been recognized as one of the nation’s best, especially in its graduate programs. In 2007, the program was ranked in the top five doctoral programs in the country by The Atlantic magazine, which also ranked it in the top 10 all around for graduate creative-writing programs.

More recently, FSU’s creative writing program fared well in the 2012 Poets & Writers  survey of doctoral programs in creative writing, ranking No. 2 in the nation overall and No. 1 for “Creative Writing Job Placement Rate.”

“We take a great deal of pride in these rankings, especially in a less-than-stellar hiring climate,” Kimbrell said. “This is what happens when you mix exceedingly talented students with faculty who are committed to both the artistic growth of these students and their professional development. You don't just graduate from Florida State and find yourself on your own; we stick with our students for the long haul, and that has made all the difference.”

College of Arts and Sciences

110 Longmire Bldg. P.O. Box 3061280 Tallahassee, FL 32306-1280 (850) 644-1081

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Home / Multimedia / Video Stories / Inside Creative Writing: Episode 1

Inside Creative Writing: Episode 1

Watch a Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer create a short story in real time, from first inspiration through all the bad sentences and wrong turns to final, polished story, commenting on his process as he works.

For further elaboration on Professor Butler’s creative process, see his book “From Where You Dream.”

Robert Olen Butler, who teaches creative writing at Florida State University, recorded this 17-part series in the fall of 2001. For more on the project, visit www.fsu.edu/butler For more on Professor Butler: www.robertolenbutler.com.

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Creative Writing

Published: June 14, 2018 | 2:17 pm

Florida State University

This is your Donation message .

ACADEMIC MAP (Effective Summer 2024 and after) *Please Note: Face-to-face/in-person instruction of this program is available ONLY at the main campus in Tallahassee, FL. This program is NOT available via Online/Distance Learning.* This map is a term-by-term sample course schedule. The milestones listed to the right of each term are designed to keep you on course to graduate in four years. The Sample Schedule serves as a general guideline to help you build a full schedule each term. The General Education and Elective courses must be selected to satisfy all area and diversity requirements unless your program meets these requirements with major courses. Milestones are courses and special requirements necessary for timely progress to complete a major. Missing milestones will result in one of two types of map registration stops. The first level (Degree Map Off-track) is placed following grade posting if the student has missed a milestone (course and/or GPA) for the first time in the major. If a student is in non-compliance with milestones for two (2) consecutive semesters (excluding summers), a Major Change Required stop is placed on the student's registration. A student may major in English with a concentration in Literature, Media, and Culture; Creative Writing; or Editing, Writing, and Media. This MAP is not intended to substitute for guidance from a departmental advisor.

Mapping Coordinator: Shellie Camp Email: [email protected]

Sample Schedule and Required Milestones by Term

Employment Information Representative Job Titles Related to this Major: Writer, Press Relations, Teacher, Critic, Personnel Officer, Archivist, Lawyer, Editor/Editorial Assistant, Researcher, Investigator, Administrative Officer, Reporter, Technical Writer, Management Trainee, Public Relations Specialist, Speech Writer, Legislative Assistant, Trainee, Information Specialist Representative Employers: Local School Boards; Universities, Colleges, Junior Colleges; Businesses; Publishers of Magazines, Newspapers, Books. An English major can qualify for a variety of positions in Education, State and Federal Government, and private industry and business. English majors are attractive to employers because of their classroom training in analysis, research, and interpretation, and because they are expected to be able to communicate effectively on paper or in public International Opportunities: International study is available for all students and may include opportunities for internships or taking course work towards various majors and minors. International study may have an impact on the MAP; therefore, it is important to consult with the academic advisor before participating. Interested students can find information about international study, research, internships, and service opportunities at: global.fsu.edu/undergraduate-students/going-abroad. This Map is not a contract, either expressed or implied, between the University and the student, but represents a flexible program of the current curriculum which may be altered from time to time to carry out the academic objectives of the University. The University specifically reserves the right to change, delete or add to any Map at any time within the student’s period of study at the University.

Florida State University

FSU | Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship

Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship

Creative arts entrepreneurship, now accepting applicaitons for fall 2024.

Apply today at admissions.fsu.edu/gradapp

Admissions | Curriculum

The Jim Moran College’s interdisciplinary Master of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) with a major in Creative Arts Entrepreneurship will offer students an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills that complement their specific area of professional practice. This part-time online program is designed for those who already possess professional experience and a solid foundation in the disciplines of motion picture arts, music, visual & performing arts, and/or creative writing. For more information, contact  [email protected] .

Admission Requirements 

The gre requirement is being waived until fall 2026 admissions..

Admission to graduate study at Florida State University is a two-fold evaluation process. The Office of Admissions determines eligibility for admission to the University, and the academic department determines admissibility to the degree program. Final admission to the University is subject to approval by the Office of Admissions. The minimum university graduate admission requirement is all students must hold a bachelor's or graduate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution. We admit students to our main-campus graduate program for fall semester only . Admissions decisions will be sent via email to the email address included in your application.  Deadline: July 1. 

