Student Profiles - Student Scholarship - Alumni - Alumni Mentor Group
Dissertations by Program Graduates - Student Collaboration

Students in the Rhetoric & Writing program are intriguingly diverse group, coming to BGSU from all over the country and beyond. Their interests, research and otherwise, are equally diverse, revealed as much by the short biographies below as by their e-portfolios. The latter of these are an important part of all Rhetoric & Writing students' professional development; here is a link providing more information about e-portfolios and their significance.

Current Students

Laural Lea Adams (2010)
Laural's Portfolio
Laural has a BS in Marketing from UMASS Amherst and an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College in Boston where she specialized in academic librarianship. She recently received an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Poetry at BGSU where she was awarded the Devine Fellowship. She has published several articles on librarianship and a book chapter on designing electronic classrooms. She has taught composition and worked as a business reference librarian at New Mexico State University. She also designed and taught a class on librarianship at NMSU and an undergraduate creative writing workshop at BGSU. Laural’s current interests include academic discourse, specifically the varying degrees of tolerance for violating genre conventions and the tendency of certain disciplines to define “creativity” in terms of broken conventions; the cognitive components of the writing process, particularly affect, its social dimensions, and the way it informs text; and literacy as a storehouse for Burkean “common ground” and as social currency.

Megan Adams (2011)
Megan's Portfolio
Megan earned a BA in Journalism and Political Science from The Ohio State University and an MA in Education from The University of Findlay. Prior to deciding to pursue more academic endeavors, she worked in both the broadcast and print journalism fields as a reporter. Megan's scholarly interests stem from her passions for writing, videography, and women's issues; they include digital literacies, multimodal composition, and feminist rhetoric. When not studying or teaching, she enjoys writing fiction, running, reading, and spending time with her husband, Kyle, and curling up with her cat, Oliver..

Amira Akl (2007)
Amira's Portfolio
After receiving her BA and MA in English at UT, where she researched various aspects of Arab and Arab American students' integration into English classrooms, Amira joined the BGSU Rhetoric and Writing PhD Program to continue researching Arab student populations. She has since focused her research on the identity struggles of Arab American women, who often fight to maintain multiple conflicting identities  within and outside the Arab community. She enjoys teaching, wears pens in her hair, over-schedules her time, and drinks Mountain Dew. Her favorite color is red and in her spare time, she enjoys riding camels and rearranging her furniture.

Amanda Athon (2010)
Amanda's Portfolio
Amanda Athon is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio but has spent the past decade or so living in Chicago. While in Chicago, Amanda earned her MA in Writing from DePaul University and a BA in English from Loyola University. She spent several years working in publishing, most recently as an Associate Editor for McGraw-Hill, and also taught reading and composition at the City Colleges of Chicago. Her academic interests include writing assessment, adult literacy, and semantics.  When she's not studying or teaching, Amanda enjoys writing fiction, cooking, and planning her upcoming wedding.

Nick Baca (2011)
Nick's Portfolio
Nick is from Southern California and received his undergraduate degree from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English. He received his MA from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona also in English specializing in Rhetoric and Composition, and Renaissance Literature. Nick's scholarly interests include the history of rhetoric and Sophistic rhetoric, composition studies, literary and critical theory, psychoanalysis and desire in virtual social spaces, and gender studies and sexuality, to name a few. Aside from his academic interests, Nick enjoys independent film, local food and craft beer cultures, crossword puzzles, and long-distance running.

Estee Beck (2011)
Estee's Portfolio
Currently a PhD student in BGSU’s Rhetoric and Writing program, Estee attended school at Marshall University, where she earned a Master of Arts in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition, and earlier attended West Virginia State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a specialization in Literature. During her time at Marshall, Estee worked in the university’s writing center for three years, taught first-year composition full-time for one year, and also taught a service learning course focusing on preparing multimodal compositions for a community partner. Her research interests include technology use in first-year composition, multimodality, literacy studies, and feminist rhetorics. In her spare time, Estee can be found in the Dawnbringer server, spending time with friends, reading or playing with her cat, Chibi.   

