Each spring, the English Department awards $25,000 in scholarships and fellowships for our graduate and undergraduate students. We are pleased to announce the following students English student awards and honors this spring for the 2025–2026 academic year.

Undergraduate Scholarship and Award Winners

Scholar of the Year – McKenna Schillinger

English Department and College of Arts and Sciences Lincoln Laureate Nominee – Carter Myers

Dr. Paul Blackford British Literature Scholarship – Cecilia Garcia Luengas

Dr. Olive Fite American Literature Scholarship – Shaylie Muehl

Robert L. Hodges English Education Scholarships – Elijah Adams, Keagan Beckner, and Bridgette Evans

John and Barbara Blackburn Scholarship – Lydia Quattrochi

Drs. Nai-Tung Ting and Lee Hsia Ting English Scholarship – Briza Dure Alvarenga

Sig. Jeannette & Dean Johnson Scholarship – Ashlyn Froman

Lila S. Linder English Scholarship – Elijah Adams and Stephanie Bendeck Roman

Beth M. Stiffler Memorial Scholarship – Lydia Quattrochi

Writing Awards

Bruce H. Leland Essay Contest Winners

English 100, Introduction to Writing – 1st Place, Khile Stonger; 2nd Place, Hailey Evans; 3rd Place, Deandre Dickerson

English 180, College Writing I – 1st Place, Haile Swearinger; 2nd Place, Lindsey Webber; 3rd Place, Klynn Patterson

English 280, College Writing II – 1st Place, Demarco Beatty; 2nd Place, Benjamin Chelf; 3rd Place, Ashlynn Smithson

Creative Writing Awards

Lois C. Bruner Creative Nonfiction Awards – 1st Place, Cecilia Garcia Luengas; 2nd Place, Marston Harroun; 3rd Place, Krista DeHaven

Cordell Larner Award in Poetry – 1st Place, Marston Harroun; 2nd Place, Sadie Ramos; 3rd Place, Sradha Tamang

Cordell Larner Award in Fiction – 1st Place, Taylor Whitmore; 2nd Place, Cole Miller; 3rd Place Cecilia Garcia Luengas

Dr. Lisa Parzefall awards graduate student Lana Garnica, Dr. Roberta Di Carmine awards Briza Dure Alvarenga, and Dr. Alisha White and Dr. Rebekah Buchanan award Lydia Quattrochi

Graduate Scholarship, Fellowship, and Award Winners

Syndy M. Conger Essay Award – Grace Wright

Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award – Lana Garnica

Alfred J. Lindsey Memorial Scholarship – Marie Watson

C. John Mahoney English Graduate Fellowship – Samantha Adcock

John Merrett Scholarship in English Literature – Athziri Garcia

Richard T. Thornberry Scholarship in English – Samantha Adcock

Nai-Tung Ting and Lee Hsia Ting English Scholarship – Marie Watson

Announcements

Current Undergraduate Students

Karissa Geisinger joined The Mirror & the Lamp and was appointed as Secretary, was accepted to the department’s graduate program in English, and was recognized as the English Department Scholar for Spring 2026.

Audrey Lamb worked with Art student Jade Stone and Dr. Amy Mossman on the Pathways grant, developing a plan for new displays that communicate the English department’s identity, values, and celebrates our students.

Carter Myers was appointed Managing Editor of The Mirror & the Lamp. They interned at the Western Illinois Museum, received an Illinois Arts Council’s Youth Employment Program grant, and interned as a professional writer with the Mercer County Historical Society. They also acquired an Open Water Scuba Diver certification from NAUI, spoke at the Illinois Arts Council’s 60th Anniversary reception on July 23rd, directed a summer youth focus group on how to improve Third Spaces in Macomb, and continue to help lead the a capella group called “InVoxicated.” They were named this year’s Lincoln Laureate nominee by the English Department and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Current Graduate Students

Ilana Garnica was accepted to the Wisconsin State University doctoral program in Composition and Rhetoric with full funding for the fall of 2026.

Puspita Roy presented the poster “The Role of AI in Inclusive Learning for Students with Disabilities” at the the 63rd Annual International Learning Disabilities Association of America Conference, St Louis, 2026.

Maggie Talbott presented “Exploring the Soup: A Reflexive Meditation on Creative Writing Process Through Feminist Rhetoric” in the panel “Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, & Personal Narrative: Reflections of Self” at the 2026 SouthWest Popular/American Culture (PACA) Association Conference, Feb. 2026.

Grace Wright accepted a position with the Joliet Historical Museum working in the archives of the Irene Ordorizzi collection and the Joliet Arsenal collection.

