BA/MA Students

Second-Year BA/MA Students

Maggie Dressler: Born in New York, raised in Palestine, and graduating from high school in Germany before crash-landing in State College, Maggie often turns to her own life as inspiration for her creative nonfiction writing. Her first journeys into creative writing began in preschool with inventing stories for her friends and siblings and continued through elementary school with a particular interest in writing fake wills. While she no longer does that, writing is still a central part of her life and her preferred mode of self-expression. She is dedicated to her family, friends, and campus church, Alliance Christian Fellowship, without whom her life would feel significantly less extraordinary. Maggie loves talking to people, making them laugh, painting, and going on long walks. Her future is unclear, but she knows she wants to help people and keep writing, no matter what.

Emmanuela Eneh is a second-year BA/MA student with a fiction concentration and English Major. She was born in Enugu, Nigeria before moving to London, England and then New York, New York where she spent most of her childhood. As a middle school student, Emmanuela moved to State College, Pennsylvania where she was inspired to enroll in Penn State University during her junior year of high school. She learned to love the art of storytelling as a child and would often bring in short stories to read to her classes in elementary. Middle grade fantasy books are some of her greatest inspirations, as Emmanuela believes that stories can present mature narratives regardless of their surface-level content and intended audience. At Penn State, she has learned to consciously incorporate more of herself into her work in order to strengthen her authorial voice. She strives to learn as much as she can from the creative writing community around her and dreams of publishing her own fantasy series in the future.

 

 

Nikolai Korbich is a second-year BA/MA student. He studied a lot of poetry as an undergrad, so that’s sort of become the basis for all his writing. He likes other things too, though, such as: fiction writing, non-fiction writing, movies, music, theater, fly-fishing, family, friends, auto racing, black coffee, denim, tattoos (but he doesn’t have any), and covered bridges. Nik loves the workshop setting, and he’s very grateful for this opportunity to work alongside the other BA/MA students and the core faculty.

Barbara Kutz is a second-year BA/MA student double majoring in Digital & Print Journalism and English. Growing up in Gloucester City, New Jersey, she has had a love for storytelling, particularly through poetry, ever since childhood. She wishes to tell her own stories of life, as well as the stories of those around her that need to fall onto ears besides her own. If she’s not off in a corner somewhere writing or reading, you can find Barbara at a pop-punk show, doing someone’s makeup (often but not always her own), playing the same two playlists on a never-ending loop, or dying her hair. Barbara hopes to continue pushing her creative boundaries and to one day release a poetry collection that would make her 14-year-old self proud.

Eliza Nicewonger is a second-year BA/MA student with a concentration in fiction. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with a double minor in Theatre Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in May 2023 from Penn State. She was born and raised in Massachusetts and made countless visits to relatives in Pennsylvania over the years, making her a self-proclaimed Pennsylvanian. On campus, Eliza is a Student Supervisor at the Berkey Creamery, an avid theatre-goer, a big football fan, and enjoys spending time with friends downtown. She has been writing fiction for countless years, starting as early as the second grade. After schooling, Eliza plans to pursue a career in the publishing industry and higher education.

Aliyah A. Rios has come a long way from leaving her home in Philadelphia and starting her first year as an undergraduate. She currently attends the Pennsylvania State University as a graduate student for the Creative Writing MA program, focusing on poetry. She has had the opportunity to write for journals and magazines while she also advanced her creative writing skills. She devotes her time to discuss Latinx/Latine issues surrounding leadership, community, and education. After graduation, she intends to go after a career in either book/magazine editing at a publishing firm or teaching at a university.

 

Cindy Rodi is a second-year BA/MA student with a focus in fiction writing. She completed her undergraduate years at Penn State with an English major and music studies minor. Though she grew up in Los Angeles, she has a home in Great Falls, Virginia (outside of D.C.) and is excited for wherever her future might take her. During the school year, spends most of her time as a member of the Penn State Blue Band as a piccolo player. When she isn’t running around from class to practice, she loves relaxing at home with a cup of coffee, a comfort-show, and a craft. 

Kiera Sargent is a second-year BA/MA student born and raised in Clifton, Virginia, and is focusing on creative non-fiction writing while in the program. As an undergraduate student, she majored in English and minored in Italian. Some things that she likes to do in her free time are save up enough money to travel or spend all that money on hanging out with friends. Kiera hopes that, through this program, she will find what genre of writing she loves and will find a career to pursue that values writing as much as she does.

Ava Wendelken is a second-year BA/MA student specializing in the composition of creative nonfiction. Born in Monterey, California to a Navy family, she has lived all over the damn joint, though she has spent the majority of her adult life in South Central Pennsylvania. Her work is primarily inspired by her observations on culture and her upbringing as an extremely online person. In addition to essay writing, she has also been known to compose poetry. Further, she has been known to dabble in comedy writing, and is proud to say that she formerly served as editor-in-chief of Phroth, Penn State’s century-old humor magazine and the second oldest college humor publication in the nation. Ava is unsure where her education in writing will take her in the future, but she’s open to just about any job that doesn’t require anything above an eleventh grade competence in math, and closed to any job that requires closed toe shoes.