Stephen Boston (2010)
Stephen's Portfolio
Stephen Boston earned his BA in Liberal Studies at Bowling Green State University. While earning his BA, he focused on three areas of concentration: English, Popular Culture, and Ethnic Studies. Stephen also focused on two minors: Theater & Film and History. After graduating with his BA, he continued on at BGSU earning his MA in Rhetoric and Writing. Stephen taught First-Year-Composition for four years prior to returning to BGSU to complete what he started with his MA. He has now returned to BGSU in the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program. Stephen’s scholarly interests include media studies, popular culture, and ethnic studies in relation to composition theory and writing instruction. He currently coaches the Women’s Club Volleyball Team at BGSU, and has been doing so for nine years. Stephen is a big sports fan and a diehard Cleveland Browns fan.

G. Bret Bowers (2008)
G. Bret Bowers received his BA and MA in English from Youngstown State University.  Bret is currently in his 4th year of study in the Rhetoric & Writing doctoral program at Bowling Green State University. His interests include Digital Rhetoric, Writing Assessment, and Emergent Literacies. Currently, he is working on his dissertation, titled "Post-Literacy: Designing Writing Curricula Around Emerging Literate Activities," which examines digital and emergent literacies in college writing curricula.

Matthew Bridgewater (2010)
Matt's Portfolio
Matthew received a BA in English from Michigan State University, a secondary teaching certificate for English and History from Wayne State University, and an MA in English Language and Literature from Central Michigan University.  He taught secondary school in both the Detroit area and California, which segued into teaching TEFL in Florence and Bologna, Italy. Matthew's scholarly interests are in digital spaces (theory and practice), public policy, writing program administration, writing technologies, authorship studies, and rhetorical theory.  He has presented at Rhetoric Society of America (2010) and Computers & Writing (2011), and has published in Computers and Composition Online (Summer 2011). Currently, Matthew is the program assistant here at BGSU, a copy-editor for Computers and Composition Online, and teaches General Studies Writing. He also enjoys astronomy, reading, travelling, socializing (in person and via social networking), and trying to stay fit (just in case he needs to survive a possible zombie apocalypse).

Kyllikki Brock (2010)
Kyllikki's Portfolio
Originally from Northern Kentucky, Kyllikki joins the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program at BGSU with an MA in English from Belmont University in Nashville and BAs in English and French from Northern Kentucky University. Within the field(s) of rhetoric/composition/writing, she is especially fascinated by the persuasive aspect of rhetoric as a linguistic tool for simultaneous creation and communication, a fact that likely explains her belief that creative writing and "academic" writing are more inextricably related than is sometimes thought. Increasingly, she is intrigued by the confluence of classical rhetoric, digital technology, and systems theory. Besides writing and teaching, she likes to (try to) find time for practicing ballet, running, traveling, and indulging her insatiable desire to learn new things (current goals include playing guitar and sewing). She enjoys the occasional spare moment with her Irish wolfhound, Amadeus, and cats, Dorian and Marie.

Mandy Browning (2008)
Mandy attended school at Northern Michigan University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Writing, and later attended Western Michigan University, where she completed a Master of Arts in the Teaching of English.  During her time at Western, Mandy took part in the Third Coast Writing Project, where she wrote a prodigious amount of poetry.  Currently, Mandy is a Ph.D student in the Rhetoric and Composition program at Bowling Green State University, and a full-time English and Developmental Studies instructor at Southwestern Michigan College.  She has a fuzzy diva beast of a dog to whom she is devoted, and two cats that tolerate her presence.  Mandy is fond of jasmine tea, kayaking, and listens to Enya more than any reasonable human being should.  She is also a particular fan of British murder mysteries.

