Tag Archives: profile

Interning with University Communications and Marketing

Matthew Reichard, recent graduate from Millersville University, completed an internship during his last semester in Millersville University’s Communication and Marketing Department. Read more about his experiences below! 

Matthew Reichard

Fall of 2018 was my final semester at Millersville, and it provided me with the best experience I could have imagined. This experience came by way of an internship through the University’s Communications and Marketing department. Initially, I was very hesitant when looking into the internship requirement for my degree. The classroom allowed for a safer environment. I had been doing journalistic writing with the classroom from my start here at MU. The work allowed me to learn, but in a more controlled environment. I was allowed to pick the topics of my paper while in most classes, allowing me to be an expert on what I was writing by choice. The writings went directly from me to the professor, and that was it. I got a grade in the gradebook and moved on.

With my internship. I got to step out of what was comfortable and learn from it. The writing wasn’t always what I was passionate about, so I had to do more research. I had to focus on who would be reading the articles I wrote, so I had to focus on the language or formalities behind the writing. The writings I did would go out the world, for more than just the professor to see. It meant I was more vigilant of things. I read more. I researched more. I edited more. This was a blessing. The hard work I put in at my internship allowed me to see I stepped into the right career path. I loved writing about the things I was passionate about, and I got to do that some at my internship, but I also loved writing about everything else. Doing the research was a blast. I learned about folks in the university I would have never known about prior. I covered topics I would have never touched if I was left to pick my writings. It was wonderful to experience a work-like environment before I graduated.

Stepping out of what you already know can be scary. It was for me, and I’m sure it will be for you.  You won’t truly know if you love what you’re doing until you do it out of your comfort zone. My dream is to cover the video game industry, but I know that’s a hard job to find. I learned through my internship that I will be happy no matter what I am covering because I love the process of it all. I was always a little worried. This internship took that worry away. If you have an opportunity to do an internship, take it. You won’t regret it. Stepping outside the classroom was one of the best decisions I made here at MU. I had great professors that taught me and prepared me for the situation, but actually getting to the situation taught me even more.

By: Matthew Reichard

Alumni Profile: Dr. Jude Nixon

Dr. Jude V. Nixon has enjoyed more than 35 years as a college professor and administrator. His teaching and research interests include Victorian literature and culture and Caribbean literature. Dr. Nixon holds a PhD in 18th-20th century British Literature, and he has taught at universities (small, regional, comprehensive, doctoral, research, private, and public) in Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, and Massachusetts, where he currently teaches and resides. Read about his newest work on The Collected Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins: Editing G. M. Hopkins. 

Dr. Jude Nixon

At the Hopkins International Conference at Oriel College, Oxford, in 2004, Oxford University Press charged six Hopkins scholars with undertaking the challenging task of bringing out a new Collected Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins in 8 volumes to replace the five-volume extant edition. It has been over fifty years since the five-volume edition of Hopkins’s non-poetic texts was published: The Letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins to Robert Bridges; The Correspondence of Gerard Manley Hopkins and Richard Watson Dixon; Further Letters of Gerard Manley Hopkins including his Correspondence with Coventry Patmore (edited by Claude Abbott), Journals and Papers (edited by Humphry House); Sermons and Devotional Writing (edited by Christopher Devlin). The poetry has been republished in various forms and in edited collections. Although the edition served specialists and Victorian scholars adequately, it has long been out of print, is outdated editorially and annotatively, lacks primary materials recovered in the last four decades, and do not benefit from the last five decades of wide-ranging original scholarship on Hopkins. In addition to Higgins and Suarez, the team includes Cathy Phillips, Kelsey Thornton, Philip Endean (replaced by Noel Barber), and Jude V. Nixon.

The Collected Works will correct textual errors, restore censored materials, add a substantial amount of important primary texts, include a biographical register of notable figures, and provide new introductions, chronologies, and annotations that set Hopkins’s varied writings within their nineteenth-century literary and cultural contexts. These volumes will not only change Hopkins studies for the next generation, but will also help scholars to revise substantially our knowledge of Victorian poetry, art theory, education history, social studies, and cross-disciplinary studies.

