As of August 2025, Dr. Lisa Parzefall is the Writing Program Director at Western Illinois University (WIU). Her interests include, but are not limited to, identity, sociolinguistics, and second language writing.

M&L: What is your coffee order?

LP: It is so basic. I always want my iced latte with oat milk … no flavors, no sugar, no syrups.

M&L: What is your favorite coffee shop? 

LP: There are just so many different ones. I was recently with a girlfriend in Chicago, and we went to a clothing store that had a coffee shop in it. It was something I had never seen, and we were like, “Oh, let’s just grab a coffee here!” I ordered a very standard coffee, and it was such a good coffee. It was so good. That was a really great coffee shop, and the design was just cute.

M&L: Who do you share coffee with? 

LP: Well, usually with my husband, because we sit out on the porch in the morning. I also just like to be alone with my coffee. It’s [early] in the morning, where you just sit outside and hear the birds, so I like that. I like a very quiet morning. I need my half-hour before I can kind of do stuff. So, either alone or with my husband.

M&L: How is coffee part of your reading and writing life? 

LP: I don’t think too much, actually. I feel like when I read and write, I try not to do anything else at that time. I’m very immersive in what I do, like I’m not big on doing multiple things at the same time. I don’t think that’s an efficient way for me to give, I guess. I’ve been doing that for so long. I don’t really read or write in the morning, and that’s usually when I have my coffee, because I really just try to be in that ten-minute window of me just doing nothing. I like to just do one thing at a time. 

M&L: Describe your first sip of the day.

LP: It feels so peaceful. I try to make it a very conscious moment, if that makes sense. I try to not go in the kitchen, get my coffee, and just drink it while I’m doing something else. I make the latte and then go to the porch, sit down, and take that first sip. It’s almost like a ritual. When you start a day in a certain way, it does transpire to the rest of the day, and so doing that very consciously always helps to set the mood for the rest of the day.