Blake Traylor presented “Feeling Queasy in Dreamland: Building Queer Culture with John Waters’ “Good Bad Tastes” in the panel “Film Studies: Queer Cinema Past and Present” at the 2026 SouthWest Popular/American Culture (PACA) Association Conference, Feb. 2026. His poems “White Hair Silver Needle” and “Manscaping” are forthcoming in The Margins.

Alumni

Mark Brown (M.A. 2024) accepted a position as an Administrative Support Professional at Hausch and Company.

Emma Cortelyou (M.A. 2025) accepted a position as Staff Writer with the United Church of God.

Andrew Cripe (M.A. 2025) accepted positions teaching English at Waubonsee Community College and The College of DuPage.

Jailene Gonzales (M.A. 2025) accepted a position as Adjunct Instructor of English composition and literature courses at Elmhurst College and at Triton College.

Abigail Heinecke (M.A. 2024) accepted a position as Instructor of English composition and technical writing courses at State Technical College in Missouri.

Kasi Henshaw (B.A. 2015, M.A. 2021) worked on the MLA Pathways grant, coordinating with the Small Business Development Center and English to create project-based micro-internships this spring and summer for English studies students.

Taylor Holan (B.A. 2025) was accepted for the summer Denver Publishing Institute program.

John Naskrent (B.A. 2016, M.A. 2018) accepted a position as a Technical Editor and Writer at HydroGeoLogic in St. Louis.

Bella Perez (M.A. 2025) accepted a position as Adjunct Instructor of English at The College of DuPage.

Christopher Perez (M.A. 2025) accepted a position as Adjunct Instructor of English at The College of DuPage.

Ajayla Ries-Ennells (B.A. 2025) accepted a position teaching English at Sterling High School in Sterling, IL.

Kennedy Roggenbauer, (B.A. 2025) published her story “The Light Beyond the Lot” in Glass Mountain, a literary review affiliated with the University of Houston and the undergraduate counterpoint to Gulf Coast.

Darrin Ross (B. A. 2022) published “What Are You Writing? The Hopes and Hurdles of Transitioning from Writing Methods to Teaching Writing” in Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education, co-authored with Dr. Rebekah Buchanan.

Desiree Steele (B.A. 2019) successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation, “Up In The Sky: Superman and the Invention of the Superhero Tradition” at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

Connor Sullivan (B.A. 2021, MA 2024) published his first novel, The Body in the River, and he continues teaching English at West Prairie Junior and High School. He is currently working on his second novel.

Faculty

Matthew Balk presented “Critical Reading in a Generative AI World” at the Minnesota Writing and English Conference, Mar. 27th.

David Banash published “The Avant-Gardist: From Surrealism to Situationism” in William Burroughs in Context, Cambridge UP, 2026 and “Situating Steve Tomasula in the Long History of the Novel” in Electronic Book Review, Apr. 2026.

Rebekah Buchanan published “What Are You Writing? The Hopes and Hurdles of Transitioning from Writing Methods to Teaching Writing” in Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education with English Education alumni and classroom teacher Darrin Ross. She published numerous book reviews in both School Library Journal and Library Journal. She hosts regular podcasts on New Books Network. Some of her favorites this year were with Jason Reynolds, Ani DiFranco, Melissa Auf der Maur, and Jo Nesbø. She is active in the National Council of Teachers of English and the Rural Teacher Interest group where she is part of the leadership team and presented in Colorado at the national convention.

Merrill Cole published poems, including “About to Listen” and “Fish Magic,” forthcoming Michigan Quarterly Review; “Meditation with Medieval Plague Paintings,” New York Quarterly, Jan. 2026; “The Secret Outside,” Interim: A Journal of Poetry and Poetics, Nov. 2025; “My Censored Tumbr,” “Men by Rote,” “Ode on High Fructose Corn Syrup,” “Doll Camera,” and “Evidence” appeared in Second Coming, Aug.-Sept. 2025; “The Advocates of the Ordinary,” Action, Spectacle, Summer 2025. He presented “Program Cuts and Restructuring with Collective Bargaining” at the Fighting Back Against Institutional Mergers, Program Cuts, and Restructuring Workshop, AAUP-AFT Summer Institute, Atlanta, Jul. 2025.

Roberta Di Carmine presented the paper “The Cultural and Social Impacts of Cinematic Adaptations: The Case of Bones and All” and moderated the panel “Adaptation: Literature, Film, and Culture: Adapting Vampires, Zombies and Cannibals” at the 2026 SouthWest Popular/American Culture (PACA) Association Conference, Feb. 2026. She participated in the Graduate Mentorship Program for the Society of Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) working with doctoral students on their dissertations and providing mentorship for the job market and interview process with reviews of candidate cover letters and teaching philosophy statements.

