About the Students in English 401

Kymber(ly) Berson: I am a first year master's student. (I think we all might be.) I graduated from Illinois State University in 2001 with a BS in Mass Communication, with an emphasis in print journalism and a minor in writing. After taking a year off and working as a copywriter for a hospital in North Carolina, I am thrilled to be back at ISU to study technical writing. Another area I am interested in is environmental issues. I designed the newsletter for SEAC (Student Environmental Action Coalition) during my undergrad years, and hope to get back into the organization. I am also very into my animals! I have a two-year-old Yellow Lab and her name is Citrine. I also have a guinea pig named Joplin, and numerous geckos that my boyfriend Mike and I breed. (Mike is getting his master's through the Biology department here.) I love music and have been known to drive the distance to see bands I love!

Hyejin Cho: I am a 1st year master's student from Korea, and 25 years old. I have got my MA degree in my home country, but realized that there are limitations in studying English literature in Korea. Moreover, I am interested in Children's literature, but didn't have any chance to study about that. That's why I decided to take a MA course again, here at ISU in America. I really would like to improve my writing and listening skills in English. I wrote my MA thesis in my home country about Geroge Herbert's 'The Temple'. One more, I can speak Japanese, somewhat fluently, though I think this is not necessary for my studying English literature. :) I hope that everyone in the class will give me help!

Monica Freaner: I am a high school English teacher in Brimfield (18 miles west of Peoria). I earned my undergraduate degree from Beloit College. This is the second time I’ve started back to school to complete my masters. About four years ago I had to stop taking classes because I was assigned coaching duties. My schedule has changed so I’m hoping I can balance a lighter coaching load and coursework in order to finish up my degree. Out side of school and work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and dog and teaching fitness/yoga classes at a local health club.

Thomas Herakovich: I am currently a first year masters student. I've been married to the same wonderful woman for almost 22 years, and I am the father of three daughters, ages 33, 27, and 19. Much of my adult life was spent as a business owner in the construction arena, involvement in sales and sales management, and my final pre-college incarnation was that of a Massage Therapist specializing in head/neck trauma and headache relief. The phrases "late bloomer" and "mid-life crisis" adequately describe my somewhat recent shift into academia. I graduated from Vermont College in October of 2001, receiving a B.A. with concentrations in writing and literature. The plan at this time is to work toward a Ph.D. in literature - with the final goal being qualification to teach literature and writing at the college level.

Melvin Hill: I graduated from the University of Arkansas @ Little Rock w/ dual majors (1. English Literature and 2. Rhetoric and Writing) I am a MA student. My interest of study is African American Literature w/ an emphasis on periods from the Sixteenth-Century to the Harlem Renaissance. I enjoy reading fiction. My favorite writers are Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes, James Joyce, Toni Morrison, Jewell Parker Rhodes, the list is rather extensive. I also enjoy writing fiction, though, I might not be all that great. My goals include graduating w/ a Ph.D., submitting articles for publication, as well as my novel.

Randy Ingram: I am 56 years old, married, three children, two grandchildren, grew up in Henderson, Nevada, degreed in philosophy at UCLA, hired with State Farm Insurance, transferred to Bloomington, Illinois, degreed in Anthropology at ISU. I am a first year master's student in English Studies and intend to pursue a PhD in theoretical linguistics.

IRINODA, Katsutoshi (M) (Folks, address me IRI-NODA-SUN, please, SUN as in sunshine). 2002/08: starts Ph.D. program at ISU (English, TESOL cognate) Areas of interests: TESOL (Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language)-- language testing/ assessment/evaluation; teaching reading/grammar alternative methods of teaching (e.g., PSI - Personalized System ofInstruction); SLA (Second Language Acquisition); Media Literacy. Degrees: MA in ESL from Univ. of Hawai'i at Manoa (to be obtained this year) BA in Education from Sophia Univ. at Tokyo, Japan (minor in linguistics). Courses I'm taking this semester: ENG 401(2) ENG 402(3) C&I 438 --- distance learning. Languages: Japanese (1st Lang.), English (2nd Lang.) Favourite Novelist: Murakami Haruki.

Lori Propheter: I went to Illinois Wesleyan for English, and have had over a year off now. This fall, I'm on the creative writing track for poetry, and have an assistantship in the publications unit. I also work as an English tutor at Heartland Community College. I live here in Bloomington with my husband and son, who is almost three(!). My interests include music, desktop publishing, and postmodernism/avant-pop/hypertext-type stuff.

Andrea Roe: After graduating from Millikin University with degrees in writing and psychology, I worked for a year in marketing. Deciding that I wanted to re-focus on writing, I came to ISU to earn a master's degree and to co-teach English 101. My scholary interests include children's literature, newswriting, and studies in cognitive development. My not-so-scholarly interests include jogging, cooking, and traveling in my Saturn. I share an apartment in Decatur and now fully enjoy my daily drive along 51 North to ISU

Michael Soares: I am an English teacher at Pontiac High School and the father of a lively 4 year old. This semester I begin my seventh year as a teacher. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and Boston, and my son and I currently live in Bloomington while I finish my Masters.

Jami Spencer: I am returning to the English dept. after finishing my B.A. in English at ISU and taking some time off to be with my 3 kids. The girls are 5 & 6 and my son turned 1 in June. We just moved from Normal to rural Hopedale
and so are adjusting to small town living. First and foremost I love being a mom, but in the English realm of life my interests and passions lie in Children's
Lit. I also enjoy gender studies and psychoanalysis.

Mary Timmins is a writer and editor who joined the Master's in English
program at ISU two years ago in hopes of finding a career path out of her
boring yet tense staff position at University of Illinois. Now that state budget cuts are taking care of this problem by eliminating her job, she is ready to write (choose article): (a) a (b) the (c) some kind of book about money (a.k.a. "$"). A self-described "old person" she got a degree in philosophy from William and Mary a really long time ago and has been married for many years to Jim Onderdonk. They have a 13-year-old son named James who sometimes asks her to take him to concerts. On-line study is new for her -- always hungry for interesting talk, she puts in a vote for one or more class get-togethers.

Cesar Valverde: I am from Costa Rica. After finishing high school there, I dallied in engineering for two years, flunking out of most courses because of my lack of interest. I became an airplane mechanic and moved to the US to work, but did not like the job and went back to college. I got a B.A. in English literature and an M.A. in Spanish literature from U.C. San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Latin American literature from U.C. Irvine. I am now an assistant professor of Hispanic Studies at Illinois Wesleyan University. I am back in graduate school because I want to improve my writing skills in English, both as a critic and a creative writer.

Ray Yanek: I'm a high school teacher in Streator. I teach mostly juniors and seniors in English III and American Literature. I received my Bachelor's in English here at ISU and have been working on the Master's in Literature program for a while now. I'm taking this course way out of sequence, but… oh well. Currently, I'm also taking the pre-1800 American Lit class with Dr. Shields. I'm married as well and have a daughter that turned 1 in June. Our second will be on the way shortly. I'm also taking the pre-1800 American Lit course with Dr. Shields this semester.