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Program News

2025 WV Undergrad Lit SymposiumShepherd University English majors took center stage during the 2025 West Virginia Undergraduate Literary Symposium, hosted at Fairmont State University on April 5th. Heather Gilman, Alyssa Schlaefli, and Jordan Valdes gave a three-part presentation titled “Meet Me at Dawn: An Exercise in Grief,” which originated as a group project for Dr. Betty Ellzey’s seminar on British drama. The presentation explored how playwright Zinnie Harris utilizes poetic dialogue, formal and dramatic conventions, and characterization to explore grief. Way to represent, y’all! 

2025 STD End-of-Year Party Flyer

English McMurran Scholars 2025Three of our students were honored on Friday, April 25th, at the University’s McMurran Scholars Convocation. This year’s honorees from the English program include Brittney Huntley, who is an English Education major; Autumn Osborne, who is an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing; and Hannah Fraley, who is an English major with a concentration in Literature. We are so very proud of these amazing young women and think their recognition is absolutely well-deserved!

2025 STD InducteesOn Thursday, April 24th, Dr. Heidi Hanrahan inducted 14 students into Shepherd’s Alpha Gamma Kappa chapter of Sigma Tau Delta. As far as we know, these students are the largest group of inductees ever here at Shepherd. Sigma Tau Delta is the international English honor society and was founded in 1924 at Dakota Wesleyan University. The inductees included, from left to right, Anna Steig, Courtney Blank, Steffani Shingle, Brookelyn Smith, Evan Engle, Fiona Everline, Jill Martin-Hitchcock, Jasmine Garcia, Ollie Myers, and Sophie Lord. Ava Mellott, Carolina Stevens, Joelle Tritelli, and Chloe Westfall were also inducted into the organization, but they were not able to attend the ceremony. Congratulations to all of the new members!

2025 English and Modern Languages Award RecipientsOn Tuesday, April 22nd, before the first round of English Capstone presentations started, the English and Modern Languages programs celebrated our students’ accomplishments by distributing quite a roster of awards. This year’s recipients were

In addition, three students were recognized for the excellence of their writing in our first-year composition classes. These students won the Department’s annual Catherine C. Fix Essay Contest. The recognized students were

Dr. James Pate is excited to announce that the 2025 English Capstones will be on Tuesday, April 22nd, and Thursday, April 24th, and both sessions will start at 4:40 p.m. They will be held at the auditorium of the Byrd Center. Family, friends, and community members are welcome to attend. Admission is free, so come and support our graduating seniors! The presentation schedule for Tuesday, April 22nd, is

The presentation schedule for Thursday, April 24th, is