Application Process

• Current Resume or C.V.
• a.) Describe your post-degree plans. How will this degree help you achieve these goals? How does your past education and professional experience support your career objectives?
• b.) Describe your most significant accomplishment to date.
• Two (2) letters of recommendation - at least one academic reference letter is required (recommendation letters are submitted electronically through the online application)
• a.) Introduce yourself by telling us your name, where you are from, and a bit about your background. (Not to exceed 30 seconds)
• b.) Talk to us about why studying entrepreneurship – specifically in the fields of the arts industries – is important to you and what your goals are in relation to developing your skills within the degree program. (Not to exceed 120 seconds)
• c.) Finish up by telling us about one well-known artist-entrepreneur, company, non-profit, product, or service that you admire and why. (Not to exceed 30 seconds)
• a.) Entrepreneurial Portfolio – Websites, investor decks, executive summaries, video presentations, commercials, or other artifacts that clearly demonstrate the value proposition and general business model of a start-up company or project that demonstrates ability and skills within the entrepreneurship and start-up industries (these examples do not need to be arts-related). Limited to 5 projects total page length not to exceed 15 pages. Please be clear about your specific contributions to each project.
• b.) Writing Samples (Creative Writing, Film) – a writing sample composed of one of the following: a short play or screenplay, the first 15 pages of a full-length play or feature-length screenplay, a narrative short story, a feature article, or poem that exemplifies your ability to engage readers. Up to 15 pages.
• c.) Film Reel (Film) – Film, video, animation, documentary, or experimental work. Submissions must not exceed 15 minutes in length and can consist of reels, short films, and/or clips from feature films. You must be part of the original creation of the work. Please be clear about your specific contributions for each project.
• d.) Audition Reel (Music, Theatre, Dance) – Video or audio documentation of live performance or studio recordings. Submissions must not exceed 15 minutes in length and can consist of reels, audio files, film clips, plays, dance performances, or experimental performances. You must be part of the original creation of the work. Please be clear about your specific contributions for each project.
• e.) Artistic Portfolio (Art/Design) – Drawings, paintings, sculpture, costume, photography, or set design that illustrates your creative vision, visual storytelling, and style. Limited to 10 images total.

Pay a non-refundable application fee of $30. Applications will not be reviewed until the fee has been paid

• Submit a completed Residency Affidavit. All applicants must submit this form, which is completed online through the application portal
• Unofficial or student copies are acceptable to evaluate applications, but official transcripts directly from the institutions are required for formal admission to Florida State University
• Current or recently graduated FSU students are not required to submit official transcripts, unless you have attended other institutions after graduating from FSU
• GRE requirements have been waived until Fall 2026 admissions
• International applicants: TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for students who did not earn an undergraduate degree from an English-speaking country

Program Requirements

The MSE degree, with a major in Creative Arts Entrepreneurship, requires a total of 30-33 credit hours:

Core Curriculum

The current core curriculum (9 credit hours) required to be taken by all MSE students includes the following:

• Accounting and Finance for Entrepreneurs (3 hrs)
• Strategy Formulation (3 hrs)
• Foundations in Entrepreneurship and Leadership (3 hrs)

Major Curriculum

All MSE Creative Arts Entrepreneurship students are required to take the following major curriculum (15 credit hours). These courses are offered in collaboration with the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, the College of Music, the College of Fine Arts, and the College of Motion Picture Arts.

• Entrepreneurship as an Art-Form(3 hrs)
• History of Innovation, Technology, and Societal Dynamics in the Arts(3 hrs)
• Storytelling and Cross-Discipline Collaboration (3 hrs)
• Modern Marketing of the Arts (3 hrs)
• Arts & Entertainment Law (3 hrs)

Specialization, Incubation, and Acceleration (6-9 credit hours)

• Venture Colloquium (3 hrs)
• Applied Venture - Incubation & Acceleration (3-6 hrs)

Request Info

Apply Today!

Phone: 850-644-7158 Dept. Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Email: [email protected]

Mailing Addresses: Campus: Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, 644 West Call Street, P.O. Box 3061115, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1115 Downtown: Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, 111 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301-1110

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Faculty & Academic Advisors

Please review our Advisors and Schedules page for a list of office hours. Office hours for Spring 2024 begin on Monday January 29th, 2024. For winter advising, please reach out to [email protected] and you will be directed to the available advisor.

Lecturer Faculty

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: (415) 338-1891

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2024 Faculty and Student Awards

May 15, 2024 English

Congratulations to English faculty and students on their awards and accomplishments!

Faculty awards & fellowships.

Long Faculty Fellowship: Gerard Passannante

Professor Gerard Passannante has been selected as the AY24-25 Long Faculty Fellow. Passannante will use the time afforded by the Long Faculty Fellowship to develop a course that puts imagined museums into dialogue with real institutions, as students consider the museum as a critical performance space, a site of political and social resistance, and a site of cultural imperialism and theft. The class centers experiential learning, which will entail visits to area collections and archives, and conversations with the people who work there, including curators and directors at the Phillips collection, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The course will also introduce students to guests like the author Chloe Aridjis and filmmaker Jem Cohen.

Faculty Service Award: Karen Nelson

Director of the Center for Literary and Comparative Studies Karen Nelson received the Faculty Service Award. The Faculty Service Award seeks to recognize a member of the Department of English faculty who is particularly dedicated to service to the department, leadership, and support of graduate students.

"Karen Nelson is a wonderful member of the our literary community who is tirelessly dedicated to service. She goes above and beyond in her mentorship of graduate students, organizing of departmental events and community, and more. She is instrumental in supporting faculty of all stages in learning about funding and other opportunities."

"Her devotion to the students of the department alongside her willingness to be honest about the state of our world and the attentive detail she pays to everyone and everything makes her deserving of this award year after year."

