Happy Friday, Ex Libris readers! Today we are happy to bring you Part 2 of “Meet the New GA’s”. If you missed part one, you can read about Mark, Emily, and Ryan here. Please join me in congratulating all five new GA’s.
Jillian Merrifield
Program & year: Third quarter in the MAWP
GA Role: Writing tutor in the UCWbL, Assistant Coordinator for the Collaborative for Multilingual Writing and Research
Bio: Jillian (or Jill, she really doesn’t care either way) graduated in 2011 with a BA in teaching English from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. Since then, she has balanced grad school with working as a dog handler at a daycare, and is relieved to have moved on to a much safer–although slightly less cuddly–job as a GA. She lives in Oak Park with her boyfriend and brand new puppy, whom she can’t resist bragging about.
Favorite writers: Vladimir Nabokov, Jhumpa Lahiri, and, on the lighter side, Christopher Moore. I also have a growing affection for Virginia Woolf, even though the time I need to finish reading Mrs. Dalloway keeps eluding me.
Jill’s Dream Job: Dog trainer by day, great American novelist by night. I don’t see that happening, though, because that lifestyle requires patience and an inhuman ability to function without sleep. Alternatively, it might be fun to teach creative writing.
Nicholas Bruno
Program & year: 1st year, Writing and Publishing
GA role: Associate Editor, Poetry East
Bio: I began college as a biology major, and bought a motorcycle on Craigslist during that first semester which turned out to be stolen property of some sort. Suddenly, I was not only bike-less but also bored with the biology lectures, and I nearly transferred to a flight school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, though before committing to becoming a pilot, I was given a Larry Levis poem and decided to study English at the University of Toledo instead.
Favorite Authors: Lee K. Abbott, Barry Hannah, Miroslav Penkov, Andrew Hudgins.
Nicholas’s Dream Job: Write the great American novel, direct and produce the million-dollar film adaptation, earn royalties until I turn 80 and simply teach part-time at some small college in southern Ohio.
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That’s all for today, have a great weekend!