Category Archives: Student Profiles

Ben Grange

I’m a writer, an amateur composer, a husband and father, and I’m an English Major.

Ben Grange

Me and my wife on the Provo River trail.

I decided to be an English major to help my writing. I love to write young adult contemporary fiction and fantasy. As an English major, I’ve explored many other avenues of writing, and I’ve come across many inspirational texts that have generated thousands of ideas in my mind. As a creative person, completing a major which is highly analytic has molded my brain to be a critic of my own work. This analytical mind set has transferred to multiple facets of my life, some of which include my career path, my music composition, my writing, my artwork, and my family. It’s made me a rounder individual, more dimensional, and more intellectual.

I’ve been an English major for the last two years. My career path changed from “”I don’t know what I want to do,”” to “”I want to go into children’s and young adult book publishing”” in that time. Through opportunities opened to me through the school, I’ve done four internships in the publishing world, which has prepared me to go on after graduation and get a job in a competitive field. Becoming an English Major was the best thing I could have done, and I’m so glad I did it.

One of my favorite books is Harry Potter.

Links:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie-T7Ttchjs&list=UUXqN-BQSOQ_QBAlSnhGMP8w

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ben_l_grange

Carli Cramer

I’m a writer, a Cheesehead, a Hooiser, a bookworm, a swimmer, and a Disney lover. And I’m an English major.

Carli Cramer

Me in my natural habitat.

I remember the first author that enchanted me with her words: Gail Carson Levine. She wrote dashing tales of princesses and princes and magic and her words took me to new lands and times, all while I was sitting in my elementary school library. Ever since then, I have rarely gone a day without a book. I love them. Every day I am influenced by the power of what is literally just ink on pages. And that is amazing.

One of my favorite books is Pride and Prejudice.

Links:

Blog: http://www.confessionsofcarlisa.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/carlisajc

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/carlisajc

Hi, I’m Tesia Tsai

I’m a creative writer, a Tumblr addict, and a student editor. And I’m an English major.

Tesia Tsai

Me at Disneyland (where I always want to be)

I’m one of the lucky few who never reconsidered her major through college. Ever since my senior year of high school, I’ve known that English is the major for me. Some cliché reasons: I love to read and I love to write. Always have. Always will. Funny fact is that English isn’t even my first language. But I guess my English tutoring in kindergarten did the trick, because I’ve grown to love the language more than my first.

Some things about me that aren’t English related… I was born in California, but I’ve lived in Utah now for more than half my life. I love traveling, though I wish I could afford to so more often. (Alas, the cons of being a college student.) I’ve been lucky enough to visit London, New York, Paris, and Taiwan (which, contrary to popular misunderstanding, is not the same as Thailand). I speak Mandarin, English, and some French. When I’m not doing homework or studying for exams, I’m usually obsessing over my favorite things on Tumblr. (If you have a Tumblr account, you’ll understand.) I would love to become a published author someday, so I spend a lot of time daydreaming about stories and little time actually writing them down. I also love watching movies and visiting the theater whenever I can. 🙂

 

One of my favorite books is Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.

Conor Hilton

I’m a pop culture aficionado, an aspiring intellectual, politics junkie, and a liberal. And I’m an English major.

Conor Hilton

Me chillin’ with Brother Brigham in the Capitol

I love books (surprise!). I have grown to love analyzing anything that can be ‘read’ (using a liberal definition, of course, of ‘read’ to include films, music, works of art, scripture, Church lessons and talks) and can irritate my friends that prefer to read less closely with my analysis and critique. I read voraciously and enjoy finding connections between my various interests (politics, Mormonism, pop culture, literature, etc.).

I have a mass storage of pop culture trivia (what most would consider useless, although if I’m ever on a game show I’ll be a formidable opponent, or if you need to phone a friend when you’re on a game show, I could help you out). My spectrum of interests can be harmonized in English, particularly with adaptation studies (where I may focus for graduate studies). In addition to reading, I thoroughly enjoy writing. I dabble in poetry (I play bongos, so it tends to be beatnik or slam-esque), wrote a draft of a novel, have oodles of partially complete stories, some satire and journalism (for the Student Review, an independent student-run publication in Provo), and an almost weekly blog about Mormon theology/culture/speculation. To rework a phrase from Descartes, I read therefore I think therefore I write therefore I am.

One of my favorite books is Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

Links:
Blog: “Mini Manifestos

 

Hello, Lauren Redding

I am a Disney Fanatic, fairy tale scholar, ballet dancer, Ravenclaw, and general obsessive fangirl. And, an English Major.

Lauren Redding

Fairy tales and ballet! A winning combination!

I read like, well, like an English Major. As in A LOT. I’m frequently teased for my reading face, it’s “a signpost for all to read” (Shannon Hale’s Razo? Anybody?) I laugh, cry, snort, roll my eyes, and, more often than not, talk to the characters or the author while reading, telling them exactly what I think of their behavior. I then type it all up in very long Goodreads reviews. [I once went over the 20,000 character limit for a review and had to go back and cut unnecessary punctuation]

My love for grammar is the logical lovechild of my love of language and my love of the preciseness found in math. However, I am a huge proponent of incorrect grammar as a stylistic tool.

I am as much an expert on fairy tales as an eighteen year old person can be an expert on anything, and I love to argue about them, especially Disney versions and/or gender politics. I love the fantasy of the tales, the timelessness, the connection with ballet culture, the history, the diversity, the repetition, and the way that we can track written versions of stories to learn things about the societies in which they were written and crafted. I especially love how loosely written they are, leaving room for interpretation and imagination, which leads to such wonderful retellings from Robin McKinley, Gail Carson Levine, and Cameron Dokey.

