Student Spotlight: Brittany Copeland

BAE English Secondary Education

Brittany Copeland is a student in the 51福利社 Teacher Preparation Program majoring in Secondary English Education. She graduates in Spring 2020.

What projects have you worked on that you would like to highlight?

I am so excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with my students from my placement school. To ensure the safety and well-being of teacher candidates and the K-12 students during the current health crisis, student teaching internships were understandably canceled for spring quarter. Thankfully, I have been fortunate enough to continue to work with my mentor teacher, Maria Sturgeon at Ferris High School, on a volunteer basis.

Mrs. Sturgeon has had a profound impact on my education and my growth both professionally and personally. Through these difficult times, she has allowed me to support, teach, and learn from my high school English students through distance learning. This has been an exciting adjustment, and it is not lost on me that this is an amazing opportunity I have been given. My hope is to support Mrs. Sturgeon and our incredible students as we adjust to a new model of learning.

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

Being a post-baccalaureate, non-traditional student has been a unique experience. It鈥檚 been a challenge balancing my family and my own pursuits. Thankfully, my husband and children have been supportive and excited about my endeavors. They have cheered me on which has given me even more drive to do well. I鈥檝e really had to learn to prioritize what’s important as I balance caring for my family with my education. I鈥檝e had to cut back on distractions and trivialities. This second experience at the university has really given me the drive to cultivate a life of simplicity and togetherness for my family.

I鈥檝e gained a new appreciation for classic literature that I鈥檇 like to share with my students. When I first joined the Secondary English program, I told my advisor, Sean Agriss, that I believed in helping students learn to love to read. At the time I thought the best way to do that was through Young Adult Literature. Agriss certainly knew something I didn鈥檛 and encouraged me to embrace classic literature as part of my personal canon.

While I still feel YA literature can have a profound impact on students, I believe studying classic literature allows us to connect to people across time and space through common human experiences. The best pieces of literature contain these Easter Eggs, like those surprise connections you might catch in a Pixar film. However, the reference isn鈥檛 to the first movie in the series. Instead, the reference is to you or the world you live in, even though the work was written some 150 years before you were born.

I really believe the stories we read shape and sometimes validate who we are, and I hope to instill a strong desire to make these connections in my students. Agriss and the English Department at 51福利社 have really shaped my approach to education. I am eternally grateful for their wisdom and support.

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

Enjoy your life. Enjoy the moments you鈥檙e in. Allow yourself to feel the good and the bad. Continue to grow. Continue to fail and learn from your failures. Call your grandparents. Send thank you cards.

Do you have anything else you would like to share with readers?

In the coming years, I see myself getting a handle on teaching English to secondary students. That said, I鈥檓 not ready to fast forward five years. Let time crawl so that I may breathe in every precious moment of my life with my husband and children.

Student Spotlight:
Raghda Al Hmeyrat
M.A. Rhetoric and Technical Communication

Raghda Al Hmeyrat is a graduate student in the MA in English with Emphasis in Rhetoric and Technical Communication Program. She graduates in June 2020.

Do you have any exciting projects that you are currently working on or past projects that you want to highlight for our readers?

I really enjoyed creating instruction guides for the Eastern Writers’ Center for Eastern students.听 In that project, I created instructions on how students could interact and use the Writer鈥檚 Center website to access and use the Writers’ Center鈥檚 services.听听

Another project that I enjoyed creating that was very personal to me was a video informing people of the 2019 Iraqi Revolution.听 I used my skills in audio and video production to relay an important message to my community with that project.

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

Teaching for the English program has built my confidence in who I am and has allowed me to push myself much harder than I had during my undergraduate education. It helped me become a stronger person.听 When your profession helps you become a better person, that鈥檚 when you know you are in the right place with the right people.

The English program has given me skills in teaching, communication, instructional writing, editing and public speaking.听 It has made me realize what I want to pursue for my career, and what skills I want to keep working on after I graduate, especially in the area of instructional writing.

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

Stay on top of everything in your classes and do not get behind, because it is so easy to get behind in your work.听 Don鈥檛 be afraid to reach out to your professors and your classmates if you need help.听 Enjoy your process of learning and don鈥檛 rush it.听 Really enjoy the process.

