English Alumni Spotlights
Catch up with UNO English Department alumni and discover the possibilities that exist after graduation.
Senator Wendy DeBoer
Achievements in English
Congratulations to UNO English Alum, Senator Wendy DeBoer for receiving the 2024 Public Service Award. The ability to listen to other’s views is supplemented by her experience with English as “literature exposed her to different ideas and different perspectives.” In addition to broader perspectives, she also believes that studying English helped her with “Critical thinking, communicating ideas succinctly, and forming better arguments.”
Published Fall 2024
Leslie Lopez
Why Study English?
Lopez states, “If you want to be able to think critically in a way that is probably more subjective than hard sciences or fields like that, and in situations where multiple answers can be true, studying English is very helpful. It also helps you empathize with others in different situations because stories exemplify real life and give you another way to understand each other. There’s so much of the world we can’t experience, but literature helps you explore things you might not be able to get to experience in your life.”
Published Spring 2024
Tia Cole
Why Study English?
Cole sees her UNO English degree as what opened the path to her current career and as a tool that “helped develop the expertise she uses in many aspects of her business.” She believes that her experience at UNO contributes to her success in leadership, composition, and pedagogy among other things.
Published Fall 2022
Jessie Carr
Achievements in English
Congratulations are in order for UNO English alum, Jessie Carr. She has won the Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis competition for her thesis, “Invisible Wolves: A Memoir of Maladies.”
Published Fall 2022
Kristine Mahler
Why Study English?
Mahler describes the English/Creative Nonfiction program at UNO as pivotal to her development as a writer, and she credits her success to the unwavering support, encouragement, and feedback from the department.
Published Fall 2022
Thom Davis
Why Study English?
Davis explains that, without the knowledge and experience he gained while a grad student taking UNO English classes, he never could have been qualified to teach Advanced Composition for IS&T
Published Fall 2022
Wendy DeBoer
Why Study English?
Studying English supplemented her ability to listen to other’s views because “literature exposed her to different ideas and different perspectives.” In addition to broader perspectives, she also believes that studying English helped her with “critical thinking, communicating ideas succinctly, and forming better arguments.”
Published Fall 2022
Carrie Palmesano
Achievements in English
The Nebraska English Language Arts Council and Nebraska Council on Teacher Education have named UNO English alumna Carrie Palmesano as Nebraska’s English Teacher of the Year for 2021-2022.
Published Spring 2022
Moojan Sharifi
Why Study English?
According to Sharifi, “UNO’s Department of English excels in supplying students with the right materials, providing necessary skills to be successful in their careers outside the classroom setting. My writing skills significantly impact my career in financial planning...My career gets people thinking and talking about writing. The skills from an English degree are useful to me every day.” Sharifi is thankful for the experience of taking challenging English classes that helped pave the way to her success.
Published Winter 2018
Dale Munhall
Why Study English?
Munhall explains, “As a registered architect in today's world, my original pencil-drafting skills may have become obsolete, but professional success has come to depend more heavily on writing skills for proposals, presentations, essays in professional journals, committee reports, technical and contractual documents, project management correspondence and a wide variety of communications among design and construction teams. And the importance, complexity and pace of communications are constantly accelerating in virtually every other occupation as well."
Published Summer 2018
Mary K. Stillwell
Why Study English?
Prolific author Mary K. Stillwell is grateful for the support she received from UNO English, stating, "Although I was an older student out of school for many years, the faculty and my fellow students in the Department of English at UNO were welcoming. Thanks to UNO and to the faculty and staff of the English Department, who nurtured my dreams and set me upon this journey."
Published Summer 2018
Kelsey Bee
Why Study English?
Through her English MA studies, Bee learned how to approach creative nonfiction as both a reader and a writer. During moments of struggle or imposter syndrome flare-ups, the Creative Nonfiction faculty pushed her, encouraged her, and offered invaluable constructive criticism. Though it’s nerve-wracking to begin any new position, it is one Bee knows she can approach with confidence because of her well-rounded creative nonfiction education.
Published Summer 2018
Nathanael Tagg
Why Study English?
Taking David Peterson’s rigorous seminar on Whitman and Dickinson, as well as tackling his comprehensive exam reading list, helped Tagg develop a lifelong habit of closely reading literature to illuminate themes, not only as academic study, but also as wisdom for living. He thanks the UNO Department of English for helping him become the writer and teacher he is today.
Published Summer 2018
Emily Wiemers
Why Study English?
Wiemers believes that all of her experiences in the English Department at UNO had a profound impact on her as a student, scholar, and now academic advisor. She feels that she can now use the skills and techniques that she gained as an English major to assist students in their academic journey. She remembers having several fantastic advisors in the English Department who helped her during the tough semesters and cheered her on during accomplishments
Published Summer 2018
Sara Tangdall
Why Study English?
Tangdall explains, “Even though we don't traditionally think of English majors as working with data, I would argue that we do--we're just working with different kinds of data. Sorting through data, looking for patterns, and engaging in both qualitative and quantitate analyses around language was a vital skill I picked up in graduate school. It also taught me how to create order out of chaos, which, as a program manager, is my bread and butter.”
Published Spring 2018