Coe College

Joe Ponce graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in English and creative writing. He is currently pursuing a Fulbright Grant in Turkey, where he works as an English teacher. During the week, Joe teaches English speaking and listening courses in a continuing education classroom to students who wish to brush up on their English. As well, he teaches older people from the community who are learning to speak English for the first time.

“I give a lot of credit to Coe for presenting me with opportunities (like this one) throughout my undergraduate career. Coe helped foster an insatiable desire to pursue every avenue of curiosity, no matter where it may lead.” – Joe Ponce, ’10

Jenna Shaw graduated in 2009 with a major in English and a minor in classical studies.  After an internship at the Minneapolis-based independent publisher, Coffee House Press, she moved to New York City, where she spent two years working in publishing, first at a major children’s publishing house, then a literary agency.  In September 2011, Jenna relocated to southwestern Turkey, where she teaches college-level English at Muğla Üniversitesi as a yearlong Fulbright scholar.

“Beyond the basic (though not to be underestimated) skills of writing and researching, my education at Coe – in the English, Writing and Rhetoric Departments, particularly – taught me how to really explore the world and my place in it.  I was called to think and reason critically, encouraged to express my ideas creatively and thoroughly, and immersed in a broad range of new ideas and materials.  Perhaps most memorably, I felt welcomed into a lively and warm academic community by my professors and peers, one where I was supported and challenged in equal measure.” – Jenna Shaw ’09

Alonso Avila is a 2008 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in English and Spanish. From August 2008 to October 2009, Avila worked as an administrative assistant and a paraprofessional educator in Chicago at Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy. Currently stationed and living in Jordan, Avila is a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English as a second language in a primary school for boys.

“Coe has opened many doors of opportunities for learning and growing. One of those doors has been the opportunity to travel and experience the country firsthand: the people, food, public transportation, culture, society, the arts, and much more. Most importantly, traveling enabled me to step back and see my connection to humanity.” Alonso Avila, ’08

Iris Garcia graduated from Coe in May of 2008 double majoring in English and creative writing. She is currently employed as a scoring specialist by ACT in Iowa City. Iris was previously a scoring supervisor and professional scorer for Pearson as well as the administrative assistant for Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa in Cedar Rapids.

“Coe expanded my perspective by developing proficiency in my majors and dexterity beyond my area of concentration. My professors inspired the confidence to apply my skills in myriad roles. The residential environment fostered appreciation for diversity and inquisitiveness for my surroundings. Ultimately, Coe helped me comprehend my own value, and the responsibilities I’ve taken on since leaving demonstrate the asset this can be.” – Iris Garcia, ’08

Kyle Mangan graduated in 2008 with a double major in English and creative writing and a minor in Asian Studies. He is currently in a master’s program at the University of Chicago, studying humanities with an emphasis on creative writing. Kyle spent most of 2010 working as an English tutor at Moraine Valley Community College.

"There's something superficially dissatisfying about the claim ‘college has prepared me for more college,’ but, eloquence aside, were it not for Coe's mighty brood of implausibly gifted English professors, I may have been all too reasonably intimidated by graduate school; I'd also probably never have been published, lived in Asia, nor gained the confidence to so brazenly misuse semi-colons." -Kyle Mangan, '08

Allison Carr graduated from Coe in 2005 double majoring in English and creative writing. After graduation from Coe, she spent four months teaching English at Chiang Mai University in Thailand.  Allison earned her master’s in English and comparative literature at the University of Cincinnati in 2009, where she teaches writing and digital composition. She is currently in graduate school at the University of Cincinnati, pursuing a doctorate in rhetoric and composition. Allison has recently launched The Failure Project, a digital archive of failure narratives (thefailureproject.wordpress.com). Additionally, she works as an assistant editor for the PraxisWiki section of Kairos, a leading journal of rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy.

“I can't say enough glowing things about Coe College - especially the faculty. While at Coe, I formed relationships with a cadre of advisors who were and remain tirelessly, endlessly supportive and encouraging of my scholarly ambitions, always pushing me to be better than I thought I could be. They taught me so much about what it means to do intellectual work, to be a part of an intellectual community, and they helped me find the fortitude (and sense of humor) necessary to pursue this work. Simply put, they are models for the kind of scholar and educator I'm working to be.” – Allison Carr, ’05

Heather Petsche graduated in 2005, double majoring in English and creative writing. She completed her Master of Library Science degree in 2007 at the University of Kentucky, while working full time as head of public services at UK’s Fine Arts Library. In 2008, Heather moved to Washington, D.C. and began working as a teen and adult services librarian with the D.C. Public Library. She has been at the Takoma Park branch for nearly two and a half years.

"The English and writing professors at Coe created an atmosphere in which I felt both comfortable and challenged. Through my experiences working on Coe publications, studying abroad, and completing a thesis and creative writing, I developed diverse skills.  These serve me well at the public library - where you have to be ready for anything!" –Heather Petsche, ’05

Immediately after graduating from Coe with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and creative writing in 2002, Laura Farmer joined the Big Apple Circus and worked as the assistant house manager. This experience gave her plenty of fuel for writing, and she was awarded a University Fellowship at Syracuse University to pursue an MFA in fiction writing. She then taught English at Manlius Pebble Hill Preparatory School for two years before returning to Iowa to supervise the Writing Studio at Cornell College. Her work has appeared in The Iowa Review, Dossier.com, and other journals, and she is currently working on her first novel.

“I learned the greatest lesson a writer can learn at Coe: revision. Every week I met individually with professors who never tired of reading drafts and telling me to go further. This gave me a strong backbone for MFA workshops and the discipline I needed to succeed as a writer and a teacher.” –Laura Farmer, ’02