Are there any other concluding thoughts you have before we wrap up this interview?

I want to thank all the professors from the English Composition and RTC program for giving me the opportunity to grow as a person. Now that I am almost done with the program, I feel more confident in the future and in pursuing a career of my interests, like working on instructional videos or teaching English as a Second Language.

Student Spotlight:
Colleen Ford
BS in Journalism: Public Relations

Colleen Ford is an 51福利社 alumnus, who graduated June 2019 with a BS in Journalism and Public Relations.听 听She currently runs the blog for AMLI Residential, a nationwide residential development corporation

How has the English program at Eastern shaped who you are as a professional?

I worked for The Easterner for a year as the web editor. Learning Search Engine Optimization tactics and becoming familiar with graphic design, AP Style and the editing process gave me the qualifications needed to get my current jobs. I run the blog and Instagram for a nationwide residential development corporation, and I also do work for a nonprofit that protects endangered rhinos in South Africa.

What projects have you worked on that you would like to highlight?

I was part of the 51福利社 Women鈥檚 Rugby team while I was at Eastern, and through doing that I got to volunteer for the 2018 Rugby World Cup in San Francisco as a media volunteer. I got to see behind the scenes of a global event, and I followed international media workers around as they interviewed players, wrote their stories, took photographs and created content in a variety of different languages. If you have a sport or event you want to go to, there are always ways to make that happen if you dig around a little bit. Plus, you鈥檒l learn some really cool skills along the way!

Right now I鈥檓 running the blog and Instagram for AMLI Residential, and I鈥檓 having a blast writing about all sorts of topics. I think the high points so far have been getting to write about my own travel experiences, because I entered 51福利社 wanting to learn how to become a travel writer. Now, I鈥檓 getting paid to write about my favorite experiences, and I can do that from anywhere in the world.

The AMLI Residential blog allows Colleen to write stories about local history, design and decor, recipes, fun facts and weird laws, and everything else in between.

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

I learned that I can be good at what I do. I worked hard to learn and I saw the results of that hard work. My professors answered all the questions I had and pushed me to be the best I could be. I have the confidence to try new things and to push myself in my work, and I know that I can achieve anything I set my mind to.

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

Your likelihood of getting a job in your field is directly linked to how well you apply the skills you learn in class. When you graduate, employers are going to want to see examples of work you鈥檝e already done. When I was interviewed for my current job, I never had to show my diploma, but I did have to show my portfolio of work. If you don鈥檛 get involved with clubs, organizations or the newspaper, you won鈥檛 have much to show.听

Find something you鈥檙e interested in, like I did with The Easterner and with rugby, and you鈥檒l get so much more out of your college experience than if you didn鈥檛! Plus, you鈥檒l make some valuable friends along the way.听

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Experience truly is the most important way to learn and improve! I鈥檓 so grateful for all the opportunities I had to try new skills at Eastern, and I wouldn鈥檛 feel nearly as confident in the 鈥渞eal world鈥� if I never got to apply what I learned at The Easterner and through my internship.

Student Spotlight:
Laine Houghton
MA in Literature and Writing

Laine Houghton is a graduate student in the Masters of Literature and Writing program.听 Laine will graduate in June 2020.

What projects have you worked on that you would like to highlight?

In the realm of school work, I鈥檓 in the middle of my thesis: I鈥檓 looking at how Faulkner鈥檚 centering of the plantation house aesthetic in the gothic undermines his ideological critiques of white supremacy.听

I鈥檓 applying to WSU鈥檚 Doctoral program of American Studies and Culture this December. I鈥檝e begun slowly accumulating research on the kinship rituals of white supremacists, most notably their 鈥榙og whistling鈥� culture. But I鈥檝e recently become interested in the possible astroturfing going on in the quarantine protests.

Outside of school-however-I鈥檓 working on my comic series Olympys Weeping, an action adventure sci-fi comic. If sci-fi Indiana Jones had a love child with super punk Fast and the Furious, it would be Olympys Weeping; or most accurately it would be my main characters Lania鈥檏ea and Vulcan Sprig.

