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Department of English
MA in Rhetoric & Composition

Alumni

2022 Graduates

Clayton Kelsey successfully completed his portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2022. 
Connie Copeland successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2022. She will be teaching English at Kilgore College starting in the fall.
Candida "Dede" Garrison successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2022. 
Corina Dominguez successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2022. 
Christa Frailicks successfully defended her thesis, "Defying Deficiency: Rewriting Dominant Narratives of Identity, Ability, and Resilience in Literacy," and graduated Spring 2022. 
Anthony Edsall successfully defended his thesis, "Educational Comorbidity: How Health Crises like the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Writing Centers," and graduated Spring 2022. He has begun work as a Copy Writer and Independent Scholar.
Jacklynne Horne successfully defended her thesis, "Chrome, Conversations, and Intertextuality: The Counter Narrative of Pole Dancers on Instagram," and graduated Spring 2022. 
Clarice A. Blanco successfully defended her thesis, "What Does It Mean to be in an Academic Space that Doesn’t Reflect Your Cultural Background? Identidad, Empoderamiento, y Representación Latina in the Texas State MARC Program," and graduated Spring 2022. She will begin her PhD program in Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall.
Lily Parish Chambers successfully defended her thesis, "Empathy in Conversational AI: Rhetorical Analysis and Recommendation," and graduated Spring 2022. She is a full-time UX Writer for Apple.

2021 Graduates

Ana Freeman successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Fall 2021. 
Delaina Bailey successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Summer 2021. She will being her PhD program in Rhetoric and Technical Communication with an emphasis in Rhetoric, Composition, and Technology at Texas Tech University this fall. 
Lindsey D. Villalpando successfully defended her thesis, "Historias de la Frontera: Border Pedagogy and its Ability to Build Writing Communities and Enact Personal Healing," and graduated Summer 2021. She is now working as a project editor for ECS Learning Systems. 
Olivia Hinojosa successfully defended her thesis, "The Rhetoricity of Pain: Magnifying Processes of Pain Communication in Women's Rhetoric," and graduated Summer 2021.
Sarah Rose successfully defended her thesis, "The Decolonial Power of Shapeshifting: Subversive Ecofeminist Rhetorics," and graduated Summer 2021. She now works as a Volunteer Director for a nonprofit tutoring center and teaches at the University of South Carolina. 
Hannah M. McKeating successfully defended her thesis, "Typing in Tongues: Entering an Age of Secondary Print" and graduated Summer 2021.  
Elisa M. Serrano successfully defended her thesis "The Red Pen Cuts Deep: How Paper Feedback on Language Affects Identity and Classroom Relations," and graduated Spring 2021. She will begin her PhD program in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Language, Culture, and Society at Penn State University in the fall. 
Shannon M. Breeding successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2021. 

2020 Graduates

Lea C. Colchado successfully defended her thesis "Making Face, Making Soul, Making Space for Chicanas' Traumatic Narratives: Autohistoria-teoría as Method and Genre," and graduated Spring 2020. She is currently a lecturer at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She will begin the PhD program in Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, and Pedagogy at the University of Houston in the fall.   
Samuel M. Garcia successfully defended his thesis "Writing Queerly: How Trans Perspectives Can Benefit Writing Centers," and graduated Spring 2020. 
Robert J. C. Jorash successfully defended his thesis ""What Has Been Will Be Again": Secondary Orality Made Manifest in Modern Neo-Sophistry," and graduated Spring 2020. 
Megann A. Kramer successfully defended her thesis "The Rhetorical Divide: Using (and Problematizing) Stasis Theory to Analyze Rhetorical Fraction across Partisan Lines in Political Discourse," and graduated Spring 2020. She is currently a freelance writer/editor. 
Victoria L. Douglas successfully defended her thesis "Mental Health Advocacy through Personal Narratives and Emotions," and graduated Summer 2020. She is currently working on her teaching certification as a substitute teacher at New Braunfels ISD. 
Sierra M. LaFollette successfully defended her thesis "The Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings as an Example of Post-Truth Political Rhetoric and Its Reliance on Ethos and Pathos," and graduated Summer 2020. 
Sarah A. Piercy successfully defended her thesis "First-Year Composition for Generation Z," and graduated Summer 2020. She is a writing instructor at St. Edward's University and plans to begin PhD work at Miami University in Ohio within the next couple of years. 
Cruz A. Barajas-Briones successfully defended her thesis "Using Corridos as a Source for Learning and Development through Counterstories," and graduated Fall 2020. 
Erica M. Carlson successfully defended her thesis "Reconceptualizing the Writing Classroom: Autoethnography as a Curricular Framework in Secondary Education," and graduated Fall 2020. 
Rebecca A. Mullett successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Fall 2020.

