Alumni Spotlight
![Mara Lynn Johnstone](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/professional_author_photo.jpg?h=dafeb545&itok=hzU2KIs6)
I’ve known I wanted to be a writer ever since I learned to write, so coming to SSU for an English degree was an easy decision. Staying for a Master’s Degree was easy too. I had a great time! I learned good things, met cool people, and spent some fine years working at the Writing Center.
![Steven Brown](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/steven_brown_photo_1.jpg?h=4909c1dd&itok=UrNj6ttl)
Coming into the master’s program at Sonoma State, I had already experienced a teaching career that came to a close after twenty years. While thoroughly examining literature and the craft of writing under the guidance of the English department’s brilliant staff, I was inspired by the academi
![Maya](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/maya_f.jpg?h=e69ab155&itok=g1U82D3l)
My name is Maya Figueroa. As a first-generation student, college is daunting. Yet, these past four years have been absolutely amazing and I’m so excited for the next step!
![Elizabeth Wood](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/graduation_pic.jpeg?h=493b946f&itok=4w9NYTBn)
Hi, my name is Elizabeth Wood and I graduated from Sonoma State in Spring of 2021 with a Bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in teaching. The English department immersed me in many diverse, rich, and incredible novels, texts and lectures that I will cherish forever.
![Helen Ganiy](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/ganiy.jpg?h=1a7aa6d0&itok=yQHgm2ih)
Graduate school sounds scary at first. You’re not sure what to expect, or what’s expected of you. When I entered the MA program in 2018, I felt a mixture of apprehension and fear, but those feelings soon dissipated when I met and began working with SSU’s stellar English faculty.
![](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/alumni_pic_.jpg?h=3dbd9eac&itok=QSzUaVWD)
Pursuing my Master’s in English at SSU was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my education and career.
![](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/max.jpg?h=d318f057&itok=ZPG2kbYL)
From the time I started my undergraduate degree at SSU up until I graduated in May 2018, I loved being part of the English program. I got to meet great people, read books, produce a lot of writing, and receive valuable encouragement from professors.
![Hannah Bowick](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/hannah_bowick.jpg?h=b063defd&itok=LDKcwyM8)
Current title: AP Language Instructor and Advisor at University of Texas, Arlington and The Episcopal School of Dallas
![Brooke Wrisley](/sites/english/files/styles/33mm_3_2_552_x_368/public/field/image/brooke.jpg?h=f1b0f9d5&itok=Gv9QFZ3Q)
Life since graduation has been strange - as it was in the months leading up to graduation as well, really. But I am no stranger to strangeness, having finished my degree amongst multiple wildfire disasters and now a global pandemic.