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.

2009 Entering Class:

Anna Katherine Amacker
Anna Katherine Amacker, originally from Northeast Louisiana, earned her AB in English and music (vocal performance) from Wesleyan College and her MA in English from the College of Charleston.  Before coming to Bowling Green and after a stint as a barista, she taught composition at Trident Technical College, as well as worked in Graduate Admissions at the College of Charleston.  While her research background includes things from Old English poetry to antifeminism in James Bond, she is particularly interested in new media, feminist rhetoric, and cultural studies with a focus on femslash fanfiction.  AnnaKatherine enjoys spending her free time with her partner and their three cats, as well as reading sundry things and watching anything from soap operas to sci fi.  She drinks much too much coffee and has a tremendous shoe collection.

Kerri Elise Hauman
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.

Em Hurford
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. 

Stacy Kastner
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
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,  remediation, and the intersections of comic book, film and new media theories. In his spare moments, Jeff can be found spending time with his wife Stephanie, disc golfing, playing basketball, racquetball, and baseball, spending too much money at comic book stores, and updating his various fantasy sports teams.

Kate Spike
Kate Spike holds a BA in Literature (1993) and a MA TESL (1995) and has spent the years since these degrees living and teaching in locales as diverse as the Czech Republic, Vermont, and Japan before settling to work here in Bowling Green, Ohio in August, 2005.  Kate serves as the Director of BGSU’s English as a Second Language Program, and so her research interests reflect her administrative and teaching duties. Current favorites include the intersection of reading and writing proficiency, linguistics (especially phonology), second and foreign language acquisition, teaching grammar within the context of writing, and WAC/WID approaches to the teaching of writing. When not buried under work and studies, Kate enjoys relaxing with her husband, two young children, and her cat and dog.

Alison C. Witte
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.

Suzan Aiken (2007)
Suzan's Portfolio
Suzan recently completed a Master of Arts in the Teaching of English at Western Michigan University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education with Major in English and Minor in Communication. Suzan is a certified secondary teacher in the State of Michigan and taught at the middle and high school level for three and half years. A teacher consultant with the Third Coast Writing Project (Kalamazoo’s branch of the National Writing Project), Suzan is also co-director of the TCWP’s Camp for Young Writers. As part of a four-teacher team, Suzan co-wrote a grant for and co-directed the Youth Poetry Slam Workshop Series for three years in Kalamazoo. Her research interests surround technology in the classroom, teacher affect and ideology in the classroom, and postmodern education pedagogy. A giant fan of comics, Neil Gaiman, and Joss Whedon, Suzan is interested in cultural and popular media depictions of adolescent language and behavior patterns so she likes to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly.

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.

Stephanie Anderson (2006)
Stephanie's Portfolio
Hailing from Toledo, Stephanie earned a bachelor's degree in English with a creative writing concentration from the University of Toledo and an M.Ed. in curriculum and teaching from BGSU. Also, this past Spring she completed an Education Specialist degree in Administration and Leadership. Stephanie has worked part time as an academic skills coordinator for TRiO students (under the McNair Scholars Program) at Lourdes College in Sylvania, providing writing and study skills assistance. She hopes to integrate her work from Lourdes and BGSU and incorporate those civic engagement experiences not only in her teaching, but also her dissertation research.  Stephanie is currently working on her dissertation, tentatively titled "Preparing Doctoral Students in Rhetoric and Composition for Faculty Careers that Contribute to the Public Good."  In her "spare time" she aspires to compete in a triathlon, practices yoga, and reads whatever she has time to sit and peruse.  She and her fiancé, John, are celebrating the birth of their son, Myles, this past summer.

Emily J. Beard (2007)
Emily's Portfolio
From Huntington, West Virginia, Emily holds a BA in English (Literature) and an MA in English emphasizing Composition and Rhetoric from Marshall University. Her interests include literacy studies, especially working-class and first generation college students, in addition to feminist research methodologies and pedagogy. When she isn't teaching, she enjoys people-watching, coffee with friends, reading Vonnegut and shopping.