2019 Graduates

Rachel J. Elliott successfully defended her thesis "Abstinence, Affect and Agency: A Rhetorical Analysis of Texas Sexual Education," and graduated Spring 2019. She is currently a lecturer in the English department at Texas State University.
Connor P. Wilson successfully completed his portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2019. He is currently a lecturer in the English department at Texas State University.
Tiffany D. Rainey successfully defended her thesis "Her Own Voice: Coming Out in Academia with Bipolar Disorder," and graduated Summer 2019. She is currently an Adjunct of Writing and Rhetoric at Texas State University and Texas Tech University.

2018 Graduates

Cooper P. Day successfully defended his thesis "Reflection's Role in Transfer: An Analysis of Threshold Concepts in Student Reflections," and graduated Summer 2018. He is currently working on his PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Louisville and working as a writing consultant for the University of Louisville College of Business. 
Arun K. Raman successfully completed his portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Summer 2018. He was working on his PhD in Developmental Education at Texas State University. 
Emily T. Rybarski successfully defended her thesis "Service Learning in the Writing Classroom: The Role Intergenerational Partnerships Play in Developing Community Writers," and graduated Fall 2018. She is currently a lecturer in the English department at Texas State University teaching first-year writing. 

2017 Graduates

Nathaniel A. Hagemaster successfully defended his thesis "Queening the Intersection: Using Drag Rhetoric and Intersectional Theory in Critical Composition Pedagogy," and graduated Spring 2017. He is currently a composition instructor at Indiana Institute of Technology. 
Shane Teague successfully defended his thesis "Toward a Translingual Orientation to Writing Instruction at a Hispanic-Serving Institution," and graduated Spring 2017. He is currently a copywriter with Chewy in Dallas, TX. 
Ronessa D. McDonald successfully defended her thesis "Negotiating Writing in a Testing Climate: A Case Study of a Novice Teacher," and graduated Spring 2017. She works as a Curriculum Director in Comal ISD
Barrie E. McGee successfully defended her thesis "''Guerilla Conversations:' The Role of Informal Peer Collaboration on MA of Rhetoric and Composition Learning and Disciplinary Identity," and graduated Summer 2017. She is currently enrolled in the Developmental Education, Literacy Concentration PhD program at Texas State University.
Courtney M. Hickerson successfully defended her thesis "The Language of Liberation and Oppression: Sex and Gender in the Nation of Gods and Earths," and graduated Summer 2017. 
Andrew T. Booth successfully defended his thesis, "The Rhetoric of Authoritarianism in the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald Trump," and graduated Fall 2017. Currently pursuing his PhD in Rhetoric at UT Austin. He will begin a new position as Assistant Director of Lower Division Writing in the fall. 

2016 Graduates

Cresta M. Bayley successfully defended her thesis "The Misconceptions, Anxieties, and Experiences of First Time Writing Center Peer Tutors," and graduated Spring 2016. She is currently works as an English professor at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX. 
Clare S. Murray successfully defended her thesis "Being Right or Doing Right? Employing Virtue Theory in Response to Religious Student Discourse in First-Year Writing," and graduated Spring 2016. She currently works as an Adjunct Professor at St. Edward's University.
Edward S. Garza successfully defended his thesis "The Public Pochx: Rhetorics of American-Born Latinxs," and graduated Spring 2016. He currently works as an Adjunct Professor at Houston Community College.
Kristin L. Milligan successfully defended her thesis "One Taboo Conversation at a Time: Employing Writing Centers in Dismantling White Privilege," and graduated Summer 2016. She now works as a Legal Assistant at a small law firm. 

2015 Graduates

Melissa M. Heidelberg (Hinchliffe) successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2015. She is now a Senior Salesforce Strategy Consultant with DEG Digital. 
Shaun B. Ford successfully defended his thesis "Metaphors of the Monstrous Mind: Autism, Conceptual Metaphor, and the Autistic-Monstrous," and graduated Spring 2015. He also earned an M.A. in Applied Philosophy and Ethics from Texas State University in 2017. He is currently a student success advisor at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. 
Jeffery T. Downs successfully defended his thesis "A Narrative Exploration: The Role of Reflection in a Graduate Student's Acculturation Into an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition Program," and graduated Fall 2015. He is currently the Writing Center Director at St. Edwards University in Austin, TX.
Collin B. Couey successfully defended his thesis "The Writing Processes of Freshman Students with AD/HD at Texas State University: An Exploratory Study," and graduated Fall 2015. He is currently working as a content writer and analyst. 

