Program: MAE
Graduate Assistant Role: tutor in the writing center and assistant to Matthew Pearson in faculty services
Accomplishments, Publications: presented at Chicagoland Writing Centers Conference last academic year, Sigma Tau Delta member, Golden Key Honor Society member
Favorite Author or Period of Study: Early Modern drama, but I also love several authors outside of that period (of course) such as George Elliot, Flannery O’Connor, T.S. Elliot, and Jessica Powers
Plans for the school year: Finish two classes (Structure of Modern English and a Medieval req.) and write my thesis under the guidance of Professor McQuade. I also plan to attend a conference in November at Notre Dame and will submit a paper to the Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies graduate student conference. There are also a lot of great talks and symposia at the Newberry throughout the year that I plan to fit into my schedule. I am on the board of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, and will be helping plan activities and events for English majors and grad students this year.
My fascination with literature probably started with my parents reading aloud to my siblings and I from the time I was a toddler. I’m not sure what possessed them to begin with Beowulf, the Illiad, and the Oddessy since neither of them was an English major.
My undergrad studies were undertaken in a rather unconventional way, which, no matter how I explain it, always leaves people a bit confused. A condensed version follows: I joined a missionary outreach organization after high school and studied my undergrad through one of their universities. The university (Universidad Anahuac) is in Mexico City, but I spent the 4 years at the American campus in Rhode Island and earned a B.A. in Education. After that, I spent 5 years in Dallas, TX involved in the mission work of the organization. At the same time, I continued studies with a university in Rome (Regina Apostolorum) for a licentiate in Religious studies with an emphasis on Catholic theology.
After leaving Dallas, I spent a short stint in the corporate world as an executive assistant in a Chicago area company. There, I realized I had no attraction to the corporate world, so I applied for the MAE program at DePaul and started in Januay 2008.
Apart from studying, I love to draw and paint, dance (swing, Latin, and ballroom), host dinner parties, play ultimate frisbee with my friends, hear classical music live, volunteer in the community and at my church, meditate, spend time with my 7 rowdy siblings and 2 baby nieces, and explore obscure and interesting aspects of Chicago.
Stay tuned for more graduate assistant profiles in this series.