Kellan Deardorff (2010)
Kellan's Portfolio
Kellan earned his BA in English Studies at Western Washington University and his MA in Rhetoric and Composition at Washington State University. He taught First-Year-Composition for three years prior to joining BGSU's Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program. Kellan's scholarly interests focus primarily on critical pedagogies in FYC, but branch from there into new media studies, rhetorics of racism, cultural/ethnic studies, and composition theory more generally. In his off time, he experiments with freewill as it pertains to food preparation. As an informally trained fine-dining chef, he spends time critically analyzing various cooking ingredients and recipes. For fun, Kellan thoroughly enjoys trashy reality television as well as violent movies and video games (FPS).

Shirley Faulkner-Springfield (2011)
Shirley's Portfolio
Shirley earned a BA and MA in in English from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), where she taught English Composition I and II. At NCCU, Shirley gradually integrated basic technology into her basic writing classes to meet her pedagogical goals, but she plans to enhance her technical skills and clearly articulate a philosophy of education that includes multimodal tools. Shirley's scholarly interests comprise identity politics; language acquisition; "nonstandard dialects"; basic writing; technological literacy; rhetorical, composition, and narrative theories; and service learning/community literacy. Shirley wrote a research-based reflective analysis of her students' community literacy project, and the article, "Letters to Young High School Students: Writing and Uniting an Academic Community," was published in the Spring 2011 issue of Reflections. When Shirley is not thinking about the ways her students reinvent themselves in their writing classrooms, she conducts genealogical research, tutors, volunteers, and visits senior citizens. 

Katherine Helene Fredlund (2008)
Katherine's Portfolio
Katie received her BA in Psychology and a MA in English Literature from St. Bonaventure University. She is currently working on her dissertation which utilizes archival and feminist research methods to focus on three nineteenth century Ladies Literary Societies: Boston's Gleaning Circle (1805), Oberlin's Young Ladies Literary Society (1837), and Boston's Women's Era Club (1895). She has taught service-learning and first year composition courses and has also mentored new graduate teaching assistants. Katie's research interests include women's rhetoric, Ladies Literary Societies and Women's Clubs, collaboration, service-learning, and new media. After reading many novels written by dead, white men in her MA program, Katie developed a taste for poorly written genre-fiction and reads such novels in her spare time. Whenever possible, she returns to western New York to see land that is not flat. 

Christine Garbett (2007)
Christine's Portfolio
From Minnesota, Christine earned her MA in Teaching College English and BA in Writing from St. Cloud State University. Her primary research interests include disability and Deaf studies as well as feminist rhetoric and pedagogy. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies and television, doing various crafts, reading, and window-shopping.

Mariana Grohowski (2011)
Mariana's Portfolio 
Mariana (Mare Mueller) received her BA in Liberal Studies in which she focused on rhetorical theory from Grand Valley State University. She earned her MS in Rhetoric and Technical Communications from Michigan Technological University, where she served as assistant-editor of the award winning Community Literacy Journal. Mariana's scholarly interests are eastern philosophy (which she has been independently studying for 11 years), digitally-mediated composition, feminist theory, and rhetorical theory. Mariana was an instructor at Northwestern Michigan Community College, is a certified yoga teacher, and has presented at such conferences as CCCC and Feminisms and Rhetoric. In her spare time she enjoys reading philosophy, long-distance running with her dog Sam, and folding her husband's laundry.

Kerri Hauman (2009)
Kerri's Portfolio
Kerri recently earned an MA in Composition and Rhetoric and a certificate in Women’s Studies from Wright State University. While at WSU, she also earned her BA in English with an emphasis on professional writing, worked in the University’s writing center for five years, and taught first-year composition for two years. In particular, her experiences as writing center tutor, women’s studies student, and FYC teacher have influenced her interest in collaboration, feminist rhetoric, new media, pedagogy and what occurs at their intersections. When given the chance to pursue activities outside of academia, she most often chooses live music, dancing, and traveling to visit her friends who are now spread all around the country.

Ken Hayes (2011)
Ken's Portfolio
Ken, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, spent the last 5 years at Wright State University, where he earned his BA and MA in English Literature. While at Wright State Ken taught English 101 and 102 as a graduate teaching assistant and was a co-founder of WSU's first conference on multimodal composition in the Spring of 2011. Ken's primary research interests include film and literature, multiliteracy studies, and multimodal composition. In his free time Ken enjoys reading 20th century literature, watching movies, playing frisbee golf, and spending time with his wife, Blair (though not necessarily in that order).

