Staff

Landyn

Pronouns: she/her

Kevin

Pronouns: he/him

Hometown: Lincoln

Year of Study: Senior

Major(s): English Major, Ethnic Studies Minor

Future Life Plans: Human Resources

Superhero Name: Kevin-Man

Favorite Piece of Writing: The Hobbit

Favorite/least favorite writing: Closed reading essays

Part of speech you would be and why: ~ because I don't know exactly what its purpose is and it looks funny

Hobbies: Writing, and playing video games with friends

Connor

Pronouns: they/him

Hometown: Oglala

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): English with a specific interest in creative writing.

Future Life Plans: Crochet shells for crabs without homes.

Superhero Name: Cookie Lad

Favorite Piece of Writing: Girl, Woman, Other

Favorite/least favorite writing: I like papers that mix research and creative writing.

Part of speech you would be and why: ; because it's the first half of the winky face emoji

Hobbies: I like all kinds of art and snuggling small animals.

Gabriel

Pronouns: he/him

Hometown: Omaha, NE

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): English

Future Life Plans: I will have a million bands and I will work in non-profits to help out workers.

Superhero Name: Blorbo

Favorite Piece of Writing: The Tar Tar Steppe

Favorite/least favorite writing: My least favorite writing assignment would be any writing assignment in high school

Part of speech you would be and why: I am a phrase because sometimes all I can say is a phrase, and all I need is a phrase.

Hobbies: Learning music, making songs, working out, volunteering for nonprofits, writing letters to government elected officials

Elena

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): Economics and Supply Chain Management

Future Life Plans: Graduate school, marriage, children, & gainful employment

Superhero Name: I wouldn’t know

Favorite Piece of Writing: The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson.

Favorite/least favorite writing: Reflection writing

Part of speech you would be and why: The period: effective and concise.

Hobbies: Fitness, painting, and cooking.

Melissa French-Sloan

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Favorite Place I've Lived: Portland, OR

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): Sociology, WGS, English, Human Rights & Humanitarian Affairs

Future Life Plans: Graduate school

Superhero Name: oh no

Favorite Piece of Writing: This always changes, but right now it is anything by Ocean Vuong.

Favorite/least favorite writing: Favorite- Creative nonfiction!

Hobbies: Baking & pastry

Andrea

Pronouns: She/her

Hometown: I'm from Lincoln, Nebraska

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): English major with a minor in Criminology, pre-law

Future Life Plans: Law school, I plan to be an attorney

Superhero Name: Supernova

Favorite Piece of Writing: If We Were Villains by M.L Rio

Favorite/least favorite writing: Any paper that is for a science class, or any strict prompts

Part of speech you would be and why: I would be an exclamation mark because I am always loud and excited about the things I talk about.

Hobbies: I read, play the piano, write, paint watercolor, I love amine and the gym/ being active

Samantha

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Lincoln, NE

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): Journalism major and Women & Gender Studies minor

Future Life Plans: Writer and researcher for a nonprofit focused on social justice issues

Superhero Name: Zircon Sorceress

Favorite Piece of Writing: My favorite piece of writing that I wrote was an archival research and writing project for a special topics journalism class where we analyzed past Omaha World-Herald coverage of race-related events. My stories were published in the Omaha World-Herald last year along with the other students' in the class!

Favorite/least favorite writing: I love doing archival research and literary analysis

Part of speech you would be and why: I would be an adverb because I like to use them frequently in my writing.

Hobbies: music, paranormal and true crime podcasts, and movies

Kennedy

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Omaha, NE

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): English and Communication Studies Majors, Classics Minor

Future Life Plans: I hope to continue to publish my writing, but for now I'm just going with the flow of life!

Superhero Name: Super (Sleepy) Girl

Favorite Piece of Writing: Oh, sleep forever in the Latmian Cave by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Favorite/least favorite writing: My favorite writing assignment is anything that gives me an ounce of wiggle room!

Part of speech you would be and why: A comma, because I never stop talking.

Hobbies: I'm on the UNL Flagline and I love to exercise, write creatively, and I coach color guard in Omaha!

Kathleen

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Manistee, Michigan

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Composition & Rhetoric – disability studies & mental health rhetoric

Future Life Plans: I want to be a community college English professor!

Superhero Name: Red Rosa

Favorite Piece of Writing: Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass

Favorite/least favorite writing: My least favorite writing assignment used to be the research paper, but now that I have a tried and true method, research papers are actually fairly formulaic and easy to write!

Part of speech you would be and why: I would choose to be a semi-colon. I want to be a connecting force.

Hobbies: I love to tend to my many indoor & outdoor plants, play along to my roommate Patrick's compositions on my trumpet, listen to activist podcasts, go for long walks, read outside my field, and relax with my two cats – Marley & Nala.

Serenity Dougherty

Pronouns: she/they/he

Hometown: O'Neill, Nebraska

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): English major specializing in Rhetoric and Composition and Women and Gender Studies

Future Life Plans: To leave this world better than I found it.

Superhero Name: Hero McHero Face

Favorite Piece of Writing: I love the writing for the four "Fanny and Earl" videos by FilmCow on YouTube

Favorite/least favorite writing: I love writing assignments that challenge me to try something new. I dislike discussion board posts, I find discussion boards overwhelming and I'd much rather share my ideas face to face.

Part of speech you would be and why: Em Dash! Sure, you probably haven't heard of me, but once you get to know me you won't want to live without me.

Hobbies: I do stand-up comedy!

Tina

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: I was born and raised in Lincoln!

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Composition & Rhetoric

Future Life Plans: I would love to teach future English teachers.

Superhero Name: Pool Noodle (because I can't swim)

Favorite Piece of Writing: "Hammond B3 Organ Cistern" by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

Favorite/least favorite writing: A braided essay

Part of speech you would be and why: Interjection because that's how my inner voice sounds ("Yikes!")

Hobbies: antiquing, watching F1 racing, cooking, playing Animal Crossing

Alina

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Creative Writing

Future Life Plans: Teaching & Writing Poems

Superhero Name: Green Ink

Favorite Piece of Writing: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue"

Favorite/least favorite writing: Anything that has to do with the personal

Part of speech you would be and why: I'd be an ampersand! What a gift to be an addition to something.

Hobbies: Printmaking

Uche

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Asaba, Nigeria (hometown)

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Creative Writing (Fiction)

Future Life Plans: To one day have future life plans

Superhero Name: Ms. Nobody

Favorite Piece of Writing: Kintu' by Jennifer Makumbi (one of many faves)

Favorite/least favorite writing: Not a fan of in-class writing, though I can appreciate its usefulness.

Part of speech you would be and why: The full stop. I like the finality.

Hobbies: Plants, jigsaw puzzles, books

Malik

Pronouns: he/him

Year of Study: PhD Student