First-Year BA/MA Students

Ashleigh Earyes is a first-year BA/MA student specializing in fiction. She also works on poetry and non-fiction in her free time. She utilizes music in her writing and likes to have a more musical feel to her words as if they are singing the story. She also likes to draw anything abstract or cute. Her hopes are to be a college professor teaching other students creative writing and to hopefully relate to people through her writing.

Paige Harris is a first-year BA/MA student with a concentration in fiction, majoring in English with a double minor in Anthropology and Women’s Studies. Originally from Florida, she now enjoys marginally more temperate summers in Northern Virginia. Paige is a lifelong bookworm bursting at the seams with her own stories to tell and is ecstatic for the opportunity to nurture her passion. When she’s not running around juggling classes, extracurriculars, and her job, she’s losing her voice at football games, hanging out with friends, or unwinding by binge-watching shows like she’s being paid to do so.

Julianna Herriott is a first-year BA/MA student focusing on fiction and a senior studying English and Biology. She is drawn to stories that bridge science and humanity through prose and seeks to accomplish similar goals in her own writing. Julianna likes to spend her free time traveling or at home with her three Golden Retrievers. After graduation, she hopes to continue writing while starting a career as a literary agent.

Karysa Infante is a first-year BA/MA student and senior undergraduate student studying English. She is a poet at heart and has been writing poetry since she was fifteen years old. She loves retro music, especially seventies folk rock, to the likes of Joni Mitchell and other lyricists of that time. Jewel, Björk, and Alanis Morisette are modern influences. Her favorite poets are Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath, and countless others. These writers are known to be open and honest with their readers, harboring less of a focus on form and more on emotion; something she really admires and tries to incorporate in her own work.

 

Dana Lynch is a first-year BA/MA student concentrating in Creative Nonfiction at the Pennsylvania State University. She is the current Creative Writing Department Intern and works at the Pattee and Paterno Library to pay for her book addiction. Dana was formally an English and Computer Science double major before getting accepted into graduate school. She is an avid writer of both nonfiction and fiction, focusing on her bi-racial Korean identity. She hopes to escape the desk job lifestyle and write for a living. For now, you can find her buried underneath writing submissions at a State College local coffee shop near you.

Maria Pavlenko prefers writing in the third person except when it comes to talking about herself. Hailing from Pittsburgh, she’s spent all her life (minus a semester abroad in Brighton!) in the glorious, agricultural state of Pennsylvania, which is incentive enough to leave it after her time at Penn State as an English major and world lit minor. She’s grateful to be in the BA/MA program with a concentration in fiction, especially to collaborate and grow with similarly passionate people. She plans to pursue a career in writing and prove to her Ukrainian parents that she’s capable of following through on risky choices—have a little faith, Mama and Papa! The remaining time she has left after writing and procrastinating in equal amounts is spent in the following ways: forming strong opinions on the media she consumes, practicing keyboard (piano, not typing), becoming a better cook, and having sick dance breaks both on and off the dance floor.

Ellie Pearson is a first-year BA/MA student from Palos Verdes, California, pursuing a major in English and a minor in Business in the Liberal Arts. Growing up so close to the world’s entertainment capital, she always had a proximity to storytelling, which led her to fall in love with novels and short stories. By spending time with enthusiastic professors, Ellie found her passion for storytelling herself. On campus, Ellie is an executive member of her sorority, a THON committee member, and a performer in the club Volé. She has been writing fiction for years and dreams of working for a publishing company and publishing a novel of her own one day.  

 

Matthew Ramos is a first-year BA/MA student with a focus on fiction writing. An English major who grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, which is a relevant topic in his writing. During his free time, he enjoys anything soccer-related, both playing the sport and supporting his favorite team, Liverpool. When he’s not watching soccer, he’s going out with his friends.  After graduation, he intends to go into a career of teaching at a university or pursuing a Ph.D.

 

Claire Williams is a first-year BA/MA student focusing on poetry. She is originally from Hershey, PA, but has found a new home in State College. She works as a peer writing tutor with Penn State Learning and is the Bednar Intern for Penn State Libraries’ Open Publishing Department. Claire has also been a Penn State THON volunteer since her first year as a student. Beginning in 2022, she has been shaving her head each February in support of the cause and plans on continuing the tradition until she graduates. In her free time, Claire loves being outside, writing, listening to music, reading, playing guitar, and doing puzzles. 

Melissa Zavala is a Mexican-American nonfiction writer in the BA/MA program at Penn State. Having immigrated at the age of two with her parents and sisters, Melissa struggled to identify with her peers in Las Vegas, Nevada. She developed a passion for reading and writing at a young age to fill the loneliness of her childhood. It was then she realized storytelling was not just a form of entertainment, but a way for her to connect with her family and make new friends. On warm days, you can find Melissa looking for rabbits in the bushes on campus and calling to squirrels on her way to class in a stylish outfit and soft pink makeup.

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