2014 Graduates

Bree Henderson successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2014. Currently, she works as a regional manager of the undergraduate admissions office at Texas State University.
Alexis R. McGee successfully defended her thesis "Hip Hop Pedagogies: An Alternative Praxis," and graduated Spring 2014. She earned her PhD in English Language and Literature/Letters from The University of Texas at San Antonio in 2018. She is now an Assistant Professor of Research at the University of British Columbia.
Graham M. Oliver successfully defended his thesis "Instructor Opinion on Personal Writing in the First-Year Composition Classroom," and graduated Spring 2014. He earned an MFA from Texas State University in 2017 and is a freelance tutor/editor.
Caroline E. Richardson (Davis) successfully defended her thesis "Users as Co-Developers: A User-Centered Design Approach to Analyzing Students’ Wants and Needs for a New Writing Center Website," and graduated Summer 2014. She is currently working as a technical writer. She is currently an English faculty instructor at San Antonio College. 
April "Faith" Thomas successfully defended her thesis "Boobies, Booty Shorts, and Bar Trash: How to Spot a Feminist," and graduated Summer 2014.
Megan C. Boeshart successfully defended her thesis "Female Gamers, Sylvanas Windrunner, and Sexism: Gender Politics in World of Warcraft," and graduated Summer 2014. She is currently the Writing Center Director, a full-time lecturer, and working on her PhD at Old Dominion University. 
José L. Cano Jr. successfully defended his thesis "Writing through Colonialism: Rhetorical Situations and Approaches for Ethnic Writers," and graduated Fall 2014. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from Texas Christian University, and working as an instructor.

2013 Graduates

Manuel A. Piña successfully defended his thesis "A (Re)Vision of Critical Pedagogy for Inclusion" and graduated Spring 2013. As of March 2021, he has successfully defended his PhD dissertation for the Rhetoric and Technical Communication program at Texas Tech University and is expected to graduate in May 2021. He is now a visiting assistant English professor at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi.
Lauren E. Schiely successfully defended her thesis "Sharing Our Stories: Using Narrative Inquiry to Examine Our Writing Centers" and graduated Spring 2013. She is currently working as senior lecturer and Writing Center Coordinator at Texas State University.
Kristie C. O'Donnell Lussier successfully defended her thesis "The Lion, the Witch, and the Women: A Critical Examination of Film, Discourse, and Changing Hegemonies in Media and Popular Christianity" and graduated Summer 2013. She earned her PhD in Developmental Education with a specialization in literacy from Texas State University in 2017. She is now an English professor at Collin College in McKinney, TX. 
Lisa M. Bovee successfully defended her thesis "Classroom Differentiation: Implementing Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences in the LD Classroom," and graduated Fall 2013. She founded her own company: Guided by Grief. 
Laura E. Clemens (Trujillo) successfully defended her thesis "Model Students: the Role of Modeling And Reflection to Supplement Learning in the Graduate Classroom" and graduated Fall 2013. She currently works as a senior UX content strategist with AT&T.
Debra L. Martin-Morris successfully defended her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Fall 2013. She is now an an Associate Adjunct Professor at ACC. 
Micah C. Wright successfully defended his thesis "Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome: The Student Veteran and Considerations of Space, Identity, and Pedagogy" and graduated Fall 2013. He will earn his PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Texas at San Antonio in May 2021. He is currently teaching English Language Arts to 7th grade at Concordia Lutheran School in San Antonio. 

2012 Graduates

Julia Q. Bancroft successfully defended her thesis "The USDA Food Plate Website: Culturally Conscious or Colorblind?" and graduated Spring 2012. She is currently employed at Technology, Automation, and Management (TeAM) as a proposal manager.
Andrew F. Besa successfully defended his thesis "Faith, Rhetoric, and Dominion: How Shared Literacy Lures Latinos" and graduated Spring 2012. He is currently a freelance writer. 
Morgan G. Gross succesfully defended her thesis "To Meet Students' Feedback Requests Or Not: A Writing Center Tutor's Prerogative(?)" and graduated Spring 2012. She earned her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from Ball State University in Indiana. Currently, she works as the Associate Director of the Academic Resource Center at Loyola Marymount University in California. 
Jack H. David Jr. successfully defended his thesis "Does It Really Matter?" and graduated Spring 2012.
Michelle M. Overman successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2012. She is now an education consultant with ZestEd Consulting, the founder of OWL Student Resource Center, and a 2021 Ambassador for TeachSDGs. 
Amanda L. Rice successfully defended her thesis "Female Authority: Female Teaching Assistant Experiences and Their Roles in the Writing Classroom" and graduated Spring 2012.
Kristin (Cheyenne) Riggs successfully defended her thesis ""We Want-Um Your Wampum!": Colonizing, Appropriating, and Reconstructing Native American Identities Through Popular Culture" and graduated Spring 2012. She is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Oklahoma, 
Justin Whitney successfully defended his thesis, "Narrowing the Gap: A Close Look at English Learners and Editing Practices" and graduated Spring 2012. He earned his PhD in Education, Culture, and Society with a focus in Writing and Rhetoric Studies from the University of Utah in 2018. He is now an Assistant Professor at State University of New York in the Village of Delhi. 
Alyssa M. Crow successfully defended her thesis "Student Voices, Students' Right: Language Use in the Composition Classroom and "Students' Right to Their Own Language" and graduated Summer 2012. She earned her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Utah in 2019 and now works as a Compliance Consultant and Affordable Care Act specialist for an HR company. 
Blanca T. Loya successfully defended her thesis "Breaking Boundaries: Introducing Chicano Graffitti Art into the Composition Classroom," and graduated Summer 2012. She is now an instructor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at Texas State University.
Stephanie M. Gioia Stewart successfully completed her portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Fall 2012. She now teaches English and works as the Writing Center Coordinator at St. Michael's Catholic Academy, she is also an Adjunct Faculty Instructor at St. Edward's University, and is a freelance editor with MasteryPrep. 