This new edition, appearing when Hopkins’s position in the literary canon has become secure, presents his religious prose differently and free from the scrutiny of Jesuit censors: as raw material expressive of personal struggle. Sermons includes materials that have not been seen since Hopkins’s death, particularly notes from scriptural lectures he attended as an Oxford undergraduate; vows made in the Society of Jesus; and private meditations written during his Dublin years. Expanded historical and theological commentary are provided throughout the volume. This new treatment is mediated through new annotations to the sermons and spiritual writings, new chronologies that show the complexities of Hopkins’s ministry, and new introductions that set the spiritual writings within a Catholic, Jesuitical, and parochial context. The general introduction to Hopkins’s religious prose attempts four things: it outlines the tensions between Hopkins’s vision and the theology in which he had been trained, clarifies the relationship between Hopkins’s originality and wider Christian tradition, notably Duns Scotus and Ignatius Loyola, draws attention to the differences between the historical cultures of Victorian Catholicism and the early 21st century, in the hope of encouraging a more precise understanding of Hopkins’s creativity, and explores the interplay between Hopkins’s faith and readers who, if they believe in Christianity at all, necessarily believe in it differently from him. As well, the volume sets everything within the larger Victorian context in which they are embedded. What has come as a surprise to us is how tied Hopkins’s sermons are to the current issues of the day locally and geo-politically

Sermons and Spiritual Writings will be essential for understanding Hopkins the priest-poet, for investigating the impact of his Jesuit identity and training on his habits of mind, and for determining the relationship between his pastoral practices and private devotions. There has been in place a standard, almost orthodox, way of reading Hopkins’s ministry founded on partial and piecemeal historical evidence, which has been followed lockstep by critics and biographers. That evidence, slight though it is, has often been deployed to support that theory of reading. What we are offering here are not so much new ways to counter that tradition of reading, to radically alter it, as to problematize that reading by providing hitherto unknown historiographic, biographical, and cultural aspects of Hopkins’s priestly ministry. The tradition of reading has presented Hopkins largely on the sidelines of his parish ministry, as a spectator ill adapted and poorly equipped for ministry. Our evidence reveals the contrary, showing him as a priest who was part of a team digging in and doing the work of parish ministry. That work, when considered fully, was strikingly successful. Perhaps not so successful might be Hopkins’s at times relatively discrete roles if judged only by his sermons. But what we don’t have is the ability to compare them with those of his fellow-Jesuits and the presumably successful ones, which are not extant. Finally, Hopkins’s theology shapes his poems in ways not sufficiently recognized.

We anticipate completion of The Collected Works in 2020, with the release of The Poems. Reviews of the volumes thus far have been favourable. Helen Vendler, for example, reviewing the Correspondence in the Times Review of Books (London), writes: “A marked narrative of intellectual and personal engagement arises as one letter follows another, and as the correspondences with poets come and go like eddies in the flow of mail.” Another critic, reviewing The Dublin Notebook, applauds the work of the editors: “Profs. Higgins and Suarez, both experienced editors, have completed this major editorial project with great distinction: they have provided a generous fifty-six page introduction, full editorial notes, 117 pages of facsimiles and transcriptions, explanatory and textual notes, the nine appendices, a biographical register of the names Hopkins most frequently cites, and a comprehensive bibliography.” It will be intriguing to observe public reception of the volumes and estimation of their scholarly value.

Finally, The Collected Works will make the leap from bound books to e-books as part of Oxford Scholarly Editions On-Line (OSEO— http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/2/about). The project has been developing its lists chronologically; the first 19th-century rollout began in spring 2016. The Collected Works volumes published thus far will be part of the next tranche, and the remaining volumes will be added as they become available.

-Dr. Jude Nixon

Internship Profile–Kaylee Herndon

Read about Kaylee Herndon’s Internship with the Reading Royals hockey team! For more information about the internship process, check out the MU Internships webpage. 

I am currently in the middle of spending the hockey season with the Reading Royals hockey team in Reading, PA. As one of their media interns for the season I am getting to use my Journalism and English experience in a career path that many people do not regularly consider when getting their degree.

Photo by Kaylee Herndon

Working in media relations for a sports team is extremely similar to working in a newsroom, except that you know what your writing will focus on each day that you go into work. There are daily deadlines, social media updates, live tweeting, and other aspects that go into promoting a team and covering their games.

