Current Students
Student Ambassadors
Connect with current MFA students, ask questions, arrange a campus tour, and learn about the student experience from our Student Ambassadors.
Current Students by Cohort
Read about some of our dynamic Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Poetics students, their educational backgrounds, and writing interests.
2023 Cohort
- Mikayla Coleman
- Geneviève Hicks
- Bethany Hudson
- Noor Islam
- Natalie Mannino
- Elfie Nelson
- Mason Peterson
- Harley Tonelli
Geneviève Hicks [she/her]
Education
Masters of Physical Therapy, Medical College of Virginia
Writing Interests
Creative non-fiction, flash fiction, narrative medicine, and conjuring.
Other Interests
Physical therapist for over 30 years. Side hustles: Buddhism, Meditation, Yoga, Backpacking and the Holy.
Bethany Hudson [she/her]
Education
BFA in Acting, University of Southern California
Writing Interests
Literary Historical Fiction.
Other Interests
belting showtunes while washing the dishes, geeking out at museums, eating challah (any variety, will settle for bagels), snuggling my cats – also my six kids, slow cooking on lazy weekends, strolling along the shoreline – also through autumn leaves.
Noor Islam [she/her]
Education
B.A. in Philosophy, minors in Psychology and Media studies, Cotton State University (India).
M.A. in Western and Indian Philosophy, minors in Psychology, Performance Arts, and English Literature, Pondicherry Central University (India)
Writing Interests
Philosophy of human condition, Poetry, Creative non-fiction, Philosophical literary fiction, Prose poetry, Female sensuality and sexual liberation, Music in poetry, Metafiction, Introspective personal essays, Book reviews, Existential school of Philosophy, Socratic Philosophy.
Other Interests
Jazz, Filming : nature, interiors, personal expression, Getting a coffee, Cooking as love language, Connections, Hugs, Body movement practices, Strength training, curating travel itineraries, DOGS, Live music in shady bars, Patterns.
Natalie Mannino [she/her]
Education
B.A. in English & B.A. in Psychology, Michigan State University
Certificate in Publishing, Denver Publishing Institute at the University of Denver
Writing Interests
Time. How does it travel, affect memory, what it means to be present/alive/current, its direction, its failings, hindsight, if it has a shape. Others broader interests include friendships, grief, trauma, and self discovery.
Other Interests
Reading, watching movies, hiking and exploring, scrapbooking, being with my family and furry babies.
Elfie Nelson [she/her, they/them]
Education
B.A. in English, University of California Davis
M.A. in Creative Writing, University of California Davis
Writing Interests
Poetry, interactive media, hypertext, monsters, translation, dreamcore.
Other Interests
Baking, costume building, tabletop role-playing games, learning to code, bad movies, critical theory, history of magical practices, liminal spaces, being near Big Water.
Mason Peterson [they/he]
Education
A.A. from Cascadia College
B.A. in Culture, Literature, and the Arts, University of Washington Bothell
Writing Interests
free-verse poetry, high fantasy, solarpunk, explorative sci-fi, and stories of queer joy.
Other Interests
mythology, cooking, baking, cosplay, D&D, and spending time with my pets.
Harley Tonelli
Education
J.D., University of Washington, School of Law
B.M. in Music Business/Management, Berklee College of Music
Writing Interests
Poetry, revolutionary poetry, disability poetics, feminist writing, creative non-fiction, songwriting.
Other Interests
Music, birding, sailing, community organizing and advocacy, long walks by bodies of water, travel, baseball.
2022 Cohort
- Elisa Balabram
- Mae Barbee
- Pria Dalrymple
- Lindsey Keefer
- Farron Knechtel
- Melissa Knopp
- Emma McVeigh
- Korede Oseni
- Felicia Payomo
- Parker Smith
- Katie Tran
- Phoenix Kai
Elisa Balabram [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.S. in Civil Engineering from Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil)
M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship Management from CUNY Bernard Baruch College
Writing Interests
Transformational fiction, creative non-fiction, entrepreneurial and inspirational journeys, self-love novellas.
Other Interests
Painting (clothes, shoes, walls, canvases), walking in nature, dancing, going on adventures, traveling, being present, and mindfully connecting with others and with pets.
