Current Graduate Students

Rin Baker
A first-generation student, Rin graduated Summa Cum Laude with their A.A. in Liberal Arts & Humanities, and Summa Cum Laude with their B.A. in English and Education. Their research and writing pertains to the unique experiences and voices of working-class students. Outside of class, find Rin with her three cats, crafting, or watching a horror movie.

Michael Byrns
Michael is from Annapolis, MD and graduated from Williams College in 2018 with a BA in English. His current research interests revolve around postcolonialism, modernism, and the history of the English language novel. Outside of work, he can be found biking the Capital Crescent Trail and convincing people to watch Suits.

Elizabeth “Libby” Burton
Elizabeth (Libby) Burton graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2022 with a double major in philosophy and computer science as well as a minor in German studies. Since graduating she has gone on to earn a Fulbright scholarship to work as an English Teaching Assistant in Hamburg, Germany. Her current research interests include studying critical theory and exploring themes of philosophy in literature. During her free time, she enjoys baking and knitting.

George Concannon
George is an actor-turned-academic from Bay Shore, New York, and a proud member of a long line of Hoyas. He graduated summa cum laude from Hofstra University with a BA in Drama in 2024. George’s research focuses on Shakespeare’s plays and integrating performance techniques with academic analysis, as well as poetry from a variety of time periods. Outside of his studies, you can find George working at the Writing Center, expanding his collection of sheet music, or searching for a bacon, egg, and cheese that reminds him of home.

Marina “Mina” Cooper
Originally from Northern Virginia, Mina graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2021 with a B.A. in English. Following that, she earned her initial teaching license (CEAS) in New Jersey and taught high school English. Her academic interests include contemporary Asian American literature and speculative YA fiction. Beyond reading and writing, she enjoys painting, making clothes, and visiting her family’s dog, Theo.

Liqian Cui
Liqian grew up in Anhui, China, and graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University with a B.A. in English and Communication Studies. Her academic interests include Postcolonial Literature, Ecological Theory, Contemporary Literature and Queer Theory. Outside of studying, Liqian can be found immersing herself into video games, catching up on the latest anime or films, or simply chilling with her two guinea pigs.

Andrew Dickerson
Andrew is from Southern Louisiana. He received his B.A. in English from Dillard University. Before Dillard, he attended Donaldsonville High School where he graduated Salutatorian. At Dillard, he worked closely with and for his dear friends, Dr. Nia Haydel and Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy (the latter of which was Poet Laureate under Bill Clinton). Andrew enjoys exploration and expedition and is just as poised to explore the wilds around a city as much as the city itself.

Hayden Frye
Hayden is originally from Hickory, North Carolina, but has lived in Washington, DC for a decade. He graduated from Georgetown University’s College of Arts & Sciences in 2017 and worked in political and nonprofit communications during the ensuing years. His academic interests include Southern literature and speculative fiction. In his spare time, Hayden enjoys watching movies, pickling, and jogging.

Meghan Gerrity
Meghan is a 5th generation Montanan and logistics officer in the US Army. She holds a BS in Art, Philosophy, and Literature from the United States Military Academy at West Point and MPS in Legislative Affairs from The George Washington University. After work she can be found outside, often hiking, biking, kayaking, and camping with her family.

Kyra Green
Kyra is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Kenyon College with a BA in Psychology and Sociology in 2017. Kyra moved to the DMV area a year ago after 4.5 years working in Admissions and Multicultural Life at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME. She currently serves as the Inaugural Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Graduate School. When not on campus, you can find Kyra reading a great book, channeling her inner Effie White as she watches Dreamgirls…again, searching for new additions to her vinyl collection or spending time laughing with her community of people.

Rose Grosskopf
Originally from Hyde Park, New York, Rose graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2020 with a double major in English and Music. Since graduating she has worked as both an organic farmer and a library clerk. She has also been learning Yiddish for the past two years and relearning Latin through singing Gregorian chant. Her current scholarly interests include literary modernism, autobiographical texts in early modern literature, graphic memoirs, and diaries, particularly Holocaust diaries. She enjoys gardening and choral singing in her free time.

Isabella “Bella” Heick
Bella grew up in Great Falls, Virginia. She graduated from Marymount University with a degree in English specializing in writing and a minor in Politics. Her current research interests include contemporary literature, and feminist and gender theory. Outside of school Bella is interested in reading, playing tennis, equestrian, and watching hockey.

Olivia Hernandez
Olivia is originally from Miami, Florida. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2023 with a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Advertising. Her academic interests include 19th-century Gothic Literature, Surrealism & Fantasy, and Critical Theory. When not in seminar she enjoys writing, exploring new restaurants, and spending time with her cat, Gylfie.

Rebecca Hollman
Rebecca was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in English and Sociology. Since then, she has raised over $1.4 million for the justice-focused nonprofit MENTORS Inc. as a grant writer. Rebecca is currently a TA for the Georgetown Prison Scholars Program and is passionate about criminal justice reform. In that same vein, her research interests pertain to Southern Gothic Literature and cultural haunting. Outside of work Rebecca enjoys playing softball, listening to podcasts, and baking sweet treats.