I have been using social media, Photoshop, and Adobe Premiere in addition to traditional writing at this internship (see the above graphic made using Photoshop). Premiere is something that I thought I would never need to learn, but it turns out the journalism professors are right: you need to be able to take and edit your own photos and videos to make it out there.

Another skill I was surprised that I needed to use is my phone photography. It is the easiest and fastest way to get photos up on social media, i.e. an Instagram story. I found out that there are settings within the camera that makes capturing quick movement, like skaters or pucks, easier, but it is still a skill to be learned.

The most interesting concept of the job for me is that I went from being an athlete to covering the athlete. Having been on the opposite side of the job definitely provides me a different perspective. It creates some barriers when it comes to what I expect to be true and what reality is. This includes willingness of participation of athletes in team promotion activities and fan engagement and the accommodation (or non-accommodation) of the coaching staff. It also has helped me create some unique ideas, such as a player blog where a player gets to discuss their experiences in the local area and on the team. It was a large adjustment in terms of expectations when I found out that the media for a team does not regularly interact with its player-members of the team that they promote. While from the athletic view it makes sense, at least while in college, it would produce more interesting and engaging content if players were more actively involved with the media being put out about them.

Overall, this internship has been an incredible experience so far in terms of preparing me for my future career whether I go into sports or traditional journalism. Without the real-life experience, I feel like I would be under prepared for the fast-paced world of sports journalism.

-Kaylee Herndon

Faculty Profile: Professor Sarah D’Stair

English Professor Sarah D’Stair answered some interview questions about her professional work, inspirations, and hobbies. Check them out below!

Where did you go to school for your undergrad/PhD program? What were some of your experiences there?

I received my B.A. and M.A. from San Jose State University in California, and I’m currently finishing out my Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  I’m not quite finished with my dissertation yet, but I’m getting there!  I plan to complete the degree this Spring.

Professor D’Stair

When I started my graduate work at UMass, I already had a successful career in textbook publishing, and had also owned my own publishing services business for many years.   I got my M.A. through a tuition assistance program my company offered, so it took some time to get the degree while I worked full time.  Once I decided to pursue a Ph.D., I moved from California to Massachusetts to start a whole new life path.  Graduate school was an exciting change from the corporate world, and it was also the place where I fell in love with teaching.  I remember the first class I taught at UMass – it was also during my first New England winter.  On the first truly cold day, I walked in to class bundled and shivering, wanting nothing more than my space heater from home, unable to stop the feeling that hypothermia would descend upon me at any moment.   I think my students could see the horror in my eyes, could read my mind asking itself, “What have I gotten myself into!?”  Immediately, they let out a collective chuckle.  They assured me, almost in unison, “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”  We all had a big laugh, and I haven’t wanted to leave the classroom since.

My experiences at UMass have been both inspiring and challenging.  I’ve been able to work with so many outstanding and caring professors who have pushed me to excel, both in my own intellectual pursuits and in my interactions with students.  My professors not only taught me the value of rigorous academic engagement, but also the joy of complexity, the beauty of an idea spun in a hundred directions, the satisfaction in taking a thought to its furthest logical conclusion.  What I remember most from my coursework are the endless discussions I would have with my colleagues, conversations that would continue after class in the coffee shop downtown, and then into the evening over dinner.  I’ve met wonderfully talented writers and scholars there, many of whom have become lifelong friends and kindred spirits.

What inspired you to study English and more specifically critical theory?

Central Valley by Sarah D’Stair

A certain picture hangs on my grandmother’s refrigerator – it’s been there for, oh, maybe 30 years or so.  It’s a bit faded, the edges upturned.  It’s of me as a little girl, about 7 or 8, long blond hair in a ponytail, the bright sun lighting the day.  My grandmother had placed an old claw-foot tub in her back yard to be used as a kind of planting bed for flowers.  (Yes, I know it’s strange.)  In the picture, I am sitting atop the dirt packed into that old tub, book in hand, just reading the day away.  I don’t remember that specific picture being taken, but it so perfectly captures my memory of being a kid.  Always a book in hand.  Always sneaking away to read it.

