Student Bios

Emma Branning graduated Magna Cum Laude from DeSales University in 2025 with BAs in English, Musical Theatre, and Education, and has been working as a full-time secondary English teacher since then. She focuses particularly on Early Modern Drama, specifically Shakespeare, but also harbors a deep interest in Renaissance and Medieval literature. She tends to focus her research on women within texts, especially the sociological and religious impacts on women, which is the topic she completed her undergraduate research on. She adores cross-disciplinary work in history and theatre, and hopes to synthesize those areas with literature within her writing and research. She hopes to continue to teach at the secondary level, with the ultimate goal of pursuing professorship at the university level. When not in the classroom, either as a teacher or student, she can be found singing, sewing, crafting, or petting any animal within arm's reach.  

Juliana graduated summa cum laude from Denison University in 2024 with BA’s in English Literature and Environmental Studies, with an Environmental Communication concentration. Her passion for writing and instruction grew during her time as a Writing Consultant for Denison’s Writing Center and as a Teaching Assistant for the English Department. These studies and a plethora of other adventures helped her write her two senior theses, each focusing on different aspects of ecofeminism and narrative studies: “Ecopoetry as a Catalyst for Environmental Understanding” and “Ecofeminist Narratives in Angela Pelster’s Limber ,” which won an award in Denison’s Robert T. Wilson Scholarly Essay Competition. At Villanova, Juliana hopes to continue learning about ecocriticism, especially applied to women’s studies and poetics. She would also be so giddy to learn more about satire and absurdism in literature. Post Villanova adventure, she hopes to pursue a PhD in Literature and to find herself teaching....

Puja Phuyel graduated from Penn State Harrisburg in 2025 with a BA in English and a minor in American Studies. As an undergraduate, she was an active member of the LGBTQIA+ student organization and advocated for civic engagement by organizing voter registration efforts that helped more than 100 students register to vote in local, state, and national elections. Her research interests include queer theory, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial literature, nationalism, diaspora, and cultural memory, with a particular focus on the intersections of identity, migration, and belonging. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys reading literary fiction, exploring bookstores and cafés, and hiking. She recommends reading The Ecosystem of Exile Politics: Why Proximity and Precarity Matter for Bhutan's Homeland Activists by Susan Banki and This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

Elliot Raine graduated from Plymouth State University in 2026 with a BA in English and a minor in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. As an undergraduate, he was the President and a founding member of PSU's Queer Student Union. His research interests include queer theory, trans theory and postmodernism. In his free time, Elliot likes to curl up with a horror novel and his cat. If you're looking for a book to read, he would recommend Lee Mandelo's The Woods All Black and Mariana Enriquez's Our Share of Night .

Alexis graduated from West Chester University in 2026 with a BA in English and a minor in Social Work Concepts. While there, she worked as a Peer Educator at the Center for Women and Gender Equity, with her most favorite responsibility being helming their book club each semester. Alexis was similarly involved with WCU’s independent, student-run newspaper, The Quad . Alexis’s research interests include print culture and Asian Amerian literature. In undergrad, she completed two funded research projects focused on Edith Maude Eaton/Sui Sin Far, the first of which examined how Eaton utilized her writings within her short story collection, Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1912), to respond to popular culture representations of San Francisco’s Chinatown in tourist literature. The following project used Eaton’s recently rediscovered writings within Mary Chapman’s Becoming Sui Sin Far (2016) to analyze the influence of place of publication on Eaton’s representation of Chinese identity. Alexis also has...

Juliana Catania graduated from Siena University in 2026 with a BA in English and a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. With passions for community building and creativity, Juliana spent time as a Resident Assistant, English Department Social Media Intern, and club leader for Chaotick (Siena’s hip-hop dance club) throughout her undergraduate studies. She also developed a love for teaching and pedagogical training as a Peer Writing Tutor at Siena’s Writing Center. Juliana’s academic interests include Victorian Literature and contemporary feminist theory, more specifically: anti-carceral feminism, ecofeminism, and sex worker feminism. As an undergrad, Juliana examined material readings of sex work and nature in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton and Thomas Hardy’s  Tess of the d’Urbervilles to better understand the experiences of marginalized women, survivors of sexual violence, and sex workers in Victorian Society. At Villanova, Juliana hopes to continue exploring how con...

Lauren Deaton graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in English Literature, a BA in Media and Professional Communications, an Honors Degree, a minor in Film and Media Studies, and Certificates in Children's Literature and Public and Professional Writing. Her multi-media senior thesis, “The Life of Jean Grey”, which was supported by the Pitt Humanities Center, worked with monster theory to examine the depiction of the X-Men hero Jean Grey as monstrous in the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Sagas. Her work has previously appeared in “Forbes and Fifth”, and the student run magazine “Studio 412”. At Villanova, Lauren hopes to continue her studies of women as monsters, building on her foundation of monster, horror, and feminist theory. She also wishes to continue to develop her analytical and creative nonfiction writing skills. In her free time, Lauren enjoys reading, watching movies, crafting, thrifting, and trying new coffee shops.

Leland Calistri graduated from Bucknell University with a B.A. in English and Classics. He credits a formative seminar on Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man for shifting his scholarly focus towards issues of culture and identity within American literature. This culminated in his senior thesis titled “In The Country,” where he analyzed the effects of the American pastoral on Appalachia through The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock. At Villanova, Leland hopes to continue investigating how certain American authors contributed to the formation of what he calls the “pastoral project.” He also wishes to gain insights from other literary periods and schools of critical thought. Specific areas of interest include Early American literature, Irish literature, and 19th-century American literature. In his free time, Leland enjoys fishing, hiking, writing poetry, and listening to music.

Javier Correoso is a Cuban-American graduate student born in Santiago de Cuba and residing in New Jersey. He graduated in 2025 from Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a B.A. in English and Political Science. Under the supervision of Professors Alfredo Franco and Adam Dalva, he presented his honors thesis in creative writing, titled "The End of the Carnival," which earned Highest Honors and the Henry Rutgers Scholar Award. The thesis was a book-length short-story collection that covered life in present-day Cuba and the Cuban-American diasporic identity. It blended techniques of literary fiction and surrealism with themes of nostalgia, politics, and culture. At Rutgers, Javier attended English courses focused on classic and contemporary American literature, classics, and the short story medium. He also tutored writing for the English Department.  At Villanova, he intends to deepen his knowledge of the literature of the Americas, the works of the Latin American Boom, and Engl...

Nikola Stojcic graduated from UCLA in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Science in Physiological Science. Initially pre-med, Nikola eventually came to her senses and immersed herself in English courses, where she developed a love for medieval literature. Her final paper for her capstone seminar explored the depiction of religious portents across classical and early medieval works. At Villanova, she hopes to deepen her knowledge of medieval literature, with a particular interest in examining chivalric romance from a queer perspective. At the opposite end of the literary spectrum, she is interested in post-modern writers like David Foster Wallace, George Saunders, and Jennifer Egan whose works investigate loneliness and alienation in modern life. Nikola has also received an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in 2023. She hopes to continue writing creatively while pursuing her academic interests at Villanova. In her free time, Nikola enjoys wa...

Christopher Supplee graduated magnum cum laude from Fordham University with a bachelor's in English with a concentration in creative writing. With a minor in theology, he conducted interdisciplinary research between the relation of religion, trauma, and literature. His undergraduate senior thesis was a case study on a self-curated list of fantasy novels, comparing canonical texts written by white authors with novels written by black authors that contained similar themes and images. The conclusion of his thesis was that Afro-fantasy engages with fantasy theory through the lens of liberation rather than merely escapism. The thesis built upon an earlier research project on the African spirituality's preservation and adaptation in the colonial world. Christopher intends to continue his research into African diasporic literature at Villanova, all the while working as a graduate assistant at the writing center. In his free time Christopher is either working on his fantasy novel, draw...

Sean Karlen graduated from Temple University in 2025 with a B.A. in English and minor in Art History. While there he developed an interest in post-colonial studies, ultimately writing his capstone in literary criticism focusing on similar themes of race and identity found in John Okada’s No-No Boy and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Also an independent writer, Sean has written and published two novels and is working on a third. Hoping to teach in a university setting one day, he volunteers some of his time as a teaching assistant at Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej W Lublinie in Lublin, Poland. At Villanova, Sean hopes to build on his knowledge of post-colonial studies, incorporating what he learns into his writing. In his spare time, he runs a small business based out of Philadelphia, often traveling all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. When home, he enjoys writing, painting, caring for his numerous plants, and annoying his dog, Chewy.

Guadalupe graduated from City University of New York (CUNY), Queens College, with a BA in English and minors in Spanish and History. Her thesis examined retellings of La Llorona, a Mexican folklore, in contemporary young adult literature and explored how these narratives connect to Gloria Anzaldúa’s theory of conocimiento . Building on this foundation, she hopes to continue her studies of Latinx Literature, Indigenous studies, and literary translation at Villanova. After graduation, Guadalupe worked as a grant writer for a New York City nonprofit, helping secure funding for after-school programs, winter sports initiatives, supportive housing in Brooklyn and Bronx communities. In her free, she enjoys hiking, swimming, reading, and attending Broadway shows.

