University of Nebraska Kearney

Jeremy Wright is working as a Bright Start Transition Specialist at Metropolitan Community College.

The winner of the UNK College of Fine Arts and Humanities Masters Theses Award is Faith Colburn for Threshold: A Memoir. Paul Skinner received Honorable Mention for Fighting for Their Place: Constructing Masculinity in Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club.

 Sandra Anthony has just won the Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Grand Prize, a $2,500 cash award and a free trip to New York City to attend the Writer's Digest Conference East. Sandra received her B.A. in English Education 7-12 in 200, and an M.A. in Creative Writing in 2011. In addition, there will be a profile of her published in the May/June issue of Writer's Digest, and her story will be posted online at the Writer's Digest website.

Melody Morwitzer's paper, "The Significance of Weapons in Epic Poetry," Nathan Sousek' s paper, "The ABCs of Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt," and Rachel Nozicka's paper, "The Art of Time in To the Lighthouse," have been accepted for publication in UNK's Undergraduate Research Journal. Congratulations!

 Gary Dop, a graduate of UNK's MA in English and UNK's joint MFA program with the UN-Omaha, accepted a tenure-track assistant professor of English position in creative writing at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Randolph College is a selective liberal arts college in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

English major and UNK alumni Ryan Quincy has a new animated, adult television series premiering on IFC called "Out There." The series tells of the coming-of-age adventures of two midwestern friends. Quincy stars as the voice of the lead character, who is based on some of his own experiences growing up in Holdrege, Nebraska. It can be seen on Fridays at 9:30 CT. He was formerly an animator for South Park and has won grammy awards for his great work. The Kearney Hub has a feature on Ryan and his work, and the series also has an Out There Facebook page.

Congratulations to Gary Dop (MA from UNK) who was just awarded the GREAT PLAINS EMERGING WRITER PRIZE for 2013. He received his MFA from the joint UNK/UNO Program at the University of Nebraska. Gary's poems have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and his essays have been heard on Public Radio's All Things Considered. Gary is currently the Writer in Residence at North Central University as well as a screenwriting faculty member for the University of Minnesota’s MFA Program.

Congratulations to the nine Sigma Tau Delta students who have had papers accepted at the annual Sigma Tau Delta Convention: Shaye Champ-Mino, Kaitlyn Darveau, Alex Emery, Celeste Lempke, Lacey McPhillips, David Pearson, Charisa Ramsey, Aaron Rothenberger, and Justin Zyla. The students will be heading to Portland, Oregon, over spring break to present their critical and/or creative pieces. Faculty co-sponsors are Dr. Michelle Beissel Heath and Dr. Megan Hartman.

Mandy Brabac, who teaches English at Schuyler Central High School, was awarded the Teacher of the Year (2011-2012) by the Schuyler Student Council.

CONGRATULATIONS TO UNK's XI BETA CHAPTER OF THE SIGMA TAU DELTA INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH HONORARY SOCIETY FOR BEING SELECTED AS ONE OF ONLY TWO NATIONAL AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CHAPTER! 

Special thanks go to chapter president Celeste Lempke and faculty co-sponsors Susan Honeyman, Michelle Beissel Heath, and Jan Thompson. The chapter was praised for its "exciting projects, special events, and fundraising opportunities that would be helpful as models for other chapters." 

CONGRATULATIONS, TOO, TO CELESTE LEMPKE FOR BEING AWARDED THE 2012 RECIPIENT FOR THE SIGMA TAU DELTA LEADERSHIP AWARD.
Celeste was recognized for her responsibility and energy in promoting the study of literature and writing and in her "work with your chapter’s literary journal, in developing and promoting literary events, and in re-energizing [the] chapter." She was commended for her "embodiment of the ideals that characterized Sigma Tau Delta."

Eric Reed (English BA & MA from UNK) has just been awarded the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Award for Excellence in Teaching. Principal criteria include innovative or unique approaches that result in learning, ability to clearly communicate ideas, motivation of the intended audience, and recognition of accomplishments by peers and students. He will also be award the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Award of Merit. Eric is currently an Assistant Professor of English and Chair of the Division of General Education at Curtis.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Reynolds Scholars for 2012-2013:Tied for First Place were Brittany Cudaback & Lacey McPhillips ($400 each); Second Place, Shelby Krause ($300); Third Place, Brittany Nielsen ($200); Fourth Place Amanda Majer ($150); and Honorable Mention, Michael Coe ($100).

CONGRATULATIONS to the award winners from the English Department's annusl Conference on Language and Literature.
Outstanding Work in Graduate Studies: Celeste Lempke; Outstanding Undergraduate Essays in Literary Criticism: Amy Hadley and Eliot Wondercheck; Outstanding Applied Research: Lacey McPhillips; Outstanding Essay in Expository Writing: Danielle Cook; and Outstanding Work in Creative Writing: Lacey McPhillips.