I answer with a description of this picture simply because when I try to think of an answer to the question, “What inspired you to study English?,” I honestly don’t have an answer.  The answer is in that picture.  It’s just what I’ve always loved, always desired, always found myself most happy within.  There was never any question of studying anything else, at least if I wanted to have any kind of a fulfilling life.  I’m so grateful to have had the chance to spend my life so far in pursuit of literature and the arts.  It’s truly the best life I can imagine.

As for critical theory – well, that was a late addition to my list of loves.  The graduate program at UMass is quite theory-heavy.  We had to read a ton of theory, in all different fields.  At first, it was hard.  I kind of hated it, and thought it separated me from the novels and poetry I wanted to explore.  But over time, I realized how much more thoughtful I was becoming as a scholar and as a citizen, how much I began to understand my own perceptive limitations based on identity constructs I take for granted, and I began to see how much more about the novels and poetry I was able to discover because I had a solid theoretical foundation to draw from.  As a person who loves ideas, the complexity of thought and the vibrant intellectual debates that are embedded within theoretical texts became a source of endless fun for me.

Are there any other academic fields that interest you?

Oh yes, all of them.  Except perhaps computer science.  I’m not a fan of computers, really.  But other than that, I wish I could get a degree in everything!  Sometimes I wonder, how would my ideas about, say, Thomas Hardy change if I also was a theoretical physicist?  What a thrilling thing to think about!  Or, how would my understanding of Gertrude Stein’s language change if I was also an expert in Calculus?  Sometimes I want to beg my mathematical friends to teach me, just as an experiment, but then I remember that I’m practically number-illiterate, and I get too bashful to ask.

What are some of your favorite past-times?

Sarah was one of the writers of the narrative video series Honey Halo

I love to watch movies – all kinds of movies, from classic horror to French New Wave to the latest indie productions.  I also love to sing – I’ve been singing with the Lancaster Symphony Chorus for several years.  I love hanging around with my kids, who are super cool and pretty punk rock.  I love walking, and in fact am kind of fascinated with philosophies that consider walking as a political act.   I am also the proverbial cat-lady, and likely spend way too much time preening over my two kitties.  I’m a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation nerd, and am strangely compelled by truly boring British TV shows from the 1970s and 80s.  I also really love reading the minutes of local government meetings.  I’m not sure why.  I think the minutia fascinates me.

What do you like to write about (creatively or professionally)?

My professional writing explores queer women writers from the early twentieth century, mostly in terms of how we might use their work to find more equitable ways to live together on the planet one hundred years later, now as we’re navigating (poorly) the early twenty-first century.  I look at their work via intersections in queer theory, animal studies, and ecocriticism, using these theoretical modes to illustrate how their fiction might offer new ways of thinking about how we all – human and nonhuman animals alike – construct our shared cultures and histories together.

If you were stuck on an island and found three books buried in the sand, what would you want them to be?

This question.  Oh, this question!  It’s impossible to answer, but I will try.  One of them is easy.  I have always said, since I was very young, that if I could only have one book it would be the Norton Anthology of English Literature.  You’d have some medieval mystery plays, some Shakespearean drama, some Romantic poetry, some Virginia Woolf and James Joyce in there, tons and tons of poetry.  It’d be a wonderland.  As for the second book, I think it’d be, as corny as it sounds, a novel my husband wrote called Lucy Jinx.  It’s very, very long – about 1800 pages – and I find so much of myself in Lucy’s paranoia and blind romanticism, and in her overwhelming joy in words and ideas.  I feel that work would keep me busy for ages.  And for the third, maybe a good Patricia Highsmith thriller, like Found in the Street or The Price of Salt.  My imagination goes wild with those books, so I’m thinking that on a deserted island they could be a terrific way to pass the time.

Faculty Profile: Dr. Emily Baldys

Dr. Emily Baldys is the new English department hire! Read through her interview to find out what she loves about literature, what she enjoys teaching and writing about, and what the study of English means to her.

What brought you to literature and specifically your focus on disability studies?

I’ve always been a reader. When I was a kid, I used to get in trouble at school for reading during lessons, and then when I went home I would get in trouble for reading at the dinner table. I find joy and life and challenge in exploring the imaginative worlds that authors create, and so it seemed natural to me to find a career that would allow me to continue to read and learn about literature and to help others to do the same. I first encountered disability studies as a senior in college, and I was totally intrigued. A few years later, in graduate school, I had the opportunity to take a disability studies seminar, and things just clicked. I came to understand disability studies as a powerful lens for investigating literature’s treatment of crucial concepts such as difference, otherness, and the body. At the same time, I realized that literary depictions of bodily difference have helped to shape attitudes that still influence our cultural understanding and treatment of people with disabilities, and so there is an important ethical component to studying them.

