English and Modern Languages
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Program News
Three of our students were honored on Friday, April 25th, at the University’s McMurran Scholars Convocation. This year’s honorees from the English program include Brittney Huntley, who is an English Education major; Autumn Osborne, who is an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing; and Hannah Fraley, who is an English major with a concentration in Literature. We are so very proud of these amazing young women and think they’re recognition is absolutely well-deserved!
On Thursday, April 24th, Dr. Heidi Hanrahan inducted 14 students into Shepherd’s Alpha Gamma Kappa chapter of Sigma Tau Delta. As far as we know, these students are the largest group of inductees ever here at Shepherd. Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honor society and was founded in 1924 at Dakota Wesleyan University. The inductees included, from left to right, Anna Steig, Courtney Blank, Steffani Shingle, Brookelyn Smith, Evan Engle, Fiona Everline, Jill Martin-Hitchcock, Jasmine Garcia, Ollie Myers, and Sophie Lord. Ava Mellott, Carolina Stevens, Joelle Tritelli, and Chloe Westfall were also inducted into the organization, but they were not able to attend the ceremony. Congratulations to all of the new members!
On Tuesday, April 22nd, before the first round of English Capstone presentations started, the English and Modern Languages programs celebrated our students’ accomplishments by distributing quite a roster of awards. This year’s recipients were
- Outstanding English Major鈥擳aylor Beam
- Outstanding English Major (Creative Writing Concentration)鈥擪elsey Robbins
- Outstanding English Major (Literature Concentration)鈥擧eather Gilman
- Outstanding English Education Major鈥擡van Engle
- Outstanding Spanish Major鈥擯aige Rice
- Outstanding Spanish Minor (a tie)鈥擪arli Brown and Patrick Wilson
In addition, three students were recognized for the excellence of their writing in our first-year composition classes. These students won the Department’s annual Catherine C. Fix Essay Contest. The recognized students were
- First Place鈥擫ucy Meeker
- Second Place鈥�Anika Wirt
- Third Place鈥�Gabriel Castro
Dr. James Pate is excited to announce that the 2025 English Capstones will be on Tuesday, April 22nd, and Thursday, April 24th, and both sessions will start at 4:40 p.m. They will be held at the auditorium of the Byrd Center. Family, friends, and community members are welcome to attend. Admission is free, so come and support our graduating seniors! The presentation schedule for Tuesday, April 22nd, is
- Jordan Valdes: 鈥淢asculinity: A Lonely Road Lit by Streetlamps鈥�
- Meredith King: “The Lines They Crossed: Poems鈥�
- Hannah Fraley: 鈥淭he Book of Judith: The Apocryphal Text鈥�
- Garrett Heath: 鈥�The Dreaming: Novel Extract鈥�
- Taylor Beam: 鈥淭here is No Witch: Wieland and The Blair Witch Project鈥�
- Logan McGrady: 鈥�’The Vampires of Rosemill University’: Story Extracts鈥�
- Melanie Fino: 鈥淧oems for Robert, Flowers for Mary鈥�
- Kel Robbins: 鈥�’Thursday’: Story Extract鈥�
The presentation schedule for Thursday, April 24th, is
- Anna Steig: 鈥淭he Eschatological Bent of Beckett鈥�
- Ali Castro-Delcambre: 鈥淓xtracts from The Veil of Corruption鈥�
- Autumn Osborne: “The Flight Down River Run”
- Heather Gilman: 鈥淶innie Harris鈥� Poetics: The Function of Poetry within Drama鈥�
- Joan Howard: 鈥�Tarznea: Extracts from the Screenplay鈥�
- Kayley Schildt: 鈥�’Playlist鈥�: Extracts from the Short Story鈥�
- Mercedes McGrain: 鈥�Citrus Lane: Novel Extract鈥�
- Katie Keckler: 鈥淭he Dichotomy of Home: Poems鈥