Welcome Message from Prof. Maricel Santos,            Chair of the English Department

On behalf of the English Department, I would like to congratulate all of our students who will present their work at the Spring 2023 Graduate Student Conference and are graduating this semester. You made it – and what a journey the past few years have been! It seems impossible to separate our memories of teaching and learning at SF State from our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. I congratulate you on your academic achievements as well as your persistence and courage as you managed the demands of graduate life along with any stressors brought on by the past few years.  I extend these congratulations to your family, friends, and anyone in your orbit who has supported you along the way. I am so grateful that we are able to soak in this moment together and celebrate in person. 

By mission, our department seeks to equip each of you with self-reliance, empathy and intellectual focus. This conference is a wonderful showcase of those qualities. Your presentations and capstone projects show how the study of languages and literatures can help us answer urgent questions of pedagogical, ethical, social, and political significance. We look forward to seeing all the ways you will continue to put your skills and passions to good use in the world. Please keep in touch.  Come back to campus to share those success stories or give us advice on how to keep our mission invigorated.

I’d like to thank Dr. Jenny Lederer, Dr. Summer Star, Dr. Sara Hackenberg, and all faculty advisors for mentoring and motivating this Spring 2023 cohort down the final homestretch.  Many thanks also to our MA programs coordinator, Cynthia Losinsky, for all the behind-the-scenes work that supports our graduate students’ progress, from admission to graduation. Congratulations again to all our MA students! --Maricel