Everett Hamner had his essay “Remembering the Disappeared: Science Fiction Film in Post-Dictatorship Argentina,” reprinted in Science Fiction Against the Margins, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press and University of Washington Press, 2025. He presented “Richard Powers’ Playground, AI, and the Evolution of Species” for the roundtable on “Convergences Around the Ineffable: Science, Religion, and the Evolution of Contemporary Fiction” at MLA, Toronto, 2026. He attended The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), and he organized and participated in eight related public presentations, including the RiverWay Steering Meeting, Columbia College, Chicago; Green Drinks, Quad Cities; Ecomedia Virtual Lecture Series for the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment; Environmentally Concerned Citizens, Macomb; St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport; and the Upper Mississippi River Conference, Moline. He was interviewed by The Current (WQAD News); Tri-States Public Radio; the Regent College Podcast; and QuadCities.com.

Katya Kozhukhova gave birth to a daughter, Galena Marie Rocca.

Barb Lawhorn published short fiction, including “Screwing Up The Nerve,” Porkbelly Press, Summer 2025; “Blue,” Panorama, Winter 2025; “Seed Pearl,” Iron Horse Literary Review, Winter 2025; and her story “Poetry of Fact” was a Breakwater Review Fiction Contest semifinalist. She advised The Book Was Better, a student organization devoted to reading for pleasure, and Elements, the English department’s literary review. She coordinated the Poetry Garden Party series with Dr. Balk in the fall and looks forward to bringing it back next year. She coordinated Create with Courage—open mic and ink painting—in response to the events and murders in Minnesota. She coordinated the Reading Room Series’ Drop Everything And Read second annual event featuring alum Connor Sullivan and showcasing English department programs and classes. She was the lead organizer for Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan’s visit to campus.

Dan Malachuk published reviews of Henry David Thoreau: Thinking Disobediently in American Literary History Review, Fall 2025 and Political Liberalism and the Rise of American Romanticism in Transatlantica, Jul. 2025.

Amy Mossman accepted a new position as Western’s Director of Assessment, Accreditation, and Strategic Planning. As part of the Rural Postsecondary Education and Rural Development grant, she ran a workshop for area high school students exploring where an English B.A. can take you, featuring the real-life journeys of English alumni, activities that gave students a taste of the English major experience, and practical tips for charting their own course as future English majors. She presented “Serving Our Students, Serving the Region: Early Design and Lessons from an MLA Pathways Project” at MLA in Toronto, Jan. 2026. As part of the MLA Pathways grant, she worked with the Small Business Development Center and English alum Kasi Henshaw to create project-based micro-internships this spring and summer for English studies students. With the assistance of faculty and undergraduate interns, she is completing work on our MLA Pathways Grant this spring and summer to spruce up the hallways of Simpkins with new displays that communicate our identity and value and celebrate our students and the work of the Department.

Mark Mossman was appointed to the position of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Western. He was accepted to the NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, Annual Conference, Kansas City, to present as part of the panel “What They Say and Do: Using Student Data for Success.”

Lisa Parzefall successfully defended her dissertation, “Afghan College Women Refugees’ Resettlement Experiences and the Impact on their Identities.” She presented the paper “Words, Images, and Action: Teaching Rhetoric and Co-constructing Knowledge”at the annual Conference on College Composition and Communication in Cleveland, 2026.

A. J. Rocca published short stories, including “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Hecatoncheires,” Sci Phi Journal; “Purple Flowers Mark Latest Volley in Borough of Cairneswick’s ‘Covert War Against the Unshrined,’” BFS Horizons; and “Will He Speak With Gentle Words?” Diabolical Plots. He published feature journalism in Macomb’s Community News Brief, including “Macomb Pediatrician Draws the Line – Here’s Why”; “Jennifer Egan Cuts Into Memory”; and “WIU Student and Aspiring Police Officer Abdullah Ballout Delivers Dates for Ramadan.” He attended The 60th Anniversary Nebula Awards Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, Jun. 2025; Seattle Worldcon, Seattle, Washington, Aug. 2025; Windycon 51, Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 2025; and the International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts 47: (Meta)Cognition, Orlando, Florida, Mar. 2026. He and his wife Katya Kozhukhova welcomed new baby Galena Marie Rocca to the world.

Bill Thompson Continuing his retirement journey in Ancient Greek, he slowly read Marcus Aurelius, Plato’s Phaedo, Apology of Socrates, and this summer will read The Symposium. Bill and the poly-lingual Ilon Lauer meet twice a week to sight translate the Greek texts and discuss them.

Alisha White was awarded the Provost’s Award for Academic Excellence in Multicultural Teaching.

Edited by Carter L. Myers / Edited by Karissa L Geisinger