Em Hurford (2009)
Em Hurford, who hails from southern Indiana, has a BA in English and Latin from Indiana University. She came to Bowling Green State University after spending a few years working in a cubicle farm, and recently completed her MA in English Literature. She has a diverse range of theoretical and research interests, from fandom studies to the intersection of feminist and queer theory with popular culture texts. She has a growing interest in new media, technology in the writing classroom, and culture studies. When she isn’t working, she can generally be found surfing the internet, teasing her cats, reading schlocky manga and scifi, or indulging in her latest guilty pleasure—Regency romances. 

Abbey Kanzig (2006)
Abbey's Portfolio
With a BA in Business Management and Marketing from Ashland U. and an MA in English/Composition track, certificates in Literature and Gender and Conflict, from the U. of Akron, Abbey worked as an adjunct instructor for N.C.S.C. and partnered in their fledgling peer mentoring/tutoring program and for MCCC's UpWard Bound program. Her recent presentations include CCCC's, Watson, ECWCA, MMLA, WSRL, RMMLA, among others. She is currently working on her dissertation, "Addressing the Digital Divide and Opportunities for Sustainability: How Radical Pedagogies and Theories of Technology Intersect." Gregarious by nature, she enjoys live concerts, coffee, and the simple pleasures in life.

Stacy Kastner (2009)
Stacy completed her BA and MA in English Literature at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, NY. She taught freshman writing throughout her MA and spent an additional year at Bonaventure to continue teaching. Now at Bowling Green, Stacy is pleased with her dual role as dedicated teacher and student and is interested in performance pedagogies, the role of technology in the classroom and in student writing, and the rhetoric of authenticity. Outside of school, she enjoys live music, new cities, old friends, and good conversation.

Jeff Kirchoff (2009)
Jeff received his BA (Creative Writing and Film) and MA (English) from St. Cloud State University in MN. Before entering the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program at BGSU, he worked as the Writing Center Director at the University of WI-Fox Valley, where he also taught a variety of composition courses. Jeff’s current research interests include 21st century literacies, new media theory, visual rhetoric, and writing pedagogy. In his spare moments, Jeff can be found relaxing with his wife Stephanie, playing sports, or reading. 

Kent Alan Lenz (2008)
After completing a BFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Kent developed an interest in teaching composition as an Adjunct Instructor of Developmental Writing at Omaha's Metropolitan Community College.  From there, he went on to earn his Master's of Fine Arts through University of Nebraska's low residency writing program while residing in Boise, Idaho.  His research interests include composition and rhetoric studies, pedagogy, and basic writing.  When not researching or teaching, Kent enjoys baseball and comic books.

Eden Leone (2007)
Eden's portfolio
Eden is from Duluth, MN where she earned a BA in psychology and sociology from the College of St. Scholastica and an MA in English Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She has taught courses in freshman writing, college learning, and rhetoric of popular culture, which she enjoyed very much. Her research interests here at Bowling Green include a wide range of inquiries, but she is currently thinking about issues of electronic media in the writing classroom. For example, her current line of research questions how the shift in popular television shows from scripted comedies and dramas to unscripted reality-based shows might influence students’ notions of narrative and storytelling as they manifest themselves in college writing. Eden also enjoys reading mystery stories, shopping for shoes, and engaging in lively conversations with her many new and old friends.