Astiya Ixangaliyeva
Astiya is originally from Astana, Kazakhstan, where it snows seven months a year. She received her B.A. in Communications from Temple University, Japan Campus. Her academic interests include teaching creative writing, literature from ESL authors, Central Asian and translated fiction, and fantasy novels. Outside of writing and reading, she is an active language learner and an avid anime enjoyer.

Dave Jefferson
Dave is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having traveled and lived around the globe extensively as a child. Ask him where he is from, and he might reply Cologne, Senegal, Islamabad, Karachi, Rome, Boston, Palm Springs, or Washington, D.C. — all places he’s called home. A graduate of Boston University (B.A., Political Science), his academic interests are character-driven literary works that blend the real with the surreal and have story at the heart. His thesis, “Where Are You From?: Identity and Rootlessness in Postmodern Literature,” focuses on issues of global identity, multiculturalism, and transnationalism. A glance at his bookshelf reveals works from Zadie Smith, J.M. Coetzee, V.S. Naipaul, Jhumpa Lahiri, and other authors. When his nose is not stuck between the pages of a book, Dave consults on business and technology strategy for the Federal government.

Seyoung Kim
Seyoung grew up in Seoul, Korea, and graduated summa cum laude from Ewha Womans University with a B.A. in English Language and Literature. From a young age, she has actively participated in musicals and performed as an actor in her department’s drama club. In her free time, she enjoys watching soccer matches, serving in worship dances, and listening to musical numbers.

Lauren Kourey
Lauren is from the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Villanova University with a BA in English and Political Science. Most recently, Lauren worked at the DC Rape Crisis Center and plans to explore the question of narrative authority through her research. In her free time, Lauren enjoys performing with her band, cooking, and reading horror novels.

Chase Kupinsky
Chase is from Belchertown, Massachusetts and he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Springfield College with a B.A. in English and a minor in Environmental Studies. His research interests include Environmental Literature and World Literature. He is a Teaching Assistant for the Community Scholars Program. Chase serves as the Chief of Staff for Georgetown’s Graduate Student Government and is also the Chair of the English Graduate Student Association. An avid world soccer fan, Chase enjoys traveling, visiting cultural heritage sites, going to museums, trying new cuisines, playing baseball and mountain biking.

Ryan Lillestrand
Ryan received his BA in Political Economy from Pitzer College in Claremont, California. His research interests include the environmental humanities, the literature of the California water wars, and the role of writer-activists and unlikely environmentalists in the American West. At Georgetown, he is a TA in the Community Scholars Program and a Graduate Tutor at the Writing Center. Off campus, he can be found making zines and cycling around in search of the best baguette in the city.

Mostafa Mahmood
Mostafa is originally from Upper Egypt and has lived in the DMV area for four years. Mostafa received B.A in English Language and Literature from Aswan University in 2011, and in 2014 he received a Diploma in Teaching Methodologies. In 2018 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to work as an Arabic TA at The Catholic University of America. His research focuses on Class Mobility in American Literature in the nineteenth century. In his free time, Mostafa enjoys playing soccer, swimming, attending stand-up comedy shows, and meeting new people. His favorite comedians are George Carlin and Dave Chappelle.

Kristina McCune
Kristina grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. She received her BS in English from The United States Air Force Academy, where she also received an award for Outstanding Cadet Summer Research in the Humanities Division during her junior year for her work with out-of-print literature. She then joined Georgetown the following semester, hoping to continue her research regarding adoption and its presentation in literature. Outside of school, Kristina enjoys working out, listening to music, and playing her guitar or violin.

Diana Morley
Diana comes from Syracuse, NY and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the State University of New York College at Geneseo with a dual major in English & Adolescence Education. Her literary interests include modern and contemporary ecofeminism, the Romantic period, and Shakespeare. She has published poetry in two literary journals. She enjoys music of all sorts and spending time with friends.

Jacob Pardo
Jacob grew up in Plaistow, New Hampshire. He graduated with a B.A. in English and a minor in writing from Regis College, where he wrote and edited for the school’s literary magazine Hemetera and newspaper The Regis Herald. His interests include fiction writing, documentaries, and traveling. His current goal is to obtain an M.A. in English with a thesis focused on media literacy education.

Pearl Parker
Pearl is a Maryland native. She graduated from Andrews University in 2022 with a BA in English and a minor in marketing. Before coming to Georgetown, she interned at Education Week in their Marketing and Events department. In her free time, she enjoys reading, visiting botanical gardens, and filming natural hair tutorials.

Mallory Payne
Mallory graduated summa cum laude with
B.A.s in English and Political Science from the University of Georgia. Their academic interests include poetry and poetics, the British Romantic poets, environmental humanities, and critical theory. In her spare time, Mallory enjoys writing poetry, live music, catching films at the AFI, and hanging out with her cat, Worm.

Laurah Perrin
Laurah, a native of South Jamaica Queens, New York, received her BA in both Psychology and English from Manhattan College. Of her time at Manhattan she minored in Philosophy and Spanish where she also studied abroad in Madrid, Spain at the Universidad de Complutense. Her academic and research interests include African American Literature. Outside of the classroom some of her hobbies consists of weightlifting, jogging, and discovering new music.