Kandice Chuh Mentorship Award: David Simon

Professor David Simon received the Kandice Chuh Mentorship Award. Named for former UMD English Professor Kandice Chuh, the Mentorship Award seeks to honor a faculty member for their fostering of community, intellectual generosity, support and commitment to graduate students and their causes.

"David is the embodiment of intellectual generosity. His feedback on graduate papers is evidence of that. He is thoughtful, engages openly with ideas, asks questions and makes suggestions for how you can improve your analysis. His openness spreads to the classroom and individual mentorship meetings. David is dedicated to helping students build generative thoughts, ideas and writing."

"David Simon is a thoughtful and supportive mentor to all graduate students who meet him. He does what many won’t: he thinks with you. As a result of our conversations and feedback on writing, my dissertation is so much stronger and exciting. And maybe most importantly—I enjoy the work more! He is a treasure of the English department!"

Professional Track Faculty Teaching Awards: Aysha Jawed, Alan Montroso and Daune O'Brien

Lecturer Aysha Jawed, Lecturer Alan Montroso and Senior Lecturer Daune O'Brien received the 2024 Teaching Excellence Award, with an honorable mention to Lecturer Liam Daley.

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram

Professor Lillian-Yvonne Bertram has received a 2024 Grants to Artists award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. The $45,000 awards are unrestricted, and “intended to provide recipients with the financial means to engage in whatever artistic endeavors they wish to pursue.”

Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship: Vessela Valiavitcharska

Professor Vessela Valiavitcharska has received a Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship in Byzantine Studies for 2024–25.

Teaching Innovation Grant: Marisa Parham

Professor Marisa Parham was awarded a TLTC grant for NarraSpace. $400k will support innovation in digital storytelling and interactive scholarship, with a focus on investigating ways to center BIPOC, queer and transnational perspective through experimental and emergent technologies.

Graduate Student Awards & Highlights

Da Som Lee and Dylan Lewis won the James A. Robinson Awards for outstanding graduate student teaching of undergraduate courses. Lee also received the Mary Savage Snouffer Dissertation Fellowship.

Diana Proenza and Annemarie Mott Ewing won the Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award. Proenza also won the English Summer Archival Research Award.

Aaron Bartlett received honorable mention for the Sally Mitchell Prize for North American Victorian Studies Association Best Graduate Student Paper.

Fernando Duran received the Wylie Dissertation Fellowship.

Dalton Greene received the Kwiatek Fellowship.

Charlie Mitchell won the Kinnaird Award (M.A.) and Declan Langton won the Kinnaird Award (Ph.D.)

Jeannette Schollaert won the Carl Bode Dissertation Prize.

Job Placements

Frederick O’Neal Cherry Ph.D. '24 is assistant professor of African American literature at Auburn University.

Alexis Walston Ph.D. '24 is assistant professor of English at Belmont University.

Creative Writing Accomplishments

Current students.

Kimberly O'Connor MFA ’09, judge of the Academy of American Poets Poetry Prize, has chosen “Manic Pixie Dream Sestina” by January Santoso, a first-year MFA student.

Mary Lynn Reed MFA ’13, judge of the Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize, has chosen “In the Shape of a Man Whose Feet Face Backwards” by Subraj Singh, a third-year MFA student. Singh's “All That Hunger, All That Thirst” was published in Agni 98. “Ship Sister” was published in the New England Review. Singh is a finalist for the 2024 Chautauqua Janus Prize and was also admitted into the Ph.D. Program in Creative Writing at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Preet Bhela’s poem "Hollows" received an honorable mention in the 2024 Pratt Library Poetry Contest, and will be published in the Little Patuxent Review this summer. Preet will also be reading at the Pratt Library on August 20 along with the two other honorees.

Eliamani Ismail has new publications with Puerto Del Sol, Brittle Paper, and Hooligan Magazine. Ismail was also invited to be a featured reader at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was a BIPOC scholar at this year’s Washington Writers Conference. Eliamani also became a fiction editor at Lampblack Magazine.

Olivia McClure published a poem in Atticus Review.

Tega Oghenechovwen’s "We Can Start This Story” was published in the Kenyon Review.

Annie Przypyszny’s poetry was published in Broad River Review, Atticus Review, the Institutionalized Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, SPANK the CARP, Barnstorm Journal, Cola Literary Review and the Madison Review.

Ava Serra's “Methodology: Inner Child Mercy Massacre” was included in Under Her Eye. “Internal Ultrasound on a PMDD Patient;” “Baby Diner Blood Rent;” “a coward pretends he’s bambi” and “This is Not a Conversation About My Body” was published in Jelly Bucket. “This is Not a Conversation About My Body” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. “Sarah” was published in Salt Hill.

Elizabeth Bryant, Corinne Brinkley and Tega Oghenechovwen have been named 2024 Kimbilio Fellows and will attend The Kimbilio Retreat on the Taos, New Mexico campus of Southern Methodist University in the Carson National Forest this summer. Bryant also received a full scholarship to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at UMass Amherst and a Douglass Center grant for summer funding.

Tega Oghenechovwen was accepted for the 2024 Tin House Summer Workshop at Reed College.

Emily Banks MFA ’15 has been hired as a tenure-track assistant professor of English and creative writing at Franklin College, where she previously was a visiting assistant professor.

Derek Ellis MFA ’19 completed his first year in the Ph.D. program in creative writing at SUNY Binghamton University.

