Alumni
English language skills are central to many other academic majors and countless successful careers, because the creative and analytical skills they develop are fundamental to many different fields. Submit your own alumni profile and inspire the next generation of English majors!
For a further look into what our alumni are up to, check out our Alumni Media page!
Alumni of the English Department continue to take advantage of their experience in English, and hold exciting careers as:
| Professor of: American Literature Education English Journalism Literature and Languages Modern Languages Postcolonial and Cultural Poetics Reading and WritingTeacher of: High School Composition High School English High School Social Studies |
Other professions: Actor Attorney Author Biographer Blog Administrator Book Design and Production Director of a Writing Center Editor eLearning Consultant Essayist Executive Chef Family Literacy Film Studies Freelance journalist Information Technology Expert |
Librarian Lutheran Minister Multimedia Consultant Marketing Consultant Photographer Playwright Poet Publisher Reading Specialist School Reform work Secretary of State (Maine) T’ai Chi Instructor Unitarian Minister Webmaster Young Adult Fiction |
Check out what some of our alumni have accomplished!
Name: Cory Robertson
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: MA
Online Course Captioning Transcriber at Academy of Art University San Francisco Bay Area.
Name: Aleksandra Swatek
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: MA
Aleksandra is a doctoral student in English at Purdue University.
Name: Anna Burgess
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: BA
Apprentice for Four Season Farm, Harborside, ME.
Name: Tobias Hrynick
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: BA
MA student in Medieval History, Fordham University
Name: Joanna Hynd
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: BA
Small town librarian and poetry writer living on the coast of Maine
Name: Andrew Tomes
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: BA
Graduate Teaching Assistant, SUNY–Environmental Science and Forestry
Name: Katie Lattari
Graduation year: 2013
Degree(s) earned: MA
Graduation year: 2009
Degree(s) earned: BA
Katie Lattari is Research Analyst for the Office of University Development, University of Maine.
Name: Brad Beauregard
Graduation year: 2012
Degree(s) earned: MA
Client Project Coordinator at Sutherland Weston-Bangor, ME
Name: Wesley McMasters
Graduation year: 2012
Degree(s) earned: MA
Doctorial Candidate in Literature and Criticism, and Graduate Assistant at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Name: Ryan Roderick
Graduation year: 2012
Degree(s) earned: MA
Doctoral Student at Carnegie Mellon University
Name: Chad Van Buskirk
Graduation year: 2012
Degree(s) earned: MA
Assistant Director and Instructor at General Studies Writing Program at Bowling Green State University.
Name: Candance Gifford
Graduation year: 2012
Degree(s) earned: BA
Director of Development, John Bapst High School, Bangor, ME
Name: Whitney Lyons
Graduation year: 2012
Degree(s) earned: BA
Administrative Specialist, Office of Undergraduate Admissions- University of Maine
Name: Carrie Hall
Graduation year: 2010
Degree(s) earned: MA
Carrie is a full-time member of the English Faculty at Kennebec Valley Community College, Fairfield, Maine.
Name: Kasey Spear
Graduation year: 2010
Degree(s) earned: BA
Kasey is an Operational Support Technician, U.S. Department of Justice and also a contract technical writer developing website content for Beyond Indigo Pets
Name: Kate Crabtree
Graduation year: 2009
Degree(s) earned: MA
Graduation year: 2007
Degree(s) earned: BA
Kate is a natural light photographer specializing in wedding photography.
Name: Michelle Allen
Graduation year: 2008
Degree(s) earned: MA
Michelle is Assistant Professor of English at Grand Rapids Community College.
Name: Brent Griffin
Graduation year: 2006
Degree(s) earned: MA
Brent is a PhD Student at Northeastern University.
Name: Adam Crowley
Graduation year: 2001, 2003
Degree(s) earned: BA, MA
Adam is Associate Professor of English at Husson College, Bangor, Maine. Adam received his PhD in American Literature from the University of New Brunswick.
Name: Laurie Pinkert
Graduation year: 2002
Degree(s) earned: MA
Laurie is Assistant Professor and Director of the Writing Program, English Department, Humbodlt State University. Laurie received her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from Purdue University.
Name: Josie Sigler Sibara
Graduation year: 2002
Degree(s) earned: MA
Josie Sigler Sibara is a 2014 National Endowment of the Arts fellowship for creative writing recipient. The award consists of a $25,000 non-matching grant and it’s purpose is to give published writers time to write, research and travel. Criteria are based on artistic excellence and artistic merit. She is an assistant professor of English and creative writing at the University of Rhode Island. Sibara’s collections of short stories “The Galaxie and Other Rides” won the Ruby Pickens Tartt First Fiction Award in 2012.