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

I came to Eastern in the fall of 2013 right out of my senior year of high school, so 51福利社 has been a site of monumental change for me — and that鈥檚 not just talking about degree swaps. As much as we shape our surroundings, they also shape us. I wouldn鈥檛 be the individual I was if it were not for the experiences I鈥檝e had on campus: 51福利社 women’s rugby team, the protests, and the professors alike.

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

Start connecting with your classmates early — most likely you鈥檒l be in classes with them for a few years anyways and when you do finally talk to them, you鈥檒l kick yourself for not doing so earlier. They are experiencing the same things you are — lean into it!

Other than that, just remember to play — remember that this is all a learning experience and part of that experience is growing pains. Play allows us to stretch, to laugh, to cry, so that we don鈥檛 become overwhelmed by the state that is our sovereign minds and the world right now. Reaching out to your classmates can help with this too — because I can guarantee they need a laugh as much as you do.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

The moment we find ourselves in right now is not easy; no one should kid themselves that it is. The only way we pull through this difficult time stronger than we went into it, is if we support one another. I鈥檝e been lucky enough to be a member of an amazing cohort that truly supports each other as a family. We are not islands unto our own — we are an ecosystem: dependent on one another for our continued growth and beauty.听

Student Spotlight:
Rose Hall
MA in English Literature and Writing

Rose Hall is a graduate student in the Master鈥檚 program in English Literature and Writing. She graduates in June 2020.

What projects have you worked on that you would like to highlight?

There are so many exciting projects I鈥檝e gotten to work on. Last year, I got to write and present a project on Victorian literature. It was about how Bram Stoker鈥檚 Dracula and George Du Maurier鈥檚 Trilby expose the strange way Victorian鈥檚 view their relationships as food and hinted about how we use similar language when discussing food and relationships as well. This project was particularly exciting because I got to travel to London and Paris afterward on a class trip to see the culture preserved in museums myself.听

The other project I really want to highlight happened earlier this school year. I collaborated with Megan Favaro and Laine Houghton in the creation of a video game called Little Women in Horror. The game requires students to play through pop culture and literature that feature stereotypes surrounding women in horror. The project was so exciting for me because it was completely different from anything I have attempted to do in my degree. The game required us to learn a software called Gdevelop, which provided a lot of commands and functions for us. We wanted to create a completely original game, customize it to our exact specifications, and had no coding experience. We had to spend days learning how to string together command lines, dialogue trees, and scene variables. It was one of the most challenging projects I鈥檝e ever done but really fun and rewarding.听

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

What this program has instilled in me is grit, unwavering persistence and passion in the face of impossible situations. We are asked unanswerable questions every day by the individuals who make up this program. In fact, it is really the individuals who have shaped me.听 This school is not always a space free of discrimination and hate. I鈥檝e been let down and I鈥檝e seen my students and peers let down by the politics and institution that is higher education.听

However, in this program, there are really inspiring peers and teachers who have taught me that we need to relentlessly care about problems with no perfect solution. These people in the English program, who have always seen the best in me even when we challenge each other, have shaped me into the kind of person who never gives up on herself, as a student and an unanswerable question.听

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

Yes, start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. English degrees ask you to push boundaries and stumble your way through unmarked paths. It is intellectually and emotionally challenging, but don鈥檛 be afraid to lean on your teachers and peers for support, even if you don鈥檛 agree all the time.

There are so many career paths you can take with an English degree if you market your skills effectively. I鈥檝e applied for all kinds of jobs, including writing jobs, college instructing, advising, even HR and recruiting positions. It might not be the exact job title but in five years I鈥檒l still be an English teacher. That is I will still be having tough conversations, asking questions, motivating people to be what they want to be, and helping them to say what they want to say. Whether it is in an academic setting or not, I will be an English teacher.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

I had a really low reading level throughout grade school, and it still takes me extra time to process written words. However, here I am with a degree that requires significant amounts of reading, and I wanted to say thank you to all the teachers, friends, and family members for being patient and supportive over the years. As a teacher myself, I hope we can all be supportive and patient resources for our students and each other as we adjust to the changes the Coronavirus has forced upon us.

Student Spotlight: Lauren Gilmore

BA in English: Literary Studies

Lauren Gilmore is a student in the English Bachelor of Arts program with an emphasis in Literary Studies. She will graduate in March 2021.