David McClure (2007)
David's portfolio
In two plus years at Bowling Green State University, David has had the good fortune and opportunity to deliver presentations at both regional and national conferences such as the Louisiana Conference on Language and Literature, NCTE, and CCCC.  In October, he will deliver two presentations at Feminisms and Rhetorics one of which he co-wrote with fellow BGSU PhD student Suzan Aiken.  In the spring of 2010, he gave his second CCCC presentation based on preliminary dissertation research which involves emotion studies and written teacher commentary.  His research interests include writing assessment, material rhetoric, body/emotion studies, critical pedagogy, research design, cognitive writing theory, working class studies, metaphor theory, activity theory, and Michel Foucault’s rhetorical theory.  Before attending BGSU, he earned his BA and MFA from Purdue University.  He has taught creative writing, advanced composition, first year writing, and technical writing at BGSU, Purdue, and Ivy Tech State Community College--Bloomington.  Recently, The Mid-American Review published his book review of a novel-in-stories How to Hold a Woman by Billy Lombardo.  He's grateful that his peers elected him to serve two terms as the rhetoric and writing graduate student senator as well as for his time spent working as a writing center consultant at BGSU's writing center.

Craig Olsen (2011)
Craig's Portfolio
Craig received his BA in Music from Wesleyan University in 2007. However, he accidentally took so many English classes that he received an English major on accident (in 2008). Running with that, he went to Ball State University where he got his MA in Creative Writing. He decided that he wanted to pursue a PhD in Rhetoric & Writing after teaching several classes on the subject as a GA. His areas of interest in the rhetoric field include comics, gaming, and genre study, and he is constantly adding new areas to explore.

Heather E. Pristash (2006)
BGSU is the last stop in Heather's All-Ohio Educational Tour, which includes Oberlin (high school), Kent (BA, English with Writing Certificate), and Dayton (MA, English/Writing Focus). After this, she hopes to spend some time elsewhere for a change. Heather’s research interests include third-wave feminism, the rhetoric of craft (particularly knitting), graphic novels, the writing process, popular culture, and felt sense. If she still had free time, she would use it for knitting, comics, video games, and obsessive focus on the Joss Whedon oeuvre.

Shawn Ramsey (2008)
Shawn's Portfolio
Shawn Ramsey has a J.D. from Indiana University and an M.A. from Ball State University in English. His background is in  classical cultures, English, and law. He is currently in his third year of the Rhetoric and Writing program.  His research areas are in Medieval and Classical rhetoric, particularly the Twelfth Century and Latin antiquity.  He is currently researching Eleanor of Aquitaine and her relevance to the history of women in rhetoric and international diplomatic relations in the Middle Ages, the concept of auctoritas as a neglected concept in the history of rhetoric, and Plato's Seventh Epistle.  He has instructed composition at a number of universities, including BGSU, and now helps in consulting and directing the Writing Center at Bowling Green State University, and is partially responsible for consultant training as part of his assitantship duties.

Michael Salitrynski (2010)
Mike's Portfolio
Michael earned his BA in French & Philosophy and his Masters in English Education from Mansfield University. He took several years off of school between earning his BA and MS ED during which time he lived in Colorado, Vermont, New York, and PA. He has held a variety of employment, including retail, waitering, substitute teaching, and the management of a transistional care facility for people who suffer from schizophrenia. An Eagle scout, he is still active with the Boy Scouts as the Program Director of Camp Brulé in north-central PA. He has worked at that camp for the past 17 years. His current research interests include composition pedagogy and the rhetoric of speculative fiction. In his spare time Michael enjoys writing fiction, watching films, and going camping. His favorite books include, Blindness by José Saramago, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Tao Te Zhing by Laozi, and the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Upon completion at BGSU he hopes to find post-doctoral work abroad and plans to eventually settle in a small college town where he can teach composition, fiction writing, and work with a writing center.

Martha Wilson Schaffer (2011)
Martha's Portfolio
Martha attended Marietta College where she earned a BA in English & Psychology.  She then went to the University of Toledo, earning an MA in English Language and Literature and a JD at the University of Toledo College of Law.  She has practiced as an attorney in the Toledo area since 1997.  In her legal career, she represented injured and disabled individuals in the Ohio workers’ compensation system and state courts.  Over the past year, she decided to make a significant career change, leaving the practice of law and applying to the Rhetoric & Writing program.  She is excited to be a part of the department and is looking forward to her role as an instructor in the General Studies Writing Program.