Book Publications

“Family Lore” by Elizabeth Acevedo MFA ’15, published in August 2023 by Ecco, was a Good Morning America Book Club pick; winner of the NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction and shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

“Green Island” by Liz Countryman MFA ’06 is forthcoming in June 2024 from Tupelo Press.

“Velvet” by William Fargason MFA ’14 was published in May 2024 by Northwestern University Press.

“City of Laughter” by Temim Fruchter ’02, MFA ’19 was published in January 2024 by Grove Atlantic.

“The Bomb Cloud” by Tyler Mills MFA ’08 was published in March 2024 by Unbound Edition Press.

“Bitter Water Opera” by Nicolette Polek MFA ’19 was published in April 2024 by Graywolf Press and was a New Yorker Best Book of 2024.

Undergraduate Student Awards

The Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award

Each year, we honor outstanding creative writing minors with the Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award. Henrietta Spiegel was the widow of a UMD faculty member. After her husband’s death, she completed her B.A. in English in 1989 at the age of 85 with a GPA of 3.9. Upon the completion of her degree, she established this award to honor undergraduate work in creative writing judged by the creative writing faculty to be the most outstanding. This year’s Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award for Fiction goes to Allison Faith Choi and the award for Poetry goes to Caleigh Marie Larkin.

The Sandy Mack Award for the Outstanding English Honors Thesis

English Honors is a selective program within the English major, one in which students take intensive writing and research seminars, and develop a lengthy critical thesis or creative workover the course of three semesters. An award is given each year to the student with the most outstanding overall record in English Honors. This award is named for Sandy Mack, the faculty member who developed the English Honors Program and guided it for a decade. This award goes to Bossman Kwaku Owusu-Ayim for “I. The Old Genesis & II. His Grateful Children,” directed by Rion Scott and Emily Mitchell.

The Joseph W. Houppert Memorial Prize

The Joseph W. Houppert Prize was named for Joseph Houppert, a scholar of the English Renaissance and a distinguished member of this department from 1963 until his death in 1979. Professor Houppert was always very concerned with the teaching of undergraduate students and particularly for the teaching of good writing. Consequently, his colleagues established this competition in his memory, with a prize to be awarded annually to the undergraduate who has written the best essay on Shakespeare during the academic year. The Houppert Prize was awarded to Ariel Marie Hammerash for her essay entitled “Apparitions and Agency: The Staging of the Banquet Scene in The Tragedy of Macbeth.”

Sara Ann Soper English Undergraduate Service Award

The Sara Ann Soper English Undergraduate Service Award was established by Shannon Altman, who graduated in 1999 with a double degree in English and Education. While she was an undergraduate, Shannon designed and implemented an undergraduate tutoring service at nearby Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Two years after she graduated, she gave the department a significant gift to endow the Sara Ann Soper English Undergraduate Service Award to honor a graduating senior who has volunteered time, energy, and commitment to community service. Shannon named the award after her mother, as a testimony to her achievements as a role model for others. This year, the recipient of the Sara Ann Soper Award is Julia Janet Pavlick.

The Mike Angel Award

The Mike Angel Award recognizes a student who has faced extreme hardship in completing his or her degree, and has demonstrated distinction, extraordinary merit, and perseverance as an English major. It was established by faculty and students in 1984 to honor the achievements of Mike Angel, a fine student and wonderful human being who overcame great obstacles in order to earn a B.A. in English. This year’s Mike Angel Award goes to Nicholas John Pietrowski.

The Joyce Tayloe Horrell Award

The Joyce Tayloe Horrell Award is the largest award by the department to any student, and was established in 1989 through the generosity of Joseph Horrell in memory of his wife Joyce Tayloe Horrell. Tayloe Horrell was an Honors graduate student, a scholar of the works of the writer Henry James, and a teacher in the English Department from 1960 until 1967. The Horrell Award is conferred annually on the English major who has demonstrated the highest academic achievement overall among the graduating class. It is a pleasure to present this year’s Horrell Award to Abigail Fealy Furman.

Academic Excellence Awards

In every graduating class, certain students stand out for their consistently high performance. Today, we are presenting thirteen Academic Excellence Awards to those students with the most outstanding academic records in their major coursework. Each of these students has received a major GPA of 4.0.

• Isabella Francesca Diaz Baker
• Emma Rose Behrens
• Abigail Fealy Furman
• Shannon Estellyn Ganley
• Chloe Lilah Johnson
• Laura Catherine Kazdoba
• Ananyaa Malhotra
• Rachel Abigail Morris
• Auset Nso Nkem
• Bossman Kwaku Owusu-Ayim
• Cassandra Annalee Rochmis
• Rebecca Shriver Scherr
• Alison Vy Vo

Professional Writing Contest Awards

• Elijah Martin: Alternative Media, "The 'Right To Repair' Smartphones"
• Andy Szekerczes: Grant Proposal, "Young Writers Workshop"
• Elena Rangelov: Campus Proposal, "Improving Meat-Restricted Diet Accommodations in UMD Dining Halls"
• Asma Tariq: Civic Proposal, "Combating Feline Upper Respiratory Infections in Montgomery County Adoption Centers"
• Pearl Tamrakar: Review of Research, "The Impacts of Health Disparities on Minority Health"
• Asongafac Asaha: Artistic Review, "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio: A Retelling of the Real Boy"
• Cody Cochrane: Manual, "How to Build a Desktop Computer"
• Sara Stromberg: Manual, "Terrapin's Turf Server Training Manual"
• Matthew Heinz: Narrative Non-Fiction, "Oh, Deer: An Exploration of White-Tailed Deer Management. Its Impacts in Suburban Maryland"
• Riley Lowther: Bill Analysis, "Collective Bargaining @ UMD Campuses"
• Sage Phillips: Business Proposal, "Carbon Neutral Florida Gypsum Plant"
• Jessica Gorski: Business Proposal, "Expanding La Finca's Online Sales to Brick & Mortar"