What projects have you worked on that you would like to highlight?

Right now, I am preparing to teach a class at Spark Central for teens and adults called Reconstructing Cityscapes: A Creative Introduction to Critical and Cultural Theory. It was going to be in-person in May, but because of COVID-19 I am adapting it as an online class. The course is designed to offer critical tools that have the potential to fundamentally reorganize our society to people who are excluded from traditional academic spaces. I am interested in finding more ways to connect with the public. I am also currently preparing an article about Stephen King, arguing for the relevance of #MeToo and Twitter discourse in addressing embodied authorship and resistance in commercial horror texts.

Additionally, I鈥檓 working on several creative projects, including a revision of a young adult horror novel. I have also been working with a student-led organization to put together a social justice symposium, Pencils Down: Confronting Hate with and in the Humanities, which has been a really rewarding way to strengthen partnerships between students and the wider community. We are working now on finding the best ways to digitize this work, and will additionally be hosting student-focused support groups over Zoom.

As far as past projects, I worked on a Digital Humanities project in a course taught by Kate Crane and Ian Green that explored the social and historical hauntings of places. We created digital projects that corresponded to different physical places on campus that could be accessed by QR Code. For another course, I curated and printed a zine titled Carrion that explored the potential for social change from within Humanities departments through a collection of personal essays that addressed the academy鈥檚 role in wider civic discussions. This included participants from Eastern, as well as the wider community, and students and faculty from universities in other states.

I was attempting to model a form of scholarship that is rooted in listening, though this has guided a lot of my projects and not necessarily come into clarity. Before coming to Eastern, I published a collection of poetry, Outdancing the Universe, with University of Hell Press, and organized and completed a cross-country poetry tour where I performed at various poetry slams, bookstores, and other venues. While at Eastern, I completed another collection of poetry, and the manuscript is currently under consideration with my publisher.

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

I would say that I鈥檝e become a lot more confident in my ability to communicate and think critically. Before college, most of my writing projects were creative (poetry and fiction) but through my classes I鈥檝e become more and more excited about improving my academic and argumentative writing skills. It鈥檚 also become incredibly clear to me that I would like to be an educator, at some level and at some capacity, because I find it to be a very worthwhile, as well as devastating and exhausting, joy.

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

I think it鈥檚 really important to find your allies, both students and faculty, and take care of your mental health. Hold onto the texts and authors and friends that remind you that the work you are pursuing is urgent. Try your best to remain diligent about working against a scarcity mindset. The competition isn鈥檛 between you and other students or writers, but between all of us and all of those forces that work against us.

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

Lastly, I try to remember that universities can be very insulated, distorted spaces that somehow make things seem both less and more important than they are at the same time. To combat this, I try to continually remind myself that earnest effort in this field is for improving our sense of the stakes, becoming more articulate communicators, creating something we think is beautiful, allying with wider communities, etc. and not the way to join an intellectual elite or elevate yourself above other forms of knowledge production.

Student Spotlight:
Aaron Hutchinson
BA Interdisciplinary Studies in Journalism, Creative Writing, and Screenwriting

Aaron Hutchinson is a student in the Interdisciplinary Studies program in Creative Writing, Journalism, and Screenwriting. He will graduate in Winter 2021.

What projects have you worked on that you would like to highlight?

I currently write two articles a week for The Easterner, covering the economic impact of COVID-19. I am also putting together a portfolio of my best work at 51福利社 for the creative writing capstone.

How have your 51福利社 experiences shaped you?

51福利社 has helped me learn to manage my time and work in unstructured environments, which are really important for writers. I spent a decade in the US Army, which is very structured, and I had a lot of trouble working in an unstructured environment when I first got to 51福利社. The creative writing program and professors have been great about teaching new writers how to work and manage deadlines.

What important lessons or tips do you have for future students?

Read a lot. Read things outside of your comfort zone and read things you think you might not like. If you want to write you have to read a number of different voices and styles. Also, creative writing is tough and requires study and hard work just like any other major.听

Is there anything else you would like to share with readers?

51福利社 has a number of opportunities to develop skills as a writer. There are classes in journalism, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting. The more skills you can develop the more opportunities you鈥檒l have to work as a writer and improve as a writer.

