Allyson Demaagd was accepted to the PhD program at West Virginia University where she is currently working as a successful teaching assistant.

Allyson Demaagd was invited to speak on literature at the  Grand Rapids Irish Heritage Society in April 2011.

David Settle was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Michigan College English Association as Treasurer. 

David Settle recently presented several papers at the annual conferences for Michigan College English Association and the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.

Luke Rapa was accepted into the PhD program at Michigan State Universit where he is currently studying Educational Psychology and Educational Technology.

Nichole Shepard, "...the faculty members of the English M.A. program at GVSU provided me with both a strong theoretical background and a continued appreciation of literature as a distinctive pleasure and art."

Matthew Anger, "The classes examine the field from a variety of critical approaches, display literature's relevance to the greater outside world, and celebrate the diverse perspectives and backgrounds of the students enrolled in the program."

Sherri Steelman, "My experience in the English M.A. program at Grand Valley definitely prepared me for my next steps as a Ph.D student at Western. I especially appreciated the close contact I had with my thesis advisor throughout the writing process. The defence experience was invaluable!"

David Settle, "The M.A. in English program was an excellent experience for me. Not only did I enjoy the literature we studied and discussed in class, I met some great people and my writing skills improved greatly as well. Since completing the degree in 2005, I have moved to several leadership positions in industry where writing skills are essential. For the past six years, I have also taught composition classes as an adjunct teacher at Davenport and GRCC."

Pauline Bleuse, "The M.A. program really helped me develop my critical thinking skills and overall it has been a very enriching experience."

April Best presented "The Displacing Effect of Other in Flannery O'Connor's The Displaced Person," at the Midwestern Conference on Christianity and Literature at Calvin College, held April 18-20, 2012.

Brittney Winters presented "God's Chosen People: African-Americans in Flannery O'Connor's The Artificial Nigger," at the Midwestern Conference on Christianity and Literature at Calvin College, held April 18-20, 2012.

Holly Kaupa presented "Creating a Bigger World: Culture Re-Structuring in The House on Mango Street and the Bildungsroman," at the Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media at Northern Illinois University, held March 30-31, 2012.

April Best presented "The Veil of Water: The River in Edwidge Danticat's The Farming of Bones," at the Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media at Northern Illinois University, held March 30-31, 2012.

Brittney Winters presented "Between Innocence and Experience: Marginalization of the 'Other' in Kerouac's On the Road" at the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900 in Louisville, KY, held February 25, 2012.

Mary Hancock presented "Maintaining Faith and Achieving Balance Through Inward Violence in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find," at the American Literature Association Conference in Savannah, GA, held September 2011.

Mary Hancock presented "Clever Portia and the Mastering of Gender Structures in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice," at the Third Annual Graduate and Undergraduate Student Conference on Literature, Rhetoric, and Composition at University of Tennessee, held April 2011.

Lisa Burgess presented "Three-Sex, Two-Sex, One-Sex: Gender Construction in Plato, Ovid and the Bible," at the Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language and Media at Northern Illinois University, held April 1-2, 2011.

Pauline Bleuse will present "The Use of a Fictional Language to Relate Controversal Content in Burgess' A Clockwork Orange," at the 2013 MLA Convention in Boston.

Rachel Curtis presented "Surviving English and English as Survival: Re-envisioning Grand Valley State's English Major" with Dr. Corinna McLeod and Dr. Ashley Shannon at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct. 26, 2012.

April Best presented "Race and Mobility in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin" at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct 26, 2012.

Thomas W. Howard presented "The World Will Burn Green: Survival of Morality in Grendel's Modernism" at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct. 26, 2012.

Pauline Bleuse presented "Survival in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived at the Castle" at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct. 26, 2012.

Jennifer Furner presented "Home Sweet Road: Surviving through Travel in Housekeeping" at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct. 26, 2012.

Jennifer Furner presented "Reflection and Responsible Agency: Understanding Oneself as Integral to the Classroom Ecology" at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct. 26, 2012.

Jason Kahler presented "Choosing to be Heard: Student-Selected Responding in First-Year Writing" at the MCEA conference at GVSU on Oct. 26, 2012.

Skyler Latshaw presented "He Was Sure They Were Being Watched but He Saw No One: Foucalt's Panoptic Gaze and the Psyche of the Father in Cormac McCarthy's The Road" at the American Literature Association's Symposium on Cormac McCarthy Ernest Hemingway and Their Traditions in New Orleans, held Oct. 4-6, 2012.

Carrie Steenwyk co-wrote and co-edited Walking Where Jesus Walked: Worship in Fourth Century Jerusalem in conjunction with Lester Ruth and John Witvliet. It is the first book in the Church at Worship series by Eerdmans Publishing Company.