MFA Student Ambassadors

Asia Nicolette Ashley (she/her) is a poetrist and facilitator from Chicago whose work explores identity, origin, and resilience. She is an Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) Fellow, a national fellowship that supports publicly engaged scholars and artists committed to community-based research and creative practice. Through writing, workshops, and event curation, Asia creates immersive experiences that invite discovery and collective liberation. Her poetry investigates how the artful expression of lived experience can nurture authentic human connection, often blending the written word with sound, moving images, immersive art, and gastronomy. Her work has been featured in Hugo House’s Chapbook, Clamor Literary Magazine, and on her website AsiaAshley.com.

Damien Oz (he/him) is a writer and poet, artist, director, and voice actor based in the Pacific Northwest. He has his B.A. in English: Creative Writing from the University of Washington, Seattle, and is currently pursuing his MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics. Damien’s poetics focus on the Dreamscape and the Void, the Supernatural, Spirituality, Horror, and Physics- though he cannot resist a comedic voice here and there. He is particularly passionate about audio drama, game-writing and design, video-making, and energy-work poetry. Incredibly “normal” about “doors”. Loves lemonade, stargazing, and wandering in the dark. Writer of “The DREAMWALKER Podcast”.

Angelica Urquizo (she/her) is a poet and collage artist who seeks magic in the mundane, often finding inspiration from the natural world, mythology, shadow work, and the overall human experience. She is interested in further exploring her creative expression among the crossroads of genre, technology, and fiber arts as she begins playing with ideas for her thesis project. She has publications in Clamor, Genrepunk, and Suburban Witchcraft, among others. You can read more about her work at AngelicaUrquizo.com or find her on Instagram @acraftyname.