Creative Writing Program Marks Three Decades of Growth, Diversity

By Luisa A. Igloria

2024: a milestone year which marks the 30 th  anniversary of Old Dominion University’s MFA Creative Writing Program. Its origins can be said to go back to April 1978, when the English Department’s (now Professor Emeritus, retired) Phil Raisor organized the first “Poetry Jam,” in collaboration with Pulitzer prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass (then a visiting poet at ODU). Raisor describes this period as “ a heady time .” Not many realize that from 1978 to 1994, ODU was also the home of AWP (the Association of Writers and Writing Programs) until it moved to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The two-day celebration that was “Poetry Jam” has evolved into the annual ODU Literary Festival, a week-long affair at the beginning of October bringing writers of local, national, and international reputation to campus. The ODU Literary Festival is among the longest continuously running literary festivals nationwide. It has featured Rita Dove, Maxine Hong Kingston, Susan Sontag, Edward Albee, John McPhee, Tim O’Brien, Joy Harjo, Dorothy Allison, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sabina Murray, Jane Hirshfield, Brian Turner, S.A. Cosby, Nicole Sealey, Franny Choi, Ross Gay, Adrian Matejka, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Ilya Kaminsky, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Jose Olivarez, and Ocean Vuong, among a roster of other luminaries. MFA alumni who have gone on to publish books have also regularly been invited to read.

From an initial cohort of 12 students and three creative writing professors, ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program has grown to anywhere between 25 to 33 talented students per year. Currently they work with a five-member core faculty (Kent Wascom, John McManus, and Jane Alberdeston in fiction; and Luisa A. Igloria and Marianne L. Chan in poetry). Award-winning writers who made up part of original teaching faculty along with Raisor (but are now also either retired or relocated) are legends in their own right—Toi Derricotte, Tony Ardizzone, Janet Peery, Scott Cairns, Sheri Reynolds, Tim Seibles, and Michael Pearson. Other faculty that ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program was privileged to briefly have in its ranks include Molly McCully Brown and Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley.

"What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here." — Luisa A. Igloria, Louis I. Jaffe Endowed Professor & University Professor of English and Creative Writing at Old Dominion University

Our student body is diverse — from all over the country as well as from closer by. Over the last ten years, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of international students who are drawn to what our program has to offer: an exciting three-year curriculum of workshops, literature, literary publishing, and critical studies; as well as opportunities to teach in the classroom, tutor in the University’s Writing Center, coordinate the student reading series and the Writers in Community outreach program, and produce the student-led literary journal  Barely South Review . The third year gives our students more time to immerse themselves in the completion of a book-ready creative thesis. And our students’ successes have been nothing but amazing. They’ve published with some of the best (many while still in the program), won important prizes, moved into tenured academic positions, and been published in global languages. What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here.

Our themed studio workshops are now offered as hybrid/cross genre experiences. My colleagues teach workshops in horror, speculative and experimental fiction, poetry of place, poetry and the archive — these give our students so many more options for honing their skills. And we continue to explore ways to collaborate with other programs and units of the university. One of my cornerstone projects during my term as 20 th  Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth was the creation of a Virginia Poets Database, which is not only supported by the University through the Perry Library’s Digital Commons, but also by the MFA Program in the form of an assistantship for one of our students. With the awareness of ODU’s new integration with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and its impact on other programs, I was inspired to design and pilot a new 700-level seminar on “Writing the Body Fantastic: Exploring Metaphors of Human Corporeality.” In the fall of 2024, I look forward to a themed graduate workshop on “Writing (in) the Anthropocene,” where my students and I will explore the subject of climate precarity and how we can respond in our own work.

Even as the University and wider community go through shifts and change through time, the MFA program has grown with resilience and grace. Once, during the six years (2009-15) that I directed the MFA Program, a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) university-wide review amended the guidelines for what kind of graduate student would be allowed to teach classes (only those who had  already  earned 18 or more graduate credits). Thus, two of our first-year MFA students at that time had to be given another assignment for their Teaching Assistantships. I thought of  AWP’s hallmarks of an effective MFA program , which lists the provision of editorial and publishing experience to its students through an affiliated magazine or press — and immediately sought department and upper administration support for creating a literary journal. This is what led to the creation of our biannual  Barely South Review  in 2009.

In 2010,  HuffPost  and  Poets & Writers  listed us among “ The Top 25 Underrated Creative Writing MFA Programs ” (better underrated than overrated, right?) — and while our MFA Creative Writing Program might be smaller than others, we do grow good writers here. When I joined the faculty in 1998, I was excited by the high caliber of both faculty and students. Twenty-five years later, I remain just as if not more excited, and look forward to all the that awaits us in our continued growth.

This essay was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of Barely South Review , ODU’s student-led literary journal. The University’s growing MFA in Creative Writing program connects students with a seven-member creative writing faculty in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

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Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration Program

The Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration program offers middle and high school students one-week intensive enrichment courses intended to introduce them to new areas of study or allow them to engage in content they may already have an interest in. In-person classes meet from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and are taught by Ohio State faculty, staff, and graduate students. Teaching is active, hands-on and encourages participants to engage with the instructional team and their fellow participants. These courses are not for grade or credit and are designed for self-motivated learners.  