G. Bret Bowers (2008)
Bret received his BA and MA in English from Youngstown State University. After numerous failed attempts at getting a part-time job at Starbucks, Bret decided to pursue a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing at BGSU. Bret's research interests include writing pedagogy, multimodal composition, and hyper real theory. When Bret is not in his office, he is usually found reading Lovecraftian grimoires or traveling for the perfect corned beef.

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.

Beth Church (2005)
Beth's Portfolio
Beth, from Perrysburg, Ohio, currently serves as a Graduate Assistant in the BGSU Office of the Provost, and as the editor of a weekly newspaper in a suburb of Toledo. She has taught Composition and Technical Writing part-time at Owens Community College for the past five years. Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from BGSU and an MA in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her research interests include epideictic rhetoric, technology in writing, media and literacy, women’s rhetoric, and religion and communication. Busy writing her dissertation this year, she shouldn’t get distracted by too many other fun adventures, but enjoys traveling, gardening and outdoor activities.

AnDrea Cleaves (2004)
AnDrea received both her BA in Communication and her Master of Education from the University of Toledo. She has worked in radio, hosting her own one-hour show, Toledo Concerns, and served as the Off-Campus Program Coordinator for UT. If a TV viewer is particularly perceptive, AnDrea can be seen and heard in many local commercials. Her real joy, however, is teaching writing at Owens State Community College. AnDrea is still in the process of distilling her interests, but her current loves are Black British Rhetoric of Victorian England, New Woman writers of the fin-de-siecle - particularly Ella Hepworth Dixon.

Toby Coley (2007)
Toby's Portfolio
After earning his BA in Biblical Studies and English with a minor in the History of Ideas from Southeastern College in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Toby went on to earn his MA in English,specializing in composition and rhetoric, from North Carolina State University. Though Toby is currently researching the intersections of digital mediation and ethics in the teaching of writing, including aspects of modality, space, literacy, and rhetoric, his reading and research interests are broad and include many aspects of theory (postmodern, rhetorical, and philosophical) and praxis (assessment, response, and curriculum development). When not reading/researching, Toby can usually be found actively pursuing his love of the outdoors and his wife (both pursuits require nurturing).

Brittany Cottrill (2006)
Brittany's Portfolio
Brittany, originally from Sidney, Ohio, earned her MA in literature at the University of Toledo and her BA from the University of Findlay in creative writing.   Her dissertation is a study of a first-year writing program's transition to electronic portfolios.  Her research interests include assessment, technology in the writing classroom, multimodality, and assessing multimodal text, particularly in relation to eportfolios.

Vanessa Cozza (2007)
Vanessa's Portfolio
Vanessa earned a BA in Literature and an MA in Literary Studies from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include composition and rhetoric studies, writing center pedagogy, basic writing, multiculturalism, code-switching, critical pedagogy, memetics, and popular culture. She has taught Developmental English and Composition I & II at both Delaware County Community College for two years and at Neumann College for one year. She also has tutoring experience with both native speakers and ESL students.

Katherine Helene Fredlund (2008)
Originally from Rochester, NY, Katie recently moved to Bowling Green from St. Bonaventure where she spent 2002-2008. She received her BA in Psychology and a MA in English Literature during this time. Katie also taught courses in general composition for the last year she was at SBU. Heavily involved in Bonaventure's community service programs, Katie now is very interested in Service-Learning and engagement opportunities in the Composition classroom.  Katie's research also surrounds feminist rhetoric, first-year composition, and technology in the classroom. Katie also has many interests outside of composition and rhetoric: as an undergraduate she played soccer for SBU, and she also enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, snowshoeing, snowboarding, and kayaking.

Erin Dietel-McLaughlin (2005)
Erin's Portfolio
Erin is in her fifth and final year of study in the doctoral program in Rhetoric & Writing at BGSU, and she is also completing requirements for a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies. Her current research interests explore the intersections between new media, literacy, and democracy, and her dissertation examines the extent to which certain digital composing practices constitute what Gerard Hauser (1999) terms “vernacular rhetoric.” She has also been involved with community literacy projects, including co-directing the Digital Mirror Camp for Girls, an annual camp held on the BGSU campus. Prior to attending BGSU, Erin completed her undergraduate study in English literary studies at Eastern Washington University, where she was a McNair Scholar and also worked as a public relations aide, writer, and editor.  Outside of professional activities, Erin and her husband are kept busy by their daughter, Kennedy (born March 2009), and their two cats, Holden and Baxter.