Yvonne Schultz (2005)
Yvonne's Portfolio
Yvonne's day job—and also night, as she teaches in Adult and Graduate Studies as well—is as an assistant professor of English at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Her MA is from the University in Akron in English/Composition track, which she finished after doing half a master’s in literature from Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She says she’s from western Kansas because she graduated high school there, but she’s lived in seven states, so home is where her husband Dennis and two college-age daughters are. Yvonne is enjoying being back in class right now, doing whatever research projects her profs will let her, but she’ll focus eventually, maybe on journalism portfolio assessment, maybe on rhetoric in contemporary literature, maybe on some feminist stuff. Before entering academia, Yvonne was a free-lance writer and editor; newspaper, magazine, and newsletter editor; and staff copywriter. She loves to vegetable and flower garden; bike, walk, and cross-country ski with Den; and eat ethnic food with friends, followed by attending a concert or play.

Bethany Noelle Snyder-Morse (2005)
Bethany's Portfolio
Bethany received her BA/BS in Spanish and advertising from the University of Illinois-Urbana, and an MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She taught basic English at orphanages in Ecuador and India, and she helped tutor students at an English college for the handicapped in China. She also taught composition and creative writing in Michigan. She has an interest in local history (mainly Midwest), John Deere tractors and genealogy. She is a volunteer CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for foster children and is currently training for a foster parent license.

Kate Spike (2009)
Kate is now starting her second year as assistant professor of English and TESEL at Bluffton University. In addition to teaching a section of FYC each spring, she has created and introduced a basic writing course and now teaches two sections of that course each fall. She also teaches all of the courses in annual rotation for the TESOL licensure requirement (linguistics, TESOL Methods and Assessment, TESOL Theories and Issues, language variation, and English grammar) and supervises student practicums. This summer, she led of 10 students on a cultural exchange to Botswana where they had a cultural and linguistic immersion via homestays in a very rural village called Pitseng. She also advises and serves on committees, including the Cross-Cultural Committee. Needless to say, she is busy! She is in her final year of course work and hopes to finish...eventually! She also has a talented husband, Luke Sheets, who teaches at ONU, and two lovely children (Molly 7 and Jonah 3)--all of whom she enjoys spending time with in her precious free time. As for hobbies, she enjoys cooking and baking, cycling, and camping, and on very rare occasions, sleeping.

Katharine Studer (2008)
Katharine earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Bowling Green State University and a BA in English from Ohio State University. She worked for years as a newspaper reporter and feature writer for several Ohio daily publications, including Thomson News Service. She is a full-time writing instructor in the General Studies Writing Department. Her research interests include how rhetorical practices of specific regions in the US, affect literacy and writing. In her spare time she enjoys reading and writing poetry.

Heather Trahan (2010)
Heather's Portfolio
Heather Trahan earned her M.A. in English & Comparative Literature from the University of Cincinnati. She has served as editorial assistant for The Cincinnati Review, and her poems have been published in worldriver literary review, Word Riot, and other journals. In the field of rhetoric and composition, she has had two publications thus far, both appearing in 2011: the article "Teaching Texts We Love" in the print journal Writing on the Edge (Spring 21.2), and a book review on the online journal Enculturation. Currently her research interests include queer theory, feminist rhetoric(s), critical sexuality studies, and the pedagogical uses of silence. In her spare time, Heather enjoys studying and practicing the art of Reiki; she is a Level 2 Reiki practitioner.

Alison C. Witte (2009)
Alison comes to Bowling Green by way of New Hampshire, Chicago, South Dakota and Fort Wayne, Indiana.  She has a BA in English Literature and Theological Languages from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois.  After spending a year doing accounting for a fuel company, Alison decided the corporate world was not for her and returned to school at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.  There, she earned her MA in Rhetoric and Composition and American Literature.  Her current research interests include electronic pedagogies; e-books; and technology and religious rhetoric.  When she is not studying or teaching, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Keith, and son, Nathaniel, baking, and watching lots of baseball, football and hockey.