What is your favorite “era” of literature and why?

I love studying literature of the Victorian era. It was a time when society was coming to grips with being “modern,” and I find it fascinating to watch authors grapple with issues like rapidly-advancing technology, urbanization, and industrialization—issues that still obsess our contemporary world. The novel, my favorite genre, was in its ascendancy in the Victorian era, and so as a scholar of this era I get to study some of the great classic novels by Dickens, the Brontës, George Eliot, and others.  Finally, I like studying the Victorian era because it was a time that saw the consolidation of so many concepts—like gender roles, disability, domesticity, social class, and colonialism—that still shape how we think about identity and our place in society.

What are you coming to teach at Millersville? Are you hoping to teach specific classes or create some of your own?

In addition to composition courses, I will teach the early and later English literature surveys, as well as some upper-level courses that offer a deeper dive into Romantic, Victorian, and post-1914 British literature. I’d also love to teach courses on the English novel, and I have some ideas for new courses on disability in literature, disability theory, and the “New Women” (first-wave feminists of the late nineteenth century).

Where did you go to school for your undergrad and PhD program? What were some of your experiences there?

I earned my B.A. in English from Bryn Mawr College and my M.A. and Ph.D. (also in English) from Penn State.  I loved the supportive, close-knit, and academically rigorous environment at Bryn Mawr; I also played soccer there and served as fiction editor for the literary magazine. At Penn State, I had the opportunity to work with some amazing scholars in the fields of disability studies, Romantic literature, and Victorian literature. I learned and grew so much at PSU, and I also made some dear friends there, including my husband Darrell, who is a fantastic teacher, scholar, travel partner, and kitty papa.

Are you looking forward to working at a larger university than the school you previously worked at? What kind of opportunities will a larger department bring?

While working in a small college can be quite cozy, I’m looking forward to working at a larger university and in a larger department at Millersville. A larger university provides more opportunities for dynamic campus life, and I hope to become involved in such events as the disability film series and Millersville Disability Pride day. Also, working within a larger department will allow me to specialize a bit more so that I’m teaching more of the literature courses that relate to my research areas.

Are you looking forward to living in Pennsylvania?

I am most definitely looking forward to living in Pennsylvania again! As you can probably tell from reading about my education, PA is my home state, and I’m excited to return. I grew up in central Pennsylvania (Williamsport) and still have family there, so it will be lovely to be closer to them. I’m also looking forward to getting to know the Lancaster area. It’s a beautiful part of the state, but apart from a couple of soccer games in college, I haven’t spent much time there yet. I’m looking forward to exploring the beautiful Millersville campus, checking out the Central Market and bookstores in downtown Lancaster, and finding a restaurant that serves a decent cheesesteak. There are many things I like about Ohio (where I’ve lived for the past seven years), but I must admit that their cheesesteaks are just not up to par.

Emily and her husband, Darrell, at Loch Ness in Scotland
Emily and her husband, Darrell, at Loch Ness in Scotland

What are some of your favorite past-times?

Unsurprisingly, I love to read, and I’m rarely happier than when I’m reading a good book with a cat on my lap. I also love cats, and when I’m not spoiling Penny and Percy, our two rescue kitties, I enjoy volunteering at the local animal shelter. My husband and I also love to travel together. We have a pushpin map to keep track of the places we’ve been (like France, Puerto Rico, the UK, and Bulgaria) and a LONG list of places we’d still like to go (too many to name). When I’m at home, I have a soft spot for the goofy spectacle that is minor league baseball, so I’m thrilled to be moving to a town that has a team; I can’t wait to check out the Barnstormers! Finally, I’m a relatively recent convert to world of fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, so I’m looking forward to exploring the gaming community in Lancaster.

What do you enjoy writing about?

