Student Bios

Eva Wynn graduated from Oberlin College in 2022 with a BA in English and sociology. During her time at Oberlin she worked as a writing and speaking peer tutor and teaching assistant. She has also worked as an office manager for a church and as a legal transcriber. At Oberlin, Eva studied a variety of time periods, genres, and topics, culminating in a capstone paper analyzing representations and expressions of female desire and sexuality in Jane Austen's work and in contemporary fanfiction, and the ways in which these depictions were influenced by form and social context. In her graduate work at Villanova, Eva is interested in queer and feminist theories and representations, especially in modernist texts. She would also like to utilize her sociology background and skills by incorporating sociological theory and the social and historical contexts of the texts she studies into her analyses. In her free time, Eva enjoys reading, knitting, yoga, hiking, jigsaw puzzles, and watching wome

 Matt Villanueva recently graduated magna cum laude from St. Bonaventure University with a double major in English and Adolescent Education with minors in Classic Cultures and Latin. At St. Bonaventure, he served as the editor in chief of their literary magazine  The Laurel—  the oldest continuously running literary magazine in the country— as well as an editor for the school newspaper  The Bona Venture . He also was a member of the men’s cross country and track teams. At SBU, he focused on ways to teach English literature and expanding the literary canon.     At Villanova, Matt is excited to broaden his critical theory and be involved in lively discussions both in the classroom and as a graduate and research assistant. Aside from reading, Matt enjoys running, watching sports, collecting records, photography, and cooking. 

Megan Hayes graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in 2022 with a B.A. in English and communication studies. As an undergraduate, Megan worked for the writing center, The Hawk newspaper, and the university’s English department. Trying her hand in a variety of writing styles, she has had a short fiction piece published in a literary magazine as well as news and features stories published in the university’s newspaper. In addition to her studies, Megan has had consecutive summer internships with Dr. Anita Sands, former James Wei Visiting Professor at Princeton University, where she assisted in researching and curating content for her course on female entrepreneurship. During her time at St. Joe’s, Megan was particularly interested in critical theory and Irish literature—two areas which she is excited to expand upon at Villanova. In her free time, Megan enjoys going to the beach, trying new coffee shops, and hanging out with her niece and nephew.  

  Adam Riekstins graduated in December 2021 from Belmont University with a B.B.A. in English and Music Industry. In his undergraduate career, he wrote heavily about Vladimir Nabokov and his bestselling work, Lolita . Aside from Nabokov, some of Riekstins’ championed authors include Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anthony Burgess, Nathanael West and Søren Kierkegaard. His thesis focused on Dostoevsky’s influence on postmodern character archetypes, mapping Raskolnikov’s Extraordinary Man Theory. At Villanova, he hopes to further study existential literature. At Belmont University, Riekstins worked as a research assistant helping compile definitions and translations for the world’s first Tatar to English dictionary. He also worked as a writing center tutor, helping students compose and edit papers. In his junior and senior year, Riekstins joined the Writing Fellows group at Belmont which allowed him to serve as a teacher assistant to a first-year seminar class on social e

  Sarah Gregory (Herr) graduated in 2015 with a BS in English Secondary Education, BS in Bible, and minor in English. She was involved in a number of activities including rugby, field hockey, orchestra, poetry club, costume crew, musical theater, wilderness campus, and student teaching abroad in Australia. After three years working with international students in a high school residence hall, she began teaching hs English at a small school in Lancaster. While full-time, she also wrote and implemented new curricula, taught more than fifteen unique courses, and directed the musical. She is thrilled to begin her MA in English at Villanova and hopes to narrow down her wide-ranging interests in various literary disciplines and critical theories. Her dream is to teach courses in literature and composition at the postsecondary level, engage in literary scholarship, and make a positive difference in her communities through inspiring others to read outside their own worldviews. As

Bailee Formon graduated magna cum laude from the University of Delaware in 2019 with a B.S. in cognitive science, a B.A. in psychology, and a minor in writing. While at UD, her English studies focused on psychological analyses of various works of literature. Before graduating, her short fiction works were published in the university’s student newspaper as well as the college’s literary magazine.   After graduation she began working in the field of medical communications and continues to do so today. She joins the English graduate program at Villanova seeking a master’s degree and a certificate in women and gender studies. She hopes to utilize the knowledge from her undergraduate studies in psychology to gain new perspectives on women writers and their works.   In her free time, Bailee enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with friends.