Sydney Richner
Sydney grew up in South Florida. After beginning her undergraduate career at Florida Atlantic University, she went on to complete her BA in English at Florida State University: via its Literature, Media, and Culture program. With an undergraduate honors thesis under her belt, Sydney is now working towards her English MA at Georgetown University. Sydney has a passion for advocating for the incarcerated or justice-involved as well as an interest in literary research, journalism, and interdisciplinary studies. Outside of school, Sydney is a nerdy girl at heart. She loves anime, video games, comic books, reality tv, and poetry.

Colleen Reynolds
Colleen Reynolds is a poet and academic originally from New York City. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston College in 2017 with a B.A. in English, and received her M.F.A. in Poetry from Columbia University in 2022. Her interests span critical and creative domains, tending towards a formalist approach and love of mixed media in contemporary poetics. Her research interests include Victorian Culture, British Modernism, and 20th century American Literature, with a focus on themes of embodiment, gender & sexuality, and transgenerational trauma.

Jamira Richardson
As a military brat, Jamira grew up on three different continents, but she spent the majority of her formative years in San Antonio, Texas. In 2020, she graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary’s University with a B.A. in English Literature and Language. She currently serves as the Youth Justice Graduate Intern for Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service and the Professional Development Chair for the English Graduate Student Association. For her thesis, she is examining subversions of the Strong Black Woman schema and constructions of Black female affect in Afrofuturist reimaginings of slavery.

Mekita Rivas
Originally from Nebraska, Mekita earned her undergraduate degrees in journalism and English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was previously an editor at Cosmopolitan and a senior contributing fashion editor at PopSugar and Bustle. Her writing has been published in dozens of publications including The New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Women’s Health, Refinery29, and others. In addition to her editorial experience, she’s worked as a copywriter, editor, and strategist for various brands and nonprofits. She is currently working on her first novel; her research interests include creative writing, journalistic nonfiction, digital media cultures, and transnational literature.

Sam Straessle
Sam Straessle is from Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2022 with a BA in English, a minor in Politics, and a Certificate in Civic and Global Leadership. His academic interests include 20th century American poetry, 19th century British literature, and memoir. This year, he will work as a Teaching Assistant at Georgetown’s Prison and Justice Initiative. Outside of the classroom, Sam enjoys hiking, playing soccer, and embracing the outdoors.

Molly Sullivan
Molly is originally from a small town in Westchester, New York. Molly received her B.A. in English and minor in History from Duke University in 2019. Outside of reading and writing, Molly’s interests include playing piano, running long distance, and cooking.

Andrew Van Wagoner
Andrew grew up in McAllen, Texas. He earned his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in English, minored in Rhetoric, and earned a certificate in Creative Writing. He’s excited to return to academia after working in education. When it comes to literature, he’s currently interested in magical realism, fantasy, and sci-fi. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, unwinding with video games, or catching a movie (when he’s not reading or writing, of course).

Isaiah Washington
Isaiah grew up in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He graduated summa cum laude from American University with a B.A. in Literature. His current research interests include the liberatory function of water imagery in Black American narratives as well as speculative fiction with a focus on Afrofuturism and the use of synthetic lifeforms as metaphors for marginalized communities. Isaiah can often be found penning poems, drafting news stories, and volunteering in the community.

Maya White
Maya is from Sacramento California and graduated from the University of California Davis with a BA in English and a minor in Political Science. Her research interests pertain to BIPOC Representation, erasure, and spectatorship in academia. Her hobbies outside of studying include rewatching the same TV shows over and over, taking long walks, and discovering new music.

Gracelyn Willard
Gracelyn Willard is a graduate of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland where she majored in English with a concentration in creative writing. After spending the last few years working various jobs she has chosen to return to school to pursue a Master’s in English at Georgetown University where she plans to research the intersectional roles of feminist and queer theory in contemporary literature. When she is not reading, Gracelyn can be found perfecting her Gluten-free baking recipes and watching Formula 1. 

Ellie Yaeger
Ellie received her BA in American Studies with a minor in Art History from Georgetown in 2017. Her academic interests include 20th century American literature, autofiction, aesthetics, historiography, writing by and about women, feminist theory, film studies, and the pedagogy of teaching both writing and history. She is particularly interested in shifting definitions of art and the obscene in analysis of literature, fine art, and pornography. When not working or studying, Ellie enjoys creating decoupage with mid-century magazines, baking cakes, taking ambling walks through the woods, and talking on the phone. She returns to her hometown of Dallas, Texas, every October for the State Fair.

Kayla Yang
Kayla grew up in Los Angeles. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English and Psychology, as well as a minor in Asian-American Studies. Their research interests include realism, multiculturalism, and sci-fi. In her free time, Kayla likes to crochet, hike, and spend time with her bunnies.

June Yoon
June grew up in Seoul, Korea and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hanyang University with a B.A. in English and Theatre/Film. Before joining Georgetown, she worked as a writer’s assistant on a Netflix drama. Her research interests include postcolonial theory, representation of class, sci-fi novels and films. In her spare time, she enjoys casually walking around and searching for new coffee places.