Eligibility is based on a participant’s current grade level for the 2023-2024 school year. Students currently enrolled in 7 th and 8 th grades are eligible for middle school courses. Students currently enrolled in 9 th – 11 th grade are eligible for high school courses. 

If you have questions about this program, please contact [email protected] or call Courtney Price at 614-292-8208. 

The application deadline for Summer 2024 courses has passed. We invite you to sign up for updates  to receive information about our programs and be alerted when the when future application windows open.  

2024 Course Offerings

Explorations in creative writing.

Dates : June 3–7

Eligibility : Middle School (current grade 7-8)

Description : In this course, we will take a deep dive into poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writing! In each genre, we’ll be thinking about what it means to develop our own individual writing voice that’s unique to who we are. During the week, we will experiment with daily writing exercises based off prompts crafted to spark creativity and seek inspiration from reading classic and contemporary literary work, as well as different forms of art, such as music and collage. 

Through this course, participants will hone their writing voice in multiple genres. By the end of the course, each participant will have an impressive portfolio of writing developed in our supportive writing community. 

Prerequisites:  Previous experience with the subject matter is not required for this course.

Astronomy as a Gateway to the Data Sciences

Eligibility : High School (current grade 9-11)

Description : Astronomy has entered the “big data” era, in which huge collections of measurements are analyzed to attack the most challenging problems. In this course, we will explore how even the simplest data – the positions and brightness of stars – can address an active research problem. We will build the components of a data analysis pipeline using the most basic parts of the Python programming language, and use real data to search for young stars that have diffused away from the clusters they were born in. 

This course will explore many aspects of competency in the data sciences. This is a true research project! We do not know the answers in advance but will discover them as part of our course. This course will include small group exploration, interviews, peer teaching, and pair programming. Through this course students will learn basic statistical analysis, and gain experience in several fundamentals in the Python programming language. 

Prerequisites: 

• Participants should have completed high school algebra or geometry prior to taking this course. 
• Previous experience with astronomy and programming is not required for this course. 

Specific Course Requirements:

• Contact  [email protected] if lack of access to a personal computer would limit participation.

Sensational Science: Exploring Human Perception

Description : Discover the wonders and mysteries of how we perceive the world around us. Participants will explore not only the traditional five senses — sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch — but also examine proprioception, nociception, balance, and the complex neural networks that integrate sensory information. 

Through a dynamic blend of lectures, hands-on experiments, interactive activities, and group discussions, participants will learn the science behind how we perceive our environment and ourselves. This course will enhance critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills through investigations of how our brains interpret sensory information. Going beyond the basics, this course will uncover the fascinating spectrum of sensory and perception disorders. From the challenges of navigating the world with color blindness or anosmia to the extraordinary experiences of synesthesia, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how diverse the human experience of the world can be. 

Prerequisites:  Previous experience with the subject matter is not required for this course. 

Printmaking

Dates : June 10-14 Eligibility : Middle School (current grade 7-8)

Description : This studio-based, hands-on course will be held in the Ohio State Print Shop in Hopkins Hall. Participants will be introduced to a variety of printmaking techniques including screenprinting, relief printing, monoprinting, risography, and bookmaking. Participants will have the option to focus their work through the lens of comics, storytelling, and character design, if they so choose. At the end of the week participants will visit the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library on Ohio State campus, where they will view exhibitions and archives of comics and sequential art. 

Through this course, participants will learn how to operate specialized printing presses, tools, and equipment. Participants will create an original portfolio of printed works on paper and fabric. Participants will have the opportunity to share their prints and acquire works by their fellow participants through a course print exchange.

During this course students will use sharp tools and operate printmaking equipment. Students will be supervised and provided with personal safety training for every technique, but there is an inherent risk of injury.

Prerequisites: Previous studio art experience is not required to successfully participate in this course.

Course Specific Requirements:

• Close-toe shoes are recommended.
• Clothing may get art materials on them. Participants should dress accordingly.

Intercultural Competence for Future Global Leaders 

Dates : June 24-28

Description : Intercultural competence is conceptualized as a lifelong process that includes the development of the attitudes (respect and valuing of other cultures, openness, curiosity), knowledge (of self, culture, sociolinguistic issues) skills (listen, observe, interpret, analyze, evaluate, and relate), and qualities (adaptability, flexibility, empathy and cultural decentering) in order to behave and communicate effectively and appropriately to achieve one’s goals. 

In this course, participants will learn what it takes to become globally-minded and acquire the skills to navigate in multiple, diverse, global and local networks. Participants will understand the core concepts related to culture and intercultural competence, learn the basics of American Sign Language (ASL), develop cultural self-awareness, and understand the relationship between intercultural competence, citizenship and leadership. 

Course Specific Requirements: 

Application and deadline

The 2024 Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration Program application will remain open through May 15 . Space in each course is limited, so individual courses may fill before the May 15 deadline. 

If a participant requires an accommodation such as interpretation to participate in this program, please contact the program at [email protected] or 614-292-8208. Requests should be made as soon as possible. Requests made two weeks before the first day of a course will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date. 

We invite you to sign up for updates  to receive information about our programs and be alerted when the when future application windows open.    

Costs and aid

The program fee for the Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration 2024 program is  $550 per one-week course , which includes all course materials and activities, lunch, and snacks.

