Staff

M Imig

Pronouns: they/them

Hometown: Lakeside, Nebraska

Year of Study: Senior

Major(s): English major, Gender Studies minor

Future Life Plans: To teach fiction writing at the collegiate level

Superhero Name: The EnigMa

Favorite Piece of Writing: Every piece of Scooby Doo media

Favorite/least favorite writing: My favorite writing assignment is short stories!

Part of speech you would be and why: I would choose to be a semi-colon; I love never-ending sentences.

Hobbies: I like to cook and I like to sew!

Shaina Isaacsen

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Shawnee, Kansas

Year of Study: Senior

Major(s): English and Political Science Majors

Future Life Plans: I plan to pursue a Masters in Creative Writing

Superhero Name: Captain Can't Drive

Favorite Piece of Writing: My favorite book is We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Favorite/least favorite writing: My favorite writing assignment was an essay where I got to interview my favorite high school teacher.

Part of speech you would be and why: I would be a comma, because I use too many of them.

Hobbies: Reading, watching 90s television shows, and playing with my dog

Emma

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Hometown: Ogallala, Nebraska

Year of Study: Senior

Major(s): English and journalism with political science minor

Future Life Plans: To be a storyteller somehow, somewhere

Superhero Name: The Flying Krab (Because my last name is Krab and I would fly)

Favorite Piece of Writing: To Build a Fire by Jack London wrecked me and continues to wreck me each time I read it.

Favorite/least favorite writing: Favorite: literary analysis, creative writing, rhetorical analysis, research papers

Part of speech you would be and why: Em dash because I use them an aggressive amount.

Hobbies: cooking (but not baking, I don't have the patience or measurement skills), writing, reading, rock climbing, traveling

Allison

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Hometown: Marion, Iowa

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): Biological Sciences

Future Life Plans: Attend Pharmacy School and become a clinical pharmacist working in pediatrics!

Superhero Name: Miss Organizer

Favorite Piece of Writing: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Favorite/least favorite writing: My favorite writing assignments are any analytical pieces of any genre and my least favorite writing assignments are any type of creative writing.

Part of speech you would be and why: I would be a dash because I always have more to say.

Hobbies: I enjoy reading and spending time with my family, friends, and pets.

Thara

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Bennington, NE

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): Major: English; Minors: Spanish and Digital Humanities

Future Life Plans: Near: Find time to write short stories/books.; Far: No idea but we're going for it.

Superhero Name: Tharanator

Favorite Piece of Writing: Luella Miller

Favorite/least favorite writing: Personal Narratives

Part of speech you would be and why: Period. I make correct and incorrect statements, but I hope I will have the courage to complete my thoughts.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, attempting to go exercise, movies and shows, judo . . .

Kaylen

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Bennington

Year of Study: Junior

Major(s): Majors: English and Spanish, Minors: Digital Humanities and Native American Studies

Future Life Plans: I want to get a doctorate in creative writing, publish short stories/novels, and teach at a university

Superhero Name: Volcanic Lightening

Favorite Piece of Writing: I really like "Night Journey of the Dragon Horse" by Xia Jia

Favorite/least favorite writing: Lab reports

Part of speech you would be and why: Commas, because maybe then I will finally fully understand them

Hobbies: Creative writing, reading, watching TV shows and anime with friends

Beckett

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Stockholm, Wisconsin

Year of Study: Sophomore

Major(s): Double major in history and english

Future Life Plans: I'm working towards attending law school following my graduation.

Superhero Name: Bucket Man

Favorite Piece of Writing: To Kill A Mockingbird

Favorite/least favorite writing: My favorite writing assignment is an argumentative essay, and my least favorite writing assignment is a lab report :(

Part of speech you would be and why: Honestly I think I'd want to be an exclamation point. They seem like they just have good vibes and are always associated with good, happy things!

Hobbies: Playing guitar, singing, basketball, football, baseball, watching anime, and hanging out with friends.

Melissa French-Sloan

Pronouns: she/her

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

Year of Study: Sophomore

Major(s): Majors: Sociology, Women & Gender Studies Minors: Human Rights & Humanitarian Affairs, English

Future Life Plans: We'll see!

Superhero Name: oh no

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

Favorite/least favorite writing: Creative nonfiction!

Hobbies: Baking & pastry

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!

Erika

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Edmonton, Canada

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Composition and Rhetoric

Future Life Plans: More of what I do now! Always writing and teaching.

Superhero Name: The (re)Vision

Favorite Piece of Writing: Changes constantly, but I'm always being inspired by the writing of my peers.

Favorite/least favorite writing: I enjoy taking a creative approach to almost any assignment--finding ways to weave in narrative, metaphor, imagery, or experience.

Part of speech you would be and why: An em dash--I'm no Emily Dickinson, but I love its energy and ability to connect ideas while also leaping (dashing) between them. I overuse it in both poetry and prose!

Hobbies: I love cooking, and visiting the farmers' markets in Lincoln.

Jessica

Pronouns: she/her

Hometown: Ligonier, PA

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Poetry

Future Life Plans: Write books, grow food for people, and teach

Superhero Name: The Sleeper

Favorite Piece of Writing: "The Moment of Memory" by Michael Burkard

Favorite/least favorite writing: I hate getting through a rough draft of anything, but I love editing

Part of speech you would be and why: An em dash—because I can't stop using them

Hobbies: Reading, farming, art, petting animals

Ava

Pronouns: They/Them

Hometown: Belmont, Massachusetts

Year of Study: PhD Student

Major(s): Creative Writing (Poetry) and Women's and Gender Studies

Future Life Plans: I intend to continue writing and teaching creative writing.

Superhero Name: The Ghost

Favorite Piece of Writing: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

Favorite/least favorite writing: I hate writing application materials for school, jobs, grants, etc—but I think my distaste for the task itself also makes me empathetic and strategic in helping other writers overcome the challenges they present.

Part of speech you would be and why: The comma, because it allows a writer to guide a reader through a circuitous thought without losing their way.

Hobbies: Baking bread, petting cats, and practicing tai chi.