Meet Some of Our MAs

Julia Berezhnoy

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Julia Berezhnoy is a second-year MA in English candidate in the Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture track. She was born in Wenatchee, WA and raised in Portland, OR. Julia earned her AAOT from Clackamas Community College and her BS in English from Portland State University. As a Ukrainian, she has focused her research on the digital, visual, and nation-building rhetorics of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Julia currently teaches English Composition at OSU and plans to devote her career to teaching Rhetoric and Composition within the community college. When she's not researching, writing, teaching, or doing administrative work on behalf of SWLF, she enjoys reading literary fiction and theology; collaging, coloring, and watercolor painting; and equestrian trail riding.

Vanessa Garcia Vazquez

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Pronouns: She/Her/Ella

Vanessa is a first-year MA in Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture, she has climbed over the mountains of Utah to get to Oregon. She attended Utah State University where she received her bachelors in Technical Communications & Rhetoric. Vanessa academic interests lie in intersectional feminism, the history and rhetoric of Latinidad, and archival research. When she isn't sitting in a classroom, trying to grasp everything that is rhetoric, she's at home watching movies, working on a paint by number, or cooking delicious Mexican meals--or at least trying to.

Casey Dawson

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Pronouns: They/She

Casey Dawson (they/she) is a 2nd-year master's student in Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture. Originally from New Orleans, LA, they received their bachelor's degree in Literature (minor in Medieval Studies) from Loyola University New Orleans in 2019. Their current research and writing interests include critical animal studies, affect, public humanities, creative nonfiction, and auto-ethnography. They also have professional experience in traditional and independent publishing, digital marketing, and secondary education. When not studying, you can find them playing D&D or begging someone to listen to their pop culture hot takes.

Georgia Wright

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Pronouns: They/She

Georgia Grace Wright moved out west from a small town in Southeast Missouri--from which they keep on running. They earned their B.S. in communication studies at Missouri State University, where she simultaneously studied anthropology, communication, and creative writing. Their current area of interest lies in the intersection of the linguistic varieties of rural communities, the rhetoric of poverty, and equitable pedagogical practices in writing classes. Georgia spends her minimal free time wishing for more free time, chatting with local flora, and drinking unholy amounts of coffee.

Case Pharr

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Pronouns: He/They

Case Pharr was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. They recently graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in English Literature and Linguistics, completing an undergraduate thesis on intersections of Frank Norris’ literary naturalism, high modernism, and Marxist literary theory. Case’s current research interests include theories of materialism, formalism, the climate crisis, and their intersections in postmodern and contemporary American literature. Outside of the classroom, Case enjoys making loud music, reading the novels of Vladimir Nabokov, watching Neil Breen movies, listening to shoegaze and noise pop, and playing with their three cats. 

Jackson Cooper

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Pronouns: He/Him/His

Jackson Cooper is a second-year MA candidate in the Literature and Culture track. He was raised in Spokane, WA, and stayed in the Pacific Northwest to earn a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in English from the University of Washington. After graduating in 2020 and moving to Chicago, he decided to return to the West Coast in order to pursue a graduate degree. His current interests lie in the intersection of science and literature, and his thesis work interrogates the ways that fungi are appearing in contemporary literature. He is typically happiest around any sort of plant and dislikes how long it takes him to answer the question, "what's your favorite ​book?"

Isabel Molina

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Pronouns: Any

Isabel is a second year Literature & Culture MA candidate. She grew up in Southern California and got her bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA, where she also studied Film & Television. Her current work applies the lens of gender & sexuality studies to tales of cannibalism in contemporary literature. On the weekends you can find her catching the latest movie release, even if that means traveling up to Portland to do so.

Brittni Wisner 

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Pronouns: She/Her

Brittni (she/her) is a second-year MA student in the Literature and Culture track. Brittni grew up in Palmer, Alaska and graduated from the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau in 2016 with her BA in English. After graduating, Brittni spent a year volunteering abroad and then returned to Juneau and worked as an admissions counselor and academic advisor for five years. As an MA student, Brittni is interested in the intersection of monster studies and ecofeminist criticism; currently, she's obsessed with werewolves and wetlands. Outside of school, Brittni spends her time outside; in Corvallis, she's loved running in the McDonald Forest all year (but especially in the fall and spring), berry picking and learning to surf in the summer, and finding snow to enjoy in the winter. 

Tiffany Boyles

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Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Tiffany Boyles is an MA candidate on the Literature and Culture track. She is originally from Columbia, SC, where she attended the University of South Carolina. After graduating in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in English, she spent two years working with an educational nonprofit as a 3rd-grade teaching assistant before deciding to pursue a graduate degree. Now in Oregon, she’s excited to explore the wilderness of the northwest, Gothic literature, and teaching higher ed.