Following series of vagabondish post-undergraduate travels, Aaron Hillyer decided to pursue a doctorate in English. His research encompasses questions initiated by these travels, with an emphasis thinking new forms of community and politics. Aaron is from Minnesota, and being around water is one of his most satisfying personal interests.

Micaela is a Lincoln native made in the eighties. She is Antonio and Jane's first born baby. She was born a feisty brown ball of joy and still is today. As a child she had a fear of seashells and still gets a little freaked out at those little creatures that seem to have no good intentions but she is pretty safe from them here in Nebraska. She went to St. Mary's catholic school in downtown Lincoln and then went on to Pius X high school. She earned her black belt in Taekwondo and also earned a perfect attendance trophy in the second grade. Her heart belongs to her family and friends. She is extremely close to her two siblings Nicko and Alessandra.  She lives with her two best friends and without them she would surely perish. Some of her favorite things are Led Zeppelin, things that are green, the sun and moon, music, laughing, writing, and spending time with her German shepherd. She is very proud of her Mexican American roots and is in love with the Spanish language so she welcomes any of you out there who may also need help with Spanish. She thanks you for taking the time to read this and looks forward to meeting you.

Emilee Lindley was born in Omaha, NE in 1988. She enjoys live music, spandex, kittens, and spicy chicken wings. Emilee studies english at UNL, with an emphasis in poetry and creative writing.  Emilee hopes to become the next Dr. Seuss. If she is not making bracelets, or wearing her baby blankies as a cape...you may find her in the 1940's dentist chair on her porch, or dancing to her favorite band, Sound Tribe Sector Nine.

Zach Leming is a senior history major seeking knowledge, adventure, love, and friendship. He loves music, Frisbee golf, and bacon. Zach has lived his entire life in Nebraska but hopes to someday reside in either Denver or San Francisco. He has aspirations to attend graduate school and travel the world. His happiest moments are spent at concerts mingling with some of the craziest hipsters of his generation and exploring unrestrained freedom on the dance floor. Any woman attempting to win this man’s heart should know he is a sucker for back scratches.

Dana Kinzy is in her fifth year in the Ph.D. program in Composition and Rhetoric and is currently writing her dissertation. She is passionate about teaching writing, knitting, and advocating on behalf of feral cats. Her guilty pleasures include reading cozy mystery novels, visiting the cute overload website, and singing along with Elvis songs.

Thomas Franke is a sophomore English/ Pre-Law major. Thomas was born in Chino, CA- a small suburb in Southern California well-known for its correctional facilities, one of which was mentioned on an episode of The Simpons. Despite his proximity to large urban areas such as Los Angeles, Hollywood and San Diego, Thomas managed to avoid big city life during his first eighteen years of life. All of that changed, though, when he moved to the buzzing metropolis of Lincoln, NE. These days Thomas balances his time between the glitz and glamor of fast-paced big city life and his scholarly pursuits, which include online scrabble and word searches.

Born and raised in Lincoln, the clacks of Alexandra Barth’s high heels ring loudly on the tiled floors of Andrews Hall. She is currently double majoring in Secondary Education and English with a concentration in underrepresented literature such as Women’s and LGBTQ lit. She’s currently working on a collection of short fiction and poetry for her honors thesis. She is a big fan of folk music, going to movies, ‘People’ magazine and attempting to save the world one adopted endangered species at a time.

Sindu (a.k.a. Adrian) is a senior English major concentrating in creative writing (fiction). Hir topics of interest include South Asian studies, queer literature, human rights activism, gender and sexuality. Ze learned English as a second language and is interested in issues of language politics and institutional power in the space of student writing.

Melissa Kleindl is a second year PhD student focusing on American Literature with an emphasis on the ethnic literature as well as the Great Plains. Recent research and writing projects include: an exploration of the cultural role of human hair and its popularity in 19th century jewelry; and the theory of “portable possessions” and how it applies to landscapes and objects. Other interests include encouraging critical reflection about choices—inside and outside of the university—and how they affect the world around us, exploring prairie preserves, hiking, pretending to be an Olympic swimmer, photography, and saving the world one recyclable product at a time.

John Chavez, a Colorado native, earned his Bachelor's degree in Literature from Colorado State University. He has lived in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, while studying for his Master's degree in Literature, in the desert Southwest of Las Cruces, New Mexico, while studying for his Master of Fine Arts in poetry, and now in Lincoln. Halloween is his favorite holiday, fall is his favorite season, and The Big Lebowski is his favorite movie. A PhD student in poetry here at UNL, John's scholarly interests include Chican@ poetry and poetics. He currently serves as a senior poetry reader for PRAIRIE SCHOONER, the English department's nationally acclaimed literary quarterly.

Leslie Ianno, an Illinois native, moved to Nebraska shortly after her birth in 1981. After earning her BA in English from Nebraska Wesleyan University she found her way to the University of NE-Lincoln as a PhD student in Twentieth-century American literature. Leslie has taught composition and literature at the University for the past four years, but she admits that her biggest challenge came just two years ago with the birth of her first son, Blake. Leslie and husband, Chris, are expecting their second child this November.