Friday, May 8, 2025, 9:45am - 4:00pm
Humanities Building, 4th Floor, HUM 485, and adjacent rooms
Welcome to the 16th Bi-annual English Department Graduate Student Conference! Each semester, our department hosts this event to showcase the work of our MA students, representing the disciplines in our graduate programs: MA English (Composition, Linguistics, and TESOL) & MA Literatures This semester’s conference will be held on Friday, May 8, 2025, 9:45am - 4:00pm. This spring we continue a fully in-person program.
Join us for a Panel Discussion with Alumni from Composition, Linguistics, Literatures, and TESOL Programs
Mentorship and Networking during and after Graduate School
Friday, May 8, 2026, 12:45 - 1:55pm, HUM 587
Alumni Panelists: Chris Pascua, Rose Huynh, Sudha Krishnamoorthy, Jasmine Rivero,
Leila Kalliel, Tania Price, Taylor Harmon, Benjamin Huynh
Moderated by Dr. Robert Kohls
A message from Maricel G. Santos, Chair, Department of English Language & Literature
On behalf of the English Department at San Francisco State University, I would like to congratulate all of our students who will present their work at the Spring 2026 Graduate Student Conference and are graduating this semester. You made it – and what a journey the past few years have been! 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.
I've posted photos from my schooling history - from kindergarten in Seaford, Delaware, to my MA graduation down in Monterery, California. I still keep in touch with friends I met at those different points in time, and I hope you too will hold on to the friendships and disciplinary networks you have cultivated while you were at SF State. I also think, what would my 2026 self say to my 1995 self, and to my 1977 self? I think I'd say, "Don't be afraid to do hard things. Don't rush to the next step. Spend more time enjoying the now." Now that you're wrapping up your MA, what would you say to your younger self? Please tell me when I see you at the conference.
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 all faculty advisors for mentoring and motivating this Spring 2026 cohort down the final homestretch. Many thanks to Josh Hayes-Fugal and Rachel Tsutumi (MA TESOL Student Association) for all their help, to our steadfast MA programs coordinator, Cynthia Losinsky, and to entire department staff (Perry Udomwadhanaphorn, Heather Sawyer, Chris Conroy, Jason Sanchez, Tadeo Macon, Jada Staley) for all behind-the-scenes work that supports our graduate students’ progress, from admission to graduation.
Congratulations again to all our presenters, and best wishes to all of our graduating students -- we look forward to celebrating you at our graduation ceremony on May 19th. Maricel Santos
Now
1994
1974
Department of English Language & Literature
1600 Holloway Avenue, Humanities 484
San Francisco, CA 94132
415-338-2264 | engdept@sfsu.edu
https://english.sfsu.edu/
Photo credits: Aerial View of State Campus, https://plan.sfsu.edu/