My favorite author is L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables), and my obsessive reading of historical fiction when I was a little girl (as well as a lifetime of ballet classes) has embedded in me a curtsey impulse that nothing in 21st century society has succeeded in squelching.

Any writing I do is usually either unpublished rants I pretend are blog posts, or in my daily journal.

One of my favorite books is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

Hi, I’m Drew!

I’m a glitter fanatic, an East Coaster, a Nancy Drew devotee and an idealist. And I’m an English major.

Drew Rupard

WHOA!

I wasn’t named after Nancy Drew, but I wish I was. Her books — fine literature, in my opinion. As an English major, I love many books. I love most of all reading a new book and having to make a new little aesthetic space for each, whether it’s a Victorian rose garden for Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, or a room in a Saigon tea house for The Quiet American. I love languages and speak, to various extents, three: French, Japanese, and my personal favorite, ENGLISH! To me, words can be beautiful, miraculous, and above all, challenging. They are the code by which I know this world, and it is my lifelong pursuit to decipher them. Among my other opinions, I believe that green paintings are generally superior to non-green paintings, that the Dark Ages weren’t necessarily dark, and that everyone should carry a journal and write in it. Also in climbing on top of big stone structures.

One of my favorite books is The Quiet American by Graham Greene

Instagram: instagram.com/dreuth
Art blog: ithinkiwasherebefore.tumblr.com
Nancy Drew food blog: sleuthsoup.blogspot.com

Hey! I’m Eliza Schow

I’m a Disnerd, a collector of threadbare books, a realist living in a world of fantasy. And I’m an English major.

Eliza Schow

Thinking of a secret

We’ve all been faced with a well-known question. What do you want to be when you grow up? My ready answer as a child was always, “I don’t want to grow up.” Grown-ups were much too boring, stern, and had absolutely no imagination. I was determined to escape the inevitable by flying away with Peter Pan to Neverland where I could fly all day, have adventures, and never become a cold-hearted adult. The decision made by Wendy to return to the real world of England at the end of the novel made me a bit melancholy. Years later in my life, my sympathy shifted from Wendy to the protagonist himself. In choosing to be a little boy forever, Peter chose to be lonely forever. Peter didn’t want to grow up because he didn’t want the humdrum life and responsibility that came with it. What he didn’t realize was that a grown-up isn’t sentenced to a dull life and responsibility can bring an infinite amount of joy. As a grown-up, I have a responsibility to help and bring hope to others, and I love it. I want to be a writer because I want to keep the maturity of an adult in addition to the heart of a child and because I want improve the point of view people have on life.

One of my favorite books is Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Hello, I’m Brittany Rytting

I’m a hopeless romantic, an avid ice cream eater, a musician… and I’m an English major.

Brittany Rytting

Look, it’s my face!

How can I put into words my passion for being swept away by words and music? The books I read, the music I listen to or create, and the words I write make up my very being. (Therefore, snippets of songs and random quotes will often spew out of my mouth when prompted by someone’s innocent comment.) I am a lover of literature and hope to be an author. Music and editing are my intended minors, so I’ve also been considering becoming and editor. I play the piano, flute/piccolo, guitar, and I love to sing. When I have time I also love to act, and I dream of being in marching band again. And when the weather is just right, I love to dance in the rain.

One of my favorite books is The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson)

Hi, I’m Amie Wambach

I’m a poet, a reader, a baker, an orator, a feminist, and a Montanan. And I’m an English major.

Amie Wambach

Amie

When I was seven years old, my mom gave me a copy of Little House on the Prairie and told me I wasn’t allowed to move until I read at least one chapter. I got one page into the book, and was hooked for a lifetime. I have never been picky about genres, my interests range from fantasy to historical fiction, classic literature to horror, sci-fi to biography. Some of my favorite authors are Shannon Hale, J. R.R. Tolkien, and Diana Wynne Jones. My passion for reading soon grew into a love for writing. I have had stories and poems floating around in my head and scribbled into random notebooks since I was ten, most of them unfinished. Writing has always been the most natural and honest form of communication for me, but during my sophomore year in high school I decided to take a risk and join the speech and debate team. I soon found my niche as an orator, writing my own ten minute speeches then memorizing and performing them in front of a judge. While I never grew into a particularly strong public speaker, I never quit. I have always been shy, but the ability to reach and communicate to people ideas I am passionate about is addictive. I want to be an editor, probably for children’s and young adult literature, because I cannot imagine a life where I am not surrounded by stories and words.

One of my favorite books is Shannon Hale’s Book of a Thousand Days.

 

I’m Jordan Wright

I’m a novice-fisherwoman, a world traveler, a newlywed, a YA lit addict, and a bad cook. And I’m an English major.

Jordan Wright

So…fishing is fun, yeah?

Despite loving all my literature classes, I will still choose the YA/JF section of the library every time. I hope to write my own novels someday, but if not then I will at least blog about the books the rest of you are brave enough to write (follow the link below to my book blog). I have been married for less than a month and just transferred here from Utah State University to be with my husband, Zach. He is my best friend and cooks me really yummy Mexican food. I love any excuse to wear a costume, decadent desserts, palindromes and puns. (And alliteration…apparently.) I think I’m a lot funnier than I probably am. I speak enough Chinese to order food and hail a cab, but all I can say in Russian is “put your hands up and give me all your money.” I caught my first fish last week, I use hash-tags in all the wrong places, and I’ve never been a slave to fashion. I am pretty lost on campus right now, and I would love as many beautifully-nerdy-book-loving friends as I can get. #Glissues (English-major issues) #GTHBA (Good Times Had By All) #allgoodhashtagscomeinthrees.

One of my favorite books is The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.

Check out my book blog: “Dick, Jane, and Edward Don’t Live Here.