Here’s How Students Get to Know Us and We Get to Know Them:
- First-Year Composition Classes
- Foreign Language Classes and Activities
- Creative Writing, Literature, and Other Upper-Division Classes
- Affiliated Programs (Gender and Women’s Studies; National Writing Project)
- Upcoming English Classes
- Upcoming Spanish Classes
Grounded in the Humanities: Our Mission and Vision
Are you a prospective student? Enlace para la Licenciatura en Español (Spanish B.A.)
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Alumni Spotlight: Ali Stopher (2012)
Program News
Shepherd 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!
Three 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!
On 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!
On 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
- Outstanding English Major—Taylor Beam
- Outstanding English Major (Creative Writing Concentration)—Kelsey Robbins
- Outstanding English Major (Literature Concentration)—Heather Gilman
- Outstanding English Education Major—Evan Engle
- Outstanding Spanish Major—Paige Rice
- Outstanding Spanish Minor (a tie)—Karli Brown and Patrick Wilson
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
- First Place—Lucy Meeker
- Second Place—Anika Wirt
- Third Place—Gabriel Castro
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
- Jordan Valdes: “Masculinity: A Lonely Road Lit by Streetlamps”
- Meredith King: “The Lines They Crossed: Poems”
- Hannah Fraley: “The Book of Judith: The Apocryphal Text”
- Garrett Heath: “The Dreaming: Novel Extract”
- Taylor Beam: “There is No Witch: Wieland and The Blair Witch Project”
- Logan McGrady: “’The Vampires of Rosemill University’: Story Extracts”
- Melanie Fino: “Poems for Robert, Flowers for Mary”
- Kel Robbins: “’Thursday’: Story Extract”
The presentation schedule for Thursday, April 24th, is
- Anna Steig: “The Eschatological Bent of Beckett”
- Ali Castro-Delcambre: “Extracts from The Veil of Corruption”
- Autumn Osborne: “The Flight Down River Run”
- Heather Gilman: “Zinnie Harris’ Poetics: The Function of Poetry within Drama”
- Joan Howard: “Tarznea: Extracts from the Screenplay”
- Kayley Schildt: “’Playlist’: Extracts from the Short Story”
- Mercedes McGrain: “Citrus Lane: Novel Extract”
- Katie Keckler: “The Dichotomy of Home: Poems”