Limited need-based financial assistance may be available in the form of partial support. Financial assistance can be requested on the program application.  

Payment deadlines

Applicants have one week to accept their offer of admission to the program and pay the program fee. All payments must be made through the applicant portal. Once an offer is accepted and payment made, the parent or legal guardian must submit emergency contact and medical information, as well as signed Policy Acknowledgement and Consent forms no later than May 27, 2024.   

Refund Policy

The Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration Program recognizes that sometimes plans change. Participants may request a refund of the program fee by emailing [email protected] according to the following schedule:

• On or before May 1, 2024: 100% of program fee paid
• May 2 – May 15, 2024: 50% of program fee paid
• On or after May 16, 2024: No refund of program fee paid

Program Details

While plans for each course may differ slightly, the daily schedule follows this general model:

• Drop off 8:15 - 8:45 a.m.
• Morning session 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.
• Travel to lunch 11:30 - 11:45 a.m.
• Lunch at Traditions 11:45 - 12:45 p.m. 
• Travel time 12:30 - 12:45 p.m. 
• On campus activity 12:45 – 1:45 p.m.
• Afternoon session 2:00-3:45 p.m.
• Travel to pick-up location 3:45 - 4 p.m.
• Pick up 4:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Participants will always be escorted between pick-up/drop-off, their assigned classroom, the dining hall, and the on-campus activity by program staff. Additional information about the program will be emailed to participants and families, as needed, closer to the start of the program. 

Lunch will be provided daily at the Traditions at Scott dining hall and will be supervised by program staff. Traditions provides a wide variety of food options that meet the most common dietary needs and restrictions, including halal, gluten-free and vegetarian. However, kosher dining is not supported during summer term. 

The pick-up and drop-off location for students is the corner of Annie and John Glenn Avenue and Millikin Road, outside of the PAES building (see maps below). Please drop your child off from the eastbound lane of Annie and John Glenn Avenue. The drop-off/pick-up location will be marked with a sign and program staff will be present to check your child in and out of the program. 

If you are using a navigation system for directions, enter the following address: 305 Annie and John Glenn Avenue, Columbus, Ohio, 43210.

Please do not park in the drop-off/pick-up lane. If you need to park, or your child is driving themselves to and from the program, the closest surface lot parking is at the Ohio Stadium. The closest garage parking is Tuttle Garage. You can learn more about parking at Ohio State, including hourly rates, on the CampusParc website . 

The image above shows the ideal route to the drop off and pick up location. The image below shows the drop off and pick up lane from the street view. 

For those riding COTA, the closest bus stop to the drop-off/pick-up location is N. High Street & E. 15th Avenue. See the COTA website for more information. 

The first day of the program will kick-off with a brief orientation session. At 8:45 a.m. program staff will walk the students to the orientation location. At the orientation, students will receive a program t-shirt and lanyard, the program staff will be introduced, and the daily schedule will be reviewed. After orientation, students will be escorted to their classrooms and the morning session will begin.  

What to Wear

Participants should wear comfortable clothing appropriate for the classroom, as well as for a range of temperatures. For most courses, participants will spend most of the day inside air-conditioned classrooms. However, we will be walking between the drop-off/pick-up location, classrooms, campus locations and the dining hall. Dressing in layers and wearing comfortable walking shoes is recommended. Any course specific requirements are listed in the course description. 

Friday What to Wear

Each Friday on the last day of classes, we will take pictures of each class cohort. We encourage participants to wear their Arts & Sciences Summer Exploration t-shirt on Friday for this event!

Daily Packing List

• Cell phone and charger (optional)
• Any special academic materials needed for courses beyond this basic list will be provided by the program.
• Snacks and water: Participants should bring a refillable water bottle every day. While the program will provide an afternoon snack, participants are allowed to bring their own snacks. However, we request that, for the safety of participants with nut allergies, no snacks containing nuts be brought to the program.
• Personal medications in their original labeled containers (if taken during the day)
• Sunscreen and umbrella or rain jacket (optional)

The documents linked below are samples of the required program forms. Once an applicant accepts their offer of admission, the parent or legal guardian will receive an email from DocuSign with links to these forms. Forms must be reviewed and signed by May 27, 2024 .  

• Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration 2024 Policy Forms
• Arts and Sciences Summer Exploration 2024 Consent Forms

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Webster University Celebrates Student Writing Excellence

May 16, 2024

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On April 25, Webster University honored freshman student writers at its Julian Schuster Writing Awards Ceremony. The event recognized outstanding academic and creative writing pieces nominated by faculty across Webster’s campuses around the world.  

The Julian Schuster Writing Awards, formerly the Freshman Writing Awards, is an annual event open to students from all Webster University campuses which began in 2006. The awards underwent a name change in 2024, as Webster University President Julian Z. Schuster increased his sponsorship to fund the initiative. All courses, disciplines, assignments, genres and styles are eligible for submission. 

In total, 61 nominated pieces were submitted this year from students across Webster's global campuses. Winners of the Julian Schuster Writing Award received an educational grant of $200 for first place, $150 for second place and $100 for third place in both academic and creative categories. 

This year's winners displayed both skill and creativity in their nominated works. Jayne Herter took home the first-place award in the academic category for her insightful analysis titled "Juul Kraijer's Woman and I: A Mirror." Her piece was written as part of a global cornerstone seminar with instructor Mary Baken.  