Joe Erickson (2007)
Joe's Portfolio
Joe came to Bowling Green from the port city of Duluth, MN, which is located on the western-most tip of Lake Superior. He holds a BA and an MA in English studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and a graduate certificate in technical writing from Bowling Green State University. While Joe is currently researching the role that rhetoric and composition PhD program websites plays in shaping disciplinary identity, allowing him to pursue his specific interests in research methodology, digital rhetoric, and disciplinarity, he also takes great interest in pedagogical issues like writing assessment, classroom technology, and digital literacies, among other things.  Outside of academics, Joe enjoys spending time with his wife, Eden, and his cat, Watson.

Christine Garbett (2007) Christine'sportfolio                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            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.

Meredith Graupner Hurley (2006)
Meredith's Portfolio
From Ypsilanti, MI, Meredith received her MA in Written Communication with an emphasis in teaching writing from Eastern Michigan University, and her BA in English from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include computer mediated communication, strategies for using multimodal writing assessment, and methods for integrating technology throughout graduate education and faculty development. As a recipient of the Non-Service Fellowship Award, Meredith is currently working on her dissertation titled "Remediating the Professionalization of Doctoral Students in Rhetoric and Composition." Her most recent publication, "Looking into the Digital Mirror: Reflections on a Computer Camp for Girls by Girls," is co-written with Kristine Blair and Erin Dietel-McLaughlin and will appear in the forthcoming book titled Girl Wide Web 2.0: Revisiting Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity. In her spare time, she enjoys trying new recipes, decorating cakes, playing volleyball, and traveling when money permits.

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.

Bobby Kuechenmeister (2007)
Bobby's Portfolio
Bobby received his BA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his MA from Texas A&M University. His primary research interests are visual rhetoric, narrative, and popular culture with an emphasis on comic books. His secondary interests include literary theory, film, video games, document design, and usability. He is a workaholic notorious for his research on Superman and asserts that Aristotle is his buddy. However, he may geek out at any moment.

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 will give 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. 

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 Ramsey is a first year PhD Rhetoric and Composition student.  He has a J.D. from Indiana University and a Master's in English from Ball State University.  He studied philosophy, classical cultures, and English literature in undergraduate.  His interests are in classical and contemporary rhetoric, but are likely to change.  He is constantly attempting to understand Latin grammar with very little success.  In the ten year interim when he was out of higher education, he was perpetually bored, and so collected hobbies.  As such, he fancies himself an amateur naturalist and gardener, a passable jeweler, a reasonably good cook, a painter, and a writer of marginally acceptable poems.  He has been to over fifteen foreign countries. His handwriting is atrocious.  He has two children, four cats, and a small marsupial as a pet, of the species Petaurus Breveceps.  He reads a lot, and can be gregarious, depending mostly on the humidity.

Jeremy Schnieder (2006)
Jeremy's Portfolio
Originally from Colorado, Jeremy received his MA from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a BA from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. Jeremy spent the past four years teaching at UNK and running its writing center. While hoping to narrow his interests over the course of the year, he has long had an affinity for writing assessment, writing centers, and hockey. When not in class, he enjoys spending time with his lovely wife, Elizabeth, usually playing hockey in some form, watching hockey, reading about hockey, or talking about hockey.

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.

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.

Ruijie Zhao (2006)
Ruijie's Portfolio
Ruijie Zhao earned her BA in English and MA in Literature at Xian International Studies University in China. She came to the states in the year of 2003 and became a full-time student in the STC program in BGSU in fall 2004. She earned an MA in STC last summer. Being an international student in BGSU is quite exciting since she is looking for a change after six years of teaching in a Chinese university. Currently a tutor in the writing center, Rujie enjoys working with student writers in person. Her major research interests are computer and composition and visual rhetoric. In her spare time, she enjoys reading stories to kids, talking with friends, googling and, if possible, traveling.