Name: Sean Fredric Edgecomb
Graduation year: 2001
Degree(s) earned: BA
Sean Fredric Edgecomb had accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Theatre at The City University of New York commencing in August 2014. He will teach at the College of Staten Island as well as serve on the board of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) at the CUNY Graduate Center. For the past three years he has held the position of Director of the Bachelor of Creative Arts at the University of Queensland, Australia.
Name: Michelle Beissel Heath
Graduation year: 2001
Degree(s) earned: MA
Michelle Beissel Heath received her PhD in 2008 from George Washington University and is now an Assistant Professor of English as the University of Nebraska – Kearney
Name: Elizabeth Cockrell
Graduation year: 1999
Degree(s) earned: MA
Freelance Writer and Editor, Austin, TX area
Name: Brian McGrath
Graduation Year: 1998
Degree(s) earned: MA
After receiving my MA in English at the University of Maine in 1998 I moved to Atlanta, where I received my PhD in Comparative Literature from Emory University (2006). I am currently an assistant professor and associate chair of the English department at Clemson University (SC). Thanks to everyone at Maine.
Name: Kassie (Stevens) Zeigler
Graduation year: 1993, 1997
Degree(s) earned: BA and MA
Kassie Zeigler has been named the Executive Director of Community Networks and Foundation for St. Joseph Healthcare in Bangor. This is a new position in the administration of President and CEO Mary Prybylo, RN, MSN who took leadership in November. Zeigler is a 2002 graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and holds an M.A. and a B.A. from the University of Maine. She served in the Maine Legislature from 1992-2000, serving on the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs. She and her husband, Brett, reside in Bangor with their three year old daughter.
Name: Randall Dorman
Graduation year: 1992, 1996
Degree(s) earned: BA, MA
Randall is Licensing Coordinator and webmaster for Kleinschmidt, an environmental consulting firm.
Name: Jennifer Nestojko
Graduation year: 1996
Degree(s) earned: MA
Jennifer Nestojko is an English Instructor at Middle College and San Jose City College.
Name: Alanna Cotch
Graduation year: 1995
Degree(s) earned: MA
Alanna Cotch received her PhD from the University of New Mexico. Alanna is now a Professor of English and Coordinator of the Honors Program at Prairie State College.
Name: Rona Kaufman
Graduation year: 1994
Degree(s) earned: MA
Rona is an Associate Professor of English and Chair of the English Department at Pacific Lutheran University, Parkland, WA. She revived her PhD from the University of Michigan in 2002.
Name: George Layng
Graduation year: 1994
Degree(s) earned: MA
George is now an Associate Professor of English in Westfield State University, Massachusetts. He received his PhD from Tufts in 1998.
Name: Matthew Sweney
Graduation year: 1992, 1994
Degree(s) earned: BA, MA
Matthew is a translator and Assistant Professor of English, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Name: Erica Nardi Humphrey
Graduation year: 1993
Degree(s) earned: BA
Erica is Associate Director of Employer Relations and the Career Center, Colby College.
Name: Heather McCarthy
Graduation year: 1988, 1991
Degree(s) earned: BA, MA
Heather is Executive Director of the American Folk Festival, Bangor, Maine.
Name: Art Beecher
Graduation year: 1991
Degree(s) earned: BA
Art is Lead for Project Management Effectiveness, Manulife Financial, Boston.
Name: Dan Myers
Graduation year: 1991
Degree(s) earned: BA
Partner Manager, eBay Inc., Greater Seattle Area.
Name: Edward Lorusso
Graduation Year: 1987
Degree(s) earned: MA
PhD University of New Mexico ’92. Now retired and living in Belgrade, ME. Recent activities include publication of novel “Letters from Oblivion” (2014) and work as silent film producer/editor/preservationist for “Enchantment” (1921) which aired on Turner Classic Movies November 2014 and “The Restless Sex” (1920) in production. Taught at University of New Mexico and Trinidad State College (CO) retired 2010 from Los Alamos National Laboratory as Education Outreach Manager for Climate Research Stations in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru.
Name: Cheryl (Ripsom) Massey
Graduation Year: 1979, 1981
Degree(s) earned: BA and MA
Disability due to motorcycle accident.