“Kraijer’s woman isn’t helpless, nor stagnant, but a metamorphosis,” Herter shared when asked about the piece. “In her I can see that, and in myself.” 

Nelly Hashemi earned second place in the academic category for her probing essay "Unravelling Austria's Environmental Façade," written in an environmental ethics course with Ryan Crawford. Hashemi's work provided a critical look at Austria's sustainability practices and contradictions. 

“In my investigation of the environmental, ecological and Anthropocene debates in Austria, I attempted to uncover the complexities of the country's professed environmental consciousness,” shared Hashemi. “While Austria may portray an image of environmental stewardship, my study goes into the finer details, revealing the disparity between reality and what is perceived. By examining the naturalized mindset surrounding excessive consumption and the rise of consumer society, I hope to shed light on the critical need to reveal Austria's genuine environmental landscape. My writing seeks to be an impetus for a more multifaceted understanding, transcending conventional tales and contributing to a more robust conversation around sustainability.” 

The third-place academic winner was Olly Persoon for the piece "Untitled (Analysis on Portrait of Ross in L.A.),” which was also written as part of Baken's global cornerstone seminar. Persoon’s work was cited as being insightful and wise by the writing award judges. 

On the creative writing side, Andy Castello took first place for the evocative poem "Eye to Eye," which drew inspiration from perspectives explored in Kim Kleinman's global cornerstone seminar. Castello’s sonnet calls attention to the beauty and interconnectedness of the world – encouraging the reader to make eye contact with a potato, observing life inside one of its many eyes.  

Second place for creative writing went to Kaitlyn El-Sheikh for her piece "Decaying,” which was written as part of Mary Baken's introduction to creative writing course.  

“This piece is about the experience of losing my grandpa to pancreatic cancer,” explained El-Sheikh. “I’m honored to be able to share his story with everyone! He was a very talented and hardworking man with all the knowledge in the world. I know he would be proud that I took this moment in our lives and turned it into something good.” 

Rounding out the creative writing winners was Megan Meade with her personal narrative, "My Dynamic Journey to a Relationship with Nature." Meade wrote the piece as part of Corin Pursell's Introduction to Sustainability course and took third place in the creative writing category.  

Semi-finalists who were also recognized at the ceremony included Octave Brun, Shelby Ilko, Muslima Murodjonova and group, Parker Murrow, Styx Nappier and Veronika Tomchani. 

Special thanks to this year’s judges:   Carolyn I. Brown - Assistant Director, Reeg ARC, Webster Groves   Shokhsanam Djalilova - ESL and GCP Program Lead, Tashkent  Kim Kleinman – Special Assistant to the Director, Gleich Honors College, Webster Groves   Ralph Olliges - Chair, Graduate Department of Education, Webster Groves   Carolyn Trachtova - ESL Program Director, Webster Groves   Kwan Willhoft - Head Writing Coach, Reeg ARC, Webster Groves 

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International Programs

Meet Jongkwan Yun: From South Korea to Iowa, gaining real-world experience in sport management

Jongkwan Yun is a senior at the University of Iowa (UI) majoring in sport and recreation management with a concentration area in communications public relations/journalism, while minoring in news and media literacy. Yun's interest in sports began as a ski instructor at Konjiam Resort in South Korea. When he was a student in sports management at a Korean college, he had a chance to study abroad in Canada and intern at IFung Sports Management, a Canadian soccer agency . These experiences led him to transfer to Iowa to further his undergraduate studies and gain work experience.  

“I was accepted to several colleges in the U.S. when I was looking to transfer, and the two biggest reasons I chose Iowa were credit recognition and field experience classes,” reflected Yun. “I chose my concentration area and minor because there is an unofficial saying in sport management: ‘A minor is mandatory, double major is optional.’ Also, Iowa ranks high in journalism.”

"Embrace the challenge! It is okay to get hit a lot and get hurt a lot — we are students at Iowa, where we have the support and resources to help us get back up if we fall."

Internship at the Iowa Cubs

After gaining hands-on field experience from the UI Athletic Department Fans First, Yun is currently interning in the operations and promotions department of the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, through curricular practical training (CPT). “The help from UI International Student and Scholar Services and Professor Anna Jensen, director of Office of Field Experience in sport and recreation management, was invaluable when getting a full-time CPT,” shared Yun, who is a recipient of the 2024 UI International Student Graduation Most Unique CPT Award.  

Future career aspirations

Looking ahead, Yun aims to land a position with a major South Korean company later this year, like Hyundai or CJ CheilJedang, both of which have a sport management and marketing department. If that does not work out, he plans to use Optional Practical Training (OPT) to work for a Major League team in the U.S. before returning to South Korea to work in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).  

Advice for international students

Yun suggested, “Take advantage of CPT and OPT opportunities. Many things can be learned through classes at school, but I think more things can be learned in the field while working.” Emphasizing his practical approach, he added, “It’s better to draw your dreams through one experience rather than through many contemplations.”

Yun’s closing message is a note of self-reflection and encouragement to fellow international students: Embrace the challenge! It is okay to get hit a lot and get hurt a lot — we are students at Iowa, where we have the support and resources to help us get back up if we fall. 

learn more about cpt and opt

International Programs  (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.

• International Student Graduation Celebration
• international students and scholars

International Programs at the University of Iowa supports the right of all individuals to live freely and to live in peace. We condemn all acts of violence based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and perceived national or cultural origin. In affirming its commitment to human dignity, International Programs strongly upholds the values expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights .