Notes from the Trenches: The real deal from the students themselves

In the podcasts below, meet some of our students and hear firsthand what they have to say about their experiences with UNI’s graduate programs in English and TESOL.

Irina, MA student in Literature Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Irina is graduating on May 5, and will soon thereafter return to her native St. Petersburg in Russia. Her emphasis at UNI has been in the field of translation, but she has taken the opportunity to see much of the US on camping, hiking, and regular vacation trips.

Brenda, MA student in TESOL Friday, April 13, 2007
I have been an EFL instructor for more than ten years. In 1991, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada.I have been an EFL instructor for more than ten years. In 1991, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada. After spending almost a year and almost all my savings backpacking through Australia and the Fijian Islands, I started my teaching career in Japan. I worked for GEOS, one of the largest private language schools in the country. After three years of good sushi and ramen coupled with all the amazing experiences of teaching English and learning about my grandparents' native country, I returned to my homeland in Canada. Once back home, I began looking for a reputable TESOL certificate program. I knew that a teacher's certificate would provide me with more knowledge as well as more job opportunities in the field of TESOL. I graduated from the Cambridge CELTA program in the summer, 1995.
The following year, I applied to be a volunteer English teacher in the WorldTeach program and started teaching English at the Rajabhat Mahasarakham University in Mahasarakham, Thailand. I worked as a Worldteach volunteer for one year and two more years as an independent volunteer. In 2000, I transferred to Mahasarakham University where I worked as a full-time contract teacher in the Department of Western Languages and Linguistics. After many years of teaching English and still getting my tone wrong in speaking Thai, I moved back to the West with my husband in order to further my studies. I am currently studying for my M.A. in TESOL at the University of Northern Iowa. When my husband and I finish our studies we plan to return to Thailand and continue developing English education in our community.

Alayna, MA student in creative writing Thursday, March 15, 2007
Alayna started her study here in the spring semester. She writes, "SWF seeks Masters Degree in English: Creative Writing Emphasis
NO Angry Feminists Please!"

Katherine, MA student in creative writing Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Katherine V. Gannett is a non-traditional graduate student at the University of Northern Iowa, earning M.A. degrees in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis and Women's and Gender Studies. Katherine talks about life in the dorms and the freedom she found in the creative writing program.

Jennie, MA student in Literature Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Jennie loves the great variety of course offerings in our department. A Fragmented Portrait of Jennie M. Morton: Social constructionist. Writing Center tutor. Film lover. Musician. President of the English Club. Copy editor for Inner Weather.

Tobias, MA student in Literature,Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tobias appreciates the flexibility of the course schedule that can accommodate his long commute.
My name is Tobias Veeder. I am a second semester graduate student working on an MA in English, with a literature emphasis. I am interested primarily in the study of 20th century American fiction. These past two semesters I have worked on projects dealing with gender studies and humor in Faulkner's fiction, taken courses in the teaching of college-level writing and given a seminar presentation on the fiction of Philip Roth. I am currently working on a paper dealing with the effects of narratology, form and style in the work of Roth and Toni Morrison. Lastly, this spring I will be presenting a conference paper contrasting Faulkner's work with the literature of Zora Neale Hurston. This presentation will be held at the University of Rhode Island; it is my first event of this kind, and I am very excited to attend.Tobias, first-year student:
What I enjoy most about studying English as a grad student, here at UNI, is the close relationship the students share with the faculty. The master's program in our discipline is small enough that we have the opportunity to feel a real connection with our instructors, but the selection of courses remains diverse enough to satisfy a competitive amount of the more specialized and/or general areas of interest one might have towards our field.

Rita, MA student in Creative Writing. Rita has made great contacts here and loves the way courses fit into her schedule. Rita is returning to graduate school after a 23 year break. She graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, and studied at University of Alaska and Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Currently, she teaches English as a Second Language for Hawkeye Community College.

Holly, MA student in Literature, Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Holly was able to work with the faculty and continue her program of study during her pregnancy.We caught Holly at the Barack Obama rally in Waterloo the day that he announced his bid for the presidency. Holly, a mother of two, also teaches at Hamilton College while she is finishing her MA in literature in our department.

Aaron, MA student in Literature, Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Aaron James McNally is a Master's candidate at UNI, writing on Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He plans on entering the professional publishing world upon graduation. His criticism and poetry have appeared in Rain Taxi, The Cream City Review and 6X6, among other places.Aaron found an outstanding faculty and lots of practical experiences and opportunities in our department. Aaron James McNally is a Master's candidate at UNI, writing on Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He plans on entering the professional publishing world upon graduation. His criticism and poetry have appeared in Rain Taxi, The Cream City Review and 6X6, among other places.

Six students attend NAAAS conference in Baton Rouge. March 14, 2007
Four English graduate students and two undergrads at the annual NAAAS conference in Baton RougeWednesday,
With the guidance of English faculty member Dr. Pierre-Damien Mvuyekure, who is a board member on NAAAS, and with the financial assistance of the English Department, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and the Office of the Provost, six of our department’s students made the trip to Louisiana to present papers at the nation’s largest ethnic-studies conference. Click here to see more photos from the trip.

More notes and Letters from present and past students