I enjoy researching and writing about depictions of disability in literature, especially insofar as these depictions illuminate the conceptual intersections between disability and other ideological constructs such as gender, domesticity, and social class. My dissertation traces the ways in which mid-nineteenth-century novels engage with scientific and medical discourses like phrenology and lunacy reform. I’ve also published articles on the rehabilitation of “idiocy” in Wuthering Heights and on the normalizing of disabled protagonists in contemporary popular romance novels. My next article project will examine eugenic strands in fin-de-siècle and modernist feminism and their implications for evolving conceptions of bodily difference

What does it mean to study English?

I think the study of English provides us with a means to critical literacy in an information-saturated world. Through analysis of our own and others’ writing practices, we can attain an analytical perspective about the messages with which we are constantly bombarded in everyday life, and, by extension, about the cultures in which we live.  Further, when we find our way into the world of a two-hundred-year-old novel or hundred-year-old poem, when we forge connections with the characters or the emotions that these texts relate, it helps us to become better citizens. These connections can inspire us to relate our personal experiences and responses to broader social histories that demonstrate the power of language and narrative.  I truly believe these kinds of connections are ethically imperative in today’s world, and that empathic, reflective readers form more constructive, more culturally competent members of our communities.

Title Image: Photo of Emily on the moors above the Bronte parsonage in Haworth, England

 

Alumnus Profile: Alex Kaufman

Alexander L. Kaufman graduated from Millersville University in 1999 with a Bachelors of Science in Education (BSE) in English and also in Social Studies. He is originally from Glenside, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Springfield Township High School in Montgomery County. As an undergraduate at Millersville, he enjoyed the intersections of history and literature, from the Middle Ages to the present day. While at Millersville, Alex forged close professional bonds with a number of faculty members in the English and History Departments. These unofficial mentorships instilled within him the importance of research, scholarship, collaboration, and professionalization. He realized that if he wanted to attend graduate school and teach at the college level, then he would need to go beyond the minimum requirements within each syllabus, especially in his upper-level literature and history courses, and to concentrate on these four critical areas of intellectual and personal growth.

After graduating from Millersville, Alex earned an MA in English in 2001 and then a Ph.D. in English in 2006, both from Purdue University. His doctoral studies focused on Middle English Language and Literature, and he had two secondary concentrations: Old English Language and Literature, and History of the English Language. His love of literature and the historical record greatly informed his studies and research in late medieval English literature and historical writings. While at Purdue, he continued to explore new areas of scholarship. While people in the corporate world often speak of the importance of “networking,” Alex understood that those in academia must also network in order to learn and grow as scholars and professionals. Alex gave his first professional presentation while an undergraduate at Millersville, and he soon learned as a graduate student that attending and presenting at national and international conferences is an excellent way to learn, receive feedback on one’s work, meet new colleagues, and initiate collaborative research projects.

After Purdue, Alex accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position of English at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama. He would spend eleven years at AUM, where he eventually earned the rank of full professor. He also continued his collaboration and mentoring, both with students and colleagues, where he served as the Coordinator for the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program for a number of years and also as Chair of the Department of English and Philosophy.

In January 2018, Alex returned to Indiana. He is now the Reed D. Voran Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Professor of English at Ball State University where he teaches in the Honors College. Alex really enjoys teaching, and some of his classes include outlaws from the medieval period to the present day, the Robin Hood tradition, historical writing and medieval chronicles, Chaucer, Arthurian literature and film, and medievalisms.

He loves researching, especially in archives. In addition to authoring numerous journal articles and book chapters, Alex is the author of The Historical Literature of the Jack Cade Rebellion (Ashgate 2009; repr. Routledge, 2016), co-editor of Telling Tales and Crafting Books: Essays in Honor of Thomas H. Ohlgren (Medieval Institute Publication, 2016), and editor of British Outlaws of Literature and History: Essays on Medieval and Early Modern Figures from Robin Hood to Twm Shon Catty (McFarland, 2011). He is currently working on two collections of essays, one on Robin Hood and the literary canon, and another on food and feasts in modern outlaw tales.  His passion toward history is still very much present, as he’s writing a sourcebook for the Jack Cade Rebellion.

Alex took to heart his Millersville and Purdue professors’ positive notion of collaboration. Much of his scholarship is collaborative in nature, especially his editorial work. With Valerie B. Johnson, he co-founded the journal The Bulletin of the International Association for Robin Hood Studies and also serves as co-administrator for the scholarly blog Robin Hood Scholars: IARHS on the Web. Moreover, he is also a general editor, with Lesley Coote, of the book series Outlaws in Literature, History, and Culture for Routledge Publishing.