On April 20th at 2:30 in the Nebraskan Ponderosa D, Lacey McPhillips will present poetry & research from her Undergraduate Research Project with Allison Hedge Coke in a study of Irish Diaspora, Nebraska Connections, Affiliated Literatures and Poetics. Her scholarly creative work presentation is sure to be inspiring. She won both the Best Essay and Creative Writing Awards from the English Department Language & Literature Conference as well. Hedge Coke, while presenting in Ireland represented McPhillips proposal for international research and creative activity there. McPhillips has just been awarded one of the first UNK Undergraduate International Research Awards to spend the summer at Waterford Technical Institute.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CELESTE LEMPKE FOR BEING AWARDED THE 2012 RECIPIENT FOR THE SIGMA TAU DELTA LEADERSHIP AWARD. Celeste was recognized for her responsibility and energy in promoting the study of literature and writing and in her "work with your chapter’s literary journal, in developing and promoting literary events, and in re-energizing [the] chapter." She was commended for her "embodiment of the ideals that characterized Sigma Tau Delta."Student News

Jillian (Tangeman) Wenburg is pursuing her interdisciplinary PHD at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (she received her Master’s Degree at UNK). She is
living in Durango, Colorado, and teaching at Fort Lewis College.

Congratulations to Sandra Anthony for receiving the Outstanding Thesis in the College of Fine Arts and Humanities for her Young Adult novel Inshalla. 

Katelynn Klute is working with Hamilton Communications in Aurora where she teaches classes in leadership, teamwork, company culture, and customer service to its employees, puting her education background and writing skills to good use.

Graduate student Carrie Crockett participated in a Roundtable at the Western Literature Association conference in Missoula, MT, on the topic "Transcending Place and Time: The Power and Perils of Online Teaching."

 The Reynolds Scholars will be reading their works on November 16th in the Choral Room 3-4:30 pm. The 2011-1012 Reynolds Scholars and their award-winning works include the following: "Taking Time" by Kristen Friesen ($400); "River of Woe" by Lacey McPhillips ($300); "Excerpts from the Lexicon" by Corinne O'Dea ($200); "Communicating" by Britt Cudaback ($100); "Wallfloweresque" by Caitlin Ostberg ($100); and "Elliott and the Grapevine" by Brittany Nielsen ($100).  

Congratulations to Celeste Lempke on her recent acceptance for publication in the international journal, the Sigma Tau Delta Review. The paper to be published is titled "Faulkner's 'Pantaloon in Black': The Necessity of the Fringe Story." Celeste also read the paper at this year's L&L conference, receiving the "Outstanding Graduate Student Essay" award. 

Congratulations to Melanie Glinsmann on the successful defense of her thesis, "Harry Potter and the Reimagined Fairy Tale: J.K. Rowling's Use and Manipulation of Fairy Tale Narrative in the Harry Potter Series." 

Sada Hotovy has received the 2010 Distinguished Writing Consultant Award. A senior from Lincoln majoring in English and History, she was lauded for “serving students in a patient and professional way.”  

Laura Jensen's Masters Thesis was a collection of her poetry titled "Rhizome : When Trees Grow Legs and Run." The Chair of her Thesis Committee was Allison Hedge Coke. Mike's Springer's critical Masters Thesis was titled "The Language of Image: Competing Grammars in the Verse of H.D." The Chair of Mike's Thesis Committee was Kathryn N. Benzel.  

Congratulations to the 2010-2011 Reynolds Scholars: 1st Sandra Anthony ($700); 2nd Lacey McPhillips ($600); 3rd Nicole Peters ($500); 4th Ryan De Moss ($300); HM Steven Warren ($100); HM Jacob Titus ($100); and HM Rachel Einspahr ($100). 
Congratulations to Amanda Brabec, Janae Harris, Angela Ohri, and Laura Weidner for winning four of the seventeen UNK-wide $3,000 scholarships from the Nebraska Department of Education's Attracting Excellence to Teaching for spring 2010. 

The College of Fine Arts and Humanities recognized Elisa Cruz (BA in English and Spanish) and Rachel Jensen (BA in English with Writing Emphasis) as the 2009 Outstanding Seniors in English at an Honors Day Ceremony on May 7th. 

Award winners for the 2009 Student Conference in Language and Literature include Kassandra Montag (Outstanding Work in Poetry); Faith Colburn  (Outstanding Work in Creative Non-Fiction); Abby Reid (Outstanding Essay in Literary Criticism); Nicole Peters (Outstanding Essay in Electronic Literacy); and April Carson (Outstanding Reflective Essay). Abby Reid, Nicole Peters, and Rachel Jensen were chosen for Special Recognition for Outstanding Work in Writing and Scholarship. 