2011 Graduates

Lisa V. Tomecek-Bias successfully defended her thesis "Children of destiny: Ideograph and identity in Momotaro: Umi no shinpei," and graduated Spring 2011. Lisa now resides in Waco, TX.
Justin P. Tucker successfully completed his portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2011. He is a Technical Content Writer. 
Casie R. Moreland successfully defended her thesis "White or Wrong: Application of Whiteness Theory in First-Year Composition Classes," and graduated Summer 2011. She earned her PhD in Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies from Arizona State University in 2018. She now works as a Dual Credit Coordinator for the Willamette Education School District. 

2010 Graduates

Gwendolyn A. Templin successfully defended her thesis "Writing-Intensive Designation: A Quasi-Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Program" and graduated Summer 2010.

 

2009 Graduates

Gina Guzman successfully defended her thesis "Re-Articulating Training Practices: Valuing the Ethnic Voice in Writing Center Tutor Training," and graduated Spring 2009. She teaches English at San Marcos CISD High School
Christopher L. Sisto completed his portfolio and written comprehensive exams and graduated Spring 2009. He is currently an Education Instructor at South Texas College an an ESL Teacher with San Antonio ISD.
Yazmin Lazcano-Pry successfully defended her thesis "Historical Memory Negotiated: Latino/a Rhetorical Reception to Ken Burns' The War," and graduated Summer 2009. She earned her PhD in Rhetoric, Composition, and Linguistics from Arizona State University in 2014. Currently, she is working as a Writing Assessment Specialist for UT Austin's OnRamps program. 
Jennifer K. Allen successfully defended her thesis "Enacting a Feminist Pedagogy: Integrating Weblogs into the Composition Classroom," and graduated Summer 2009. She teaches as an Adjunct Instructor for the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. She also helps run her husband's law firm, The Law Office of Jeremy D. Allen. Currently, she is helping her three children become successful virtual learners in this new era. 
Bettina Ramón successfully defended her thesis "Composing, Gender and Composing Gender: The Construction of Gender Variances in Online Spaces," and graduated Fall 2009. She earned an MA in Women's Studies from the George Washington University in Washington D.C.
Jonathan D. Polk successfully defended his thesis "Not Just Fun With Typography: Remediation of the Digital in Contemporary Print Fiction," and graduated Fall 2009. He is currently an English teacher with Manor ISD in Manor, TX.

2008 Graduates

Collette R. Caton successfully defended her thesis "Gendered Scholarship: An Examination of Gender Identity in Academic Weblogs," and graduated Spring 2008. She earned her PhD in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric from Syracuse University in New York in 2015 and now works as a lecturer at Rochester Institute of Technology. 
Courtney L. Werner successfully defended her thesis "Negotiating Authority: Age in the Writing Center," and graduated Spring 2008. She earned her PhD in Literacy, Rhetoric, and Social Practice from Kent State University in 2012. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition and Associate Director of First-Year Composition at Monmouth University in New Jersey.
Mary E. McCulley successfully defended her thesis "A Reflection of Values: Examining the Creation of Writing Prompts," and graduated Summer 2008. She earned her PhD in Literature and Rhetoric from Texas Christian University in 2016. Now, she works as an Adjunct Lecturer at Baylor University. 

2004 Graduates

Ila Moriah McCracken successfully defended her thesis "Congruence and Misrecognition: A Case Study of Teaching Assistants' Perceived Commentary Roles and Actual Commentary Practices in First-Year English," and graduated Spring 2004. She earned her PhD in English from Texas Christian University, became an assistant professor of English Writing and Rhetoric at St. Edward's University from 2012-2015, and since 2015 has maintained an associate professor position and is the Director of the First-Year Writing Program.