Mae Ellen Barbee [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in Applied Computing (UX Design focus) from University of Washington Bothell; A.A. in Arts and Science from Bellevue College
Writing Interests
Surreal fiction, womanhood and society, Lovecraftian horror, lyrical prose, and magical realism.
Other Interests
Learning how to sew; finding new (old) strange books from secondhand bookstores; video games, especially those with female protagonists or beautifully written stories; reading, of course (and writing about what I read, so I’ll remember it in a few weeks); studying the ancient world, mostly through documentaries.
Lindsey Keefer [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.A in English from the University of Portland
Writing Interests
Dystopia, environmental fiction, biopunk, satire, the study of semiotics, free-verse poetry, and surrealist fiction.
Other Interests
Spending time with my cat, reading/watching all things sci-fi, cooking, swimming, jigsaw puzzles, autumn, and horror films.
Farron Knechtel [they/them]
Previous Degrees
BA in Creative and Professional Writing from Central Washington University
Writing Interests
Poetry, memory, trauma and grief in the digital age.
Other Interests
Congregating with other strange people at concerts and conventions.
Melissa Knopp [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in English, Creative Writing (minor in French) from La Sierra University; DELF B2 from Campus Adventiste du Saleve
Writing Interests
Short story, personal essay, memoir, family history, magical realism, place-centered.
Other Interests
Clouds, bees, coffee, eclairs, laughter.
Emma McVeigh [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.S. in Public Health from Northern Arizona University
Writing Interests
poetry, memoir, creative non-fiction, music and playwriting, coming-of-age, spirituality, landscape, time and aging, mental health, family.
Other Interests
musical theatre, being outdoors, climbing, yoga, hugging trees, cooking semi-homemade masterpieces, learning how to work with the natural world to make things, painting, talking to myself, intentional solitude.
Korede Oseni [she/her]
Previous Degrees
Bachelors of Law, LL.B Hons. Lagos State University (Nigeria)
Writing Interests
African Literature, Descriptive Poetry, Prose, Short Stories, Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Experimental Writing.
Other Interests
Advocacy, Music, viewing Paintings, Football, Road Trips, and watching the sunrise.
Felicia Payomo [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in English (emphasis in creative writing) at Mills College in Oakland, California
Writing Interests
Reimagining the ways in which stories are articulated. While much of my focus remains within subject matter mirroring my own personal experience, I am constantly engaging with the small unnoticed moments in life.
Other Interests
Visual art, digital story telling, language studies, photography, and music.
Parker Dean Smith [he/him]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in Creative Writing (fiction emphasis) and B.A. in English Literature from the University of Redlands
Writing Interests
Realistic Fiction, Magical Realism, LGBTQIA+ Fiction, Erotica, Romance, Found Family, Mythology, Writing-in-Verse, and Shakespeare.
Other Interests
Birds and Birdwatching, Rock Climbing, Rock Collecting, Guitar, Native American Art of all kinds, DC and Marvel Comics, Cross Stitch, Letter Writing, Drinking too much Coffee, and Listening to Music that is usually too loud.
Kathryn Tran [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in Sociology and Political Science, State University of New York – Geneseo
Writing Interests
Poetry, short story, creative nonfiction, experimental storytelling, playwriting, philosophy, nature writing, spirituality
Other Interests
Forest bathing, hiking, camping, kayaking, SUPing, reading, gardening, dogs (my dog), swimming, cooking, baking, gardening, foraging, videography, film and existentialism.
Phoenix Kai [they/them]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder
Writing Interests
Queer stories, poetry, prose, memoir, multimedia, and collage.
Other Interests
Reading everything from poetry to academia to trashy fiction, cartoons, drawing, moss, music, and the color blue.
Candace Whitney-Morris [she/her]
Previous Degrees
B.A. in English from Simpson University, California
Writing Interests
Psycho-spiritual, gothic non-fiction that explores the nature of supernatural states. The effect of grief on the brain/Neuroscience. Visual art and white space in literature. Watercolor and sketching.
Other Interests
Empathic introvert who hermits with plants, gardening, dusty old books, vinyl, and who stares eerily long at the ocean. Interested in all things archived. Wannabe monk in next life. This one, I live to make art, be one of three in my tripod of daughter and partner, and love the people I know.