Two English majors created posters and gave oral presentations on their independent scholarly projects at the UNK Student Research Day sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, the Research Services Council, and the Undergraduate Research Council. Rachael Jensen researched "Prose Poetry and Melody: The Influence of Music on the Creative Process." Grant Campbell's project, "Rhetorical Criticism," analyzed the children's book, My Beautiful Mommy, and researched how the book influenced children in their acceptance of elective cosmetic surgery. 

A BA graduate with a writing emphasis, Lubna Samha now lives in Qatar and teaches Arabic Cultural Studies to non-Muslim students at an IB school called Qatar Academy. She also has published journalism there, and belongs to a writers group. 

Jason Willard, Ryan DeMoss, & Steve Warren were awarded Reichenbach Scholarships from the UNK Graduate School for the 2009-10 academic year.  Congratulations to our department winners! 

The MAGS awards have been selected and the winners will be invited to Student Research Day in March. The overall winner, Anna Thompson, will be asked to speak at this event. MAGS Thesis award winners include Anna Thompson for the UNK Best Thesis and the mags nominee and Judy Kay Lorenzen (Creative Thesis, Poetry: When Autumn Comes) as the Fine Arts and Humanities winner.  

The College of Fine Arts and Humanities recognized Elisa Cruz (BA in English and Spanish) and Rachel Jensen (BA in English with Writing Emphasis) at an Honors Day Ceremony on May 7th at the Fine Arts Drake Theartre. 

The Bluestone Review has accepted two poems by Steve Warren for publication.    

Judy Lorenzen's Thesis. "Let Autumn Come,"  won the 2009 College of Fine Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Masters Thesis.  

Marguerite Tassi and Dr. Elizabeth Peck announced the award winners for the 2009 Student Conference in Language and Literature at a closing reception on April 4. The students and their awards include Kassandra Montag (Outstanding Work in Poetry); Faith Colburn  (Outstanding Work in Creative Non-Fiction); Abby Reid (Outstanding Essay in Literary Criticism); Nicole Peters (Outstanding Essay in Electronic Literacy); and April Carson (Outstanding Reflective Essay). Abby Reid, Nicole Peters, and Rachel Jensen were chosen for Special Recognition for Outstanding Work in Writing and Scholarship.  

The reading of Kevin Nenstiel's new play, Rain Makers, will take place on Thursday, March 5, 3:30 p.m., in the Fine Arts Building Choir Room (Room 263). The story takes place in 1968 when a young Hollywood maverick named Francis Ford Coppola and his apprentice George Lucas spend two months in Ogallala, Nebraska, filming The Rain People. In this play, a local family is turned upside down when the movie shoot brings unexpected money and lofty dreams into their house.  

Stephanie Gray, a current English Education major, will have a paper, "Sacajawea: A Fascination with Story Gaps"  published in the Fall/Winter issue of Heritage of the Great Plains.  

Five English Education and Language Arts majors have each been awarded $2,500 Attracting Excellence tro Education scholarships from the Nebraska Department of Education: Amanda Propp, Jaime Davis, Keli Margritz, Marilyn Mathine, and Sarah Wolf.  

Four students from the English department who participated in UNK's Summer Student Research Program participants presented their results at the 2008 Fall Symposium, Sept. 12, 2008.
Rachel Jensen (mentor Professor Charles Fort), "Prose Poetry and Melody: The Influence of Music on the Creative Process"
Rachel Usasz-Keeber (mentor Dr. Susan Honeyman), "The Effects of Tenure: Checking Classroom Tenure Abuse"
Elissa Martin (mentor Dr. Susanne Bloomfield), Multicultural Literature in the Secondary Classroom: Who, What, Why, How?
Danielle Helzer(mentor Dr. Susanne Bloomfield),  Poetry in the Secondary English Class"  

Katelyn Klute, a current English major, is writing a series for her employer, Hamilton Telecommunications, on email ettiquette and other online issues.  She has also proofread their bids and edited their phonebook. Her reading and writing skills are in demand in the business world, and she is gaining professional writing and editing experience already.  

Wendy Flesner'sshort story "Rhythm Before Reason," was recently published in the journal Short Story  (volume 13.2; Fall 2005 issue).  The story was part of her award-winning M.A. thesis, "The Short Ball," directed by Dr. Robert Luscher.  Wendy is currently teaching at Augusta State University. She has applied to the Ph.D. program at the University of South Carolina.  

Mary Dixon, (MA UNK) who recently received her MFA from Notre Dame, has published her article, “Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas by Mari Sandoz: Historiography, A Philosophy for Reconstruction,” in the Winter 2007 edition of Great Plains Quarterly. 

Roger Hannah's story, "Before thi Winze," written using Scottish dialect, has recently been published in the Midsummer 2005 issue of Bardsong (Vol. 2, Issue 1).  Bardsong celebrates itself as a journal for the celebration of the Celtic spirit.