Ava graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware in 2025 with a B.A. in English. She began her studies in English Education, hoping to become a high school teacher, but shifted her focus in her second year to explore alternative career paths and pursue a growing interest in critical theory. From here, Ava developed a love for speculative fiction, particularly Russian sci-fi and feminist dystopias. For her capstone thesis, she examined the role of anthropocentrism and patriarchal capitalism in the degradation of both women and the environment, using Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake as a case study. At Villanova, she hopes to deepen her study of speculative literature and as always, bring a feminist and intersectional perspective. In her senior year, Ava worked as a Content Writing Intern for the English department, where she helped promote new internship opportunities within the program and organize events related to professional development. She can’t wait to harness these skil...

Maggie Murtha graduated magna cum laude from Immaculata University with a B.A. in English and a secondary education teaching certificate. While at Immaculata, she found and developed an interest in Irish literature, particularly in 20th century Irish drama and its exploration of national identity and character. At Villanova, she hopes to continue her study of Irish literature, as well as to put her minor in Women’s Studies to good use in exploring issues of gender throughout various literature.   She currently works as an English teacher for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, teaching everything from classics like Macbeth and the Odyssey to rhetorical analysis through modern movies. In her free time, Maggie enjoys writing, playing video games, and is an avid musical theater fan.

Allison graduated from Purdue University in 2023 with a BA in English and minors in psychology and sociology. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta and a teaching assistant at the Purdue On-Campus/Online Writing Lab (OWL). She wrote her capstone thesis on the influences of capitalism and modern warfare on Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical short works. Post-graduation, Allison worked as a technical writer and focused on the accessibility of language. At Villanova, she’s excited to further her research on postmodern literature and the depictions of humanity and morality within it. In her free time, she enjoys trying new crafts, visiting state parks, and watching documentaries about history.

Ashley Lee graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2021 with a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature, and a minor in Legal Studies. Ashley’s academic journey, marked by honors and a Dean’s Scholarship, reflects a deep commitment to exploring the nuances of English literature, particularly 18th and 19th-century British works.  Having gained diverse professional experience in finance, real estate, and education, Ashley has honed critical thinking, research, and communication skills, which they now wish to further develop through Villanova University's English Master's program. With a particular interest in Enlightenment and Romanticism, Ashley aims to contribute to scholarly discourse while engaging with Villanova's esteemed faculty and the program's rich academic opportunities. In her free time, Ashley enjoys writing creatively, often exploring different genres and themes, and loves watching classic Korean movies. She also cherishes spending q...

Sophie Hargrove graduated from Kenyon College in 2020 with her BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Her thesis was a collection of her own poetry, mostly exploring issues of addiction and family relationships. In college, Sophie’s literary studies focused heavily on modern and postmodern literature, African American literature, and Irish literature. After (virtual) graduation, Sophie spent a year teaching K-8 students at Princeton Montessori school and tutoring students privately in History and Literacy. Subsequently, she worked as an administrative assistant in the Princeton area and in local government in Montgomery Township. In her free time, Sophie enjoys running, writing, collaging, baking, singing, pestering her beloved cat, Juno, and reading overdue library books at her local dive bar. Sophie’s literary interests these days trend heavily toward contemporary autofictive novels and short stories. At Villanova, Sophie hopes to continue exploring instances of non-trad...

Julia graduated from Reed College with a BA in German Literature in 2012. After graduating, she spent a year studying Weimar era political fairy tales in Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany on a Fulbright research grant. She also holds an MA in German from UC Berkeley, where she focused on German Romanticism and realism, and a teaching credential in English from the University of San Francisco. She has spent the last five years working as a high school teacher in San Francisco Public Schools, where she taught everything from YA and graphic novels to Shakespeare and the Odyssey.  Her current research interests include 19th and 20th century novels and the intersections of literature, politics, and class. She also reads widely across contemporary fiction, creative nonfiction, history, and theory, with the occasional German novel thrown in as well. Beyond reading, she likes to spend time going to the movies, going to shows, visiting friends, and hopefully getting back into bike touring.

Maggie Jones graduated from Ball State University in 2024 as a member of the Honors College with a BS in History and a BS in Anthropology, as well as a minor in Ancient Studies. Heavily involved with the student-run organization Museum Club since her freshman year, Maggie served as vice president of the club for two years, as well as president her senior year. Also in her senior year, Maggie supported Dr. Emily Johnson in her oral history project collecting interviews and stories of the local LGBTQ+ community as a transcriber.  Her senior thesis, under the guidance of Dr. Abel Alves, explored the history of emotions in regard to 17th-Century Restoration England. Examining the mysterious “Princes in the Tower” urn within Westminster Abbey, she analyzed possible connections and symbols related to Restoration propaganda intentionally utilized by Charles II, connecting his reign to dynasties past.  Her research has focused primarily on English royal history and queenship displays ...