Over the summer, four philosophy majors traveled to Greece to present their research at two international conferences – The World Congress of Philosophy in Athens and the 25th International Conference of Philosophy in ancient Olympia.听Each student crafted an insightful, coherent and creative take on a key political or ethical concept in the writings of Aristotle and presented their ideas shoulder-to-shoulder with professionals from around the world. The experience afforded the students a glimpse into the life of a professional philosopher and offered them invaluable hands-on learning. Additionally, since such activities are the kind professionals include on curriculum vitae, these students now have a tangible start to their academic r茅sum茅s, a vital component toward successful graduate school admission.听Loni Taber, Braden Agueros and Corey Horn share their experience below.

In the summer of 2016, a group of undergraduate students and several professors from 51福利社 had the wonderful opportunity to reflect on American democracy through the lens of Aristotle and his political philosophy. 2400 years after the birth of this great thinker, we find ourselves still turning back to reevaluate his ideas that permeate modern society. On this extraordinary occasion, our curiosity took us out of the classroom and across the globe. With guided mentorship from extraordinary faculty, our small group of students was accepted to participate in conferences in both Athens and Olympia, Greece; where we shared our thoughts with a group of diverse intellectuals from all over the world.

Our experience in Greece was highlighted by the rich culture and history of Athens and ancient Olympia. We experienced the architecture, culture, and landscape that was the backdrop for the first Olympic games, the Pan-Hellenic festivals, the plays of Sophocles, the dialogues of Socrates, Plato’s teachings, Aristotle’s investigations of nature and Pericles’ orations all of which added an immersive element to our studies. We walked up to the Acropolis, wandered through the Ancient Agora and witnessed how the passage of time, war and occupation had affected Athens most historical monuments. Our time in Olympia was punctuated by a walk to the Alpheus River (harnessed by Heracles as one of his 12 labors), a walk around the archeological site for the Olympic/Pan-Hellenic festivals and, of course, having a footrace at the first Olympic stadium.

Yet not all sights to be seen were Ancient. The constant juxtaposition of the Ancient and the Modern World of Athens made for a fascinating discussion. We saw how city streets, some hardly changed over the centuries, still facilitated Athenian commerce and dining. Small shops lined alleys lit with hanging lights, and family restaurants filled many open centers. People were friendly and some spoke freely about the economic hardships facing Greece, which added yet another layer to understanding Greece’s culture – past and present.

In addition, we experienced a welcoming atmosphere among the conference organizers. The president of the Center for Ancient Greek Culture and Philosophy was even kind enough to host us at his home on the Ionian Coast where we enjoyed rich conversations and a wonderful barbecue. While at the conference in Olympia, we were often met with glad surprise from other conference presenters that we were all undergraduates – as we were the only ones accepted. They were impressed and offered vocal support for our department opening this opportunity to students. We were honored by their sentiments, and quite proud of our professors and classmates at Eastern.

Looking back, although our individual perspectives may differ, we all unanimously agree that it was an unforgettable experience. We faced travel hardships, unplanned adventures, amazing food, diverse languages and cultures, unbelievable ruins and truly wonderful people. Traveling abroad provided us with a picture of the world that most of us had never seen and it was something real, tangible and life-changing. For this reason, we encourage every student to try and do the same. Eastern has many wonderful programs, financial assistance and extraordinary faculty that help make these opportunities possible.

Written by Loni Taber, Braden Agueros and Corey Horn
Philosophy department undergraduates at 51福利社

The college and Philosophy Department would like to acknowledge the mentorship and support given by听Professor Mimi Marinucci and Professor Dana Elder听to these students while on the trip. Guidance from faculty provides the foundation for student’s success as these experiences are often the first time students travel overseas or engage in new cultures.

On Wednesday, Oct. 17, 51福利社 welcomed 250 high school students from migrant and seasonal farmworker backgrounds to campus for Student Migrant Day!

The purpose of this annual conference is to expose migrant students to higher education with the intent of enhancing their interest in STEM fields, to learn about admissions to 51福利社, how to prepare financially for college, student support programs, and services through CAMP. In addition, students experience a college fair, a professional panel and more.