Alex Kaufman

Alumna Profile: Sherri Weaver

Sherri Weaver
Sherri Weaver

Sherri Weaver graduated from Millersville University in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Education (BSE) in English. While at Millersville, Sherri took every opportunity to make sure she was getting the kind of education she wanted.  As a BSE student, teaching placements began sophomore year, something Sherri was very thankful for; she now sees the value in getting into the classroom as soon as possible. She first student taught at Lincoln Middle School working with 6th graders. While in her own classroom at Millersville, the classes were theory heavy, so from her schoolwork alone it would be hard to determine if teaching was the right career path; the sophomore placements eased much of that anxiety. Sherri also student taught at Lampeter-Strasburg, working with seniors in AP English and then taught 8th grade at Hand Middle School.

After receiving her undergrad degree, Sherri earned her first teaching job working with AP seniors at a charter school in York. Unfortunately, after Sherri worked there for 5 years, the school lost its charter. This taught Sherri about educational finance and handling of money in a charter; she eventually wrote her master’s thesis on charter school reform. After moving from that school, Sherri worked at Wheatland Middle School for eight months teaching 7th graders before moving to McCaskey East High School where she currently teaches.

To Sherri, the college experience is about getting the education you want. That might mean taking the more challenging classes on purpose and putting in the time and energy to succeed. Sherri found the upper-level college classes imperative to teach any upper level high school classes successfully. Similarly, because Sherri knew where she wanted to teach, in an urban environment, she fought for the placements and jobs that would fit her ideal working environment. That meant changing placements when she was assigned to non-urban areas and working with the university to make her plans possible.

One thing Sherri knows from being a student teacher herself and working with Professional Development Schools (PDS) and new student teachers is that it is important to have self-awareness and the ability to reflect on the people you will be working with. It’s okay to be picky to get the best experience out of student teaching.

Student Profile: Gabrielle Redcay, Digital Journalism

Gabby Redcay
Gabby Redcay

Gabrielle Redcay, a Digital Journalism Major, will be graduating this spring with a resume full of different, interesting internship opportunities she experienced over the past four years at Millersville University. From interning at a newspaper to blogging about food, Gabrielle has seen the positive impacts internships have on narrowing down a career path or building necessary work-place skills.

Starting as a content strategist, Gabrielle was a content writer for the digital marketing company Income Store where she performed search engine optimization research. She worked with teams to discuss content and plans for improving return on investment.

Since then, Gabrielle has been working for Millersville in the Communications Department as a Communications Assistant. In this job, she creates press releases for the community, runs social media accounts, and conducts interviews with the faculty, staff, and students of Millersville for articles in University publications. It was through this job that Gabrielle had the opportunity to intern with La Vos Lancaster over a summer.

La Vos Lancaster, Lancaster County’s only publication focused on the local Hispanic community, gave Gabrielle the opportunity to witness all aspects of running a print publication. Pushed out of the classroom and out of her comfort zone, she was forced to stretch herself and meet real people while interviewing for current event, profile, and feature stories. This internship was especially satisfying because the skills she learned at the paper mirrored her classes the next semester; it was easy to see how her classwork was applicable to the real world. Even while on the job Gabrielle was always networking for new opportunities; it was by interviewing for the paper that she met her next internship opportunity through Jim Chaney.

Gabrielle Redcay

All it took was one email and Gabrielle found herself interning for Jim Chaney, a traveling blogger from Uncovering PA. The Millersville Internship Office is very willing to work with students to help them find the best internships, and Gabrielle found it easy to collaborate with them in establishing this internship. Gabrielle always joked that she would love to become a food blogger someday–and Jim Chaney helped her realize that her dreams could easily become a reality. Internships, especially ones with companies or people you are less familiar with, can open the world up for different employment opportunities.

Internships, while great resume builders, also offer necessary skills and experiences for the real-world job-market after graduation. Gabrielle would like to tell Millersville University students to enter the search for internships and to be open to new experiences. Millersville is very connected to the real world and it is important to take advantage of that – learn from everything!