Erin Guydish, President
Erin is in her first year as a Ph.D. student in the Literature and Criticism program. She earned her master’s degree from IUP and her bachelor’s degree at Wilkes University in northeastern Pennsylvania. During her time at Wilkes, she worked in the university’s writing center. Some of her favorite topics are gender and interdisciplinary studies, 18th-century and postmodern American literature, and the philosophical discussion centering around the line between reality and fiction. Although her area of interest is still in the works, being so early in the program, you can find her blowing off some academic steam at the tennis courts, target shooting with her bow, or just grabbing a cup of coffee.
Contact Erin at E.Guydish@iup.edu
Meg Oldman, Vice President
The daughter of a Canadian and a Pennsylvanian, Meg always knew, that despite growing up in Virginia, her destiny was to lead her north of the Mason-Dixon Line. She attended Wilson College, a small women’s college in Chambersburg, and earned a B.A. in Creative Writing. Meg went on to Marshall University in West Virginia for her M.A. in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. While at Marshall, she was a teaching assistant and worked in the writing center. Fate once more led her north to her new happy home here at IUP. She is about to start her second year of coursework with a concentration in Medieval (British) Literature, but she will happily nerd out with you over post-modern texts as well, specifically anything related to J.R.R. Tolkien or J.K. Rowling. She is also happy to grab some form of hot caffeinated beverage, go on various low-key adventures (whilst humming the Indiana Jones theme song), or just casually chat it up. She also has the cutest dog and cat duo on the north-east side of Indiana.
Contact Met at R.M.Oldman@iup.edu
Mitch James, Secretary
Mitch is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in the Composition and TESOL program. He’s in the nascent stages of his dissertation on creative writing pedagogy and hopes to have it finished in May 2013. Mitch likes long walks on the beach, but he lives in Pennsylvania, so that’s a problem.
Contact Mitch at M.R.James@iup.edu
Amy Klemm, Treasurer
Amy Klemm was born in raised in the “mitten state,” more commonly known as Michigan. She never grows tired of showing people where she grew up on her hand. She did her undergraduate work at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., where she graduated with a B.A.in English in December of 2006. She began her master’s degree here at IUP in Fall 2009. She graduated in May 2012 with her M.A. from IUP and started that very same Fall in the Ph.D. Literature and Criticism program also at IUP. Her areas of interest are trans-Atlantic romanticism and 20th-century British magic realism. She is very happy to have a long-winded conversation about Blake or Whitman with you, as well as how she recently has been attracted to digital literature and gaming literature like Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s new venture. She is about to start her second year of coursework this Fall. She is also a GA in the Thesis-Dissertation office for the School of Graduate Studies and Research, where her main job is format the theses and dissertations for all the programs in the graduate school. She really loves her job, and thinks that shredding old files is quite cathartic.
Contact Amy at A.L.Klemm@iup.edu
Lisa Weddell, Historian
Lisa is a second year master’s student in the Literature and Criticism program. She received her bachelor’s degree from Chatham University, a small private women’s college located in Pittsburgh. Her interests include early American and 19th-century American literature, particularly travel narratives and south sea exploration. She enjoys archival and recovery work and is currently working on a research project examining maritime autobiographies. Lisa is in the process of applying to Ph.D. programs, and she is more than happy to talk with those who have successfully completed applications as well as with those who are currently going through the application process. While Lisa is quiet and can often be found studying in the library or the English graduate lounge, she is always happy to chat with a peer or friend.
Contact Lisa at L.L.Weddell2@iup.edu
Julia Grove, Social Event Coordinator
Julia grew up in rural central Pennsylvania and received her bachelor’s degree from Lock Haven University in English Secondary Education. She then spent four very hectic yet amazing years teaching junior high Language Arts and Drama at a small charter school in northwestern Pennsylvania. She then moved to Boston, where she earned her master’s in Publishing and Writing at Emerson College. She was also fortunate enough to teach in Emerson’s First-Year Writing Program and cochair the Research Writing Student Showcase. She is now in IUP’s Literature and Criticism Ph.D. program, though her fickle and varied interests are making it difficult to commit to a specialization. This means that while she’s undecided about her own dissertation topic, she’s genuinely happy to talk with you about any and all literature topics, from Old English to Digital Literature.
Contact Julia at J.A.Grove2@iup.edu
Andrew Schmitz, Public Relations Officer
AJ Schmitz was born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif. While in high school and during his two-year stint at Santa Monica College, he thought that a degree in Theater and a career in acting was in his future, though he decided to give up the rush of the dramatic arts, with the lime-light and cast-parties, and focus on a much more gratifying education in English Literature. He worked as a purchasing agent for a hospitality design and purchasing firm to pay the bills while he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Literature at California State University, Long Beach, picking up interest in 18th-century British literature and ecocriticism and adding it to his teen-age obsession with the Beat Generation, specifically Jack Kerouac. Now, a year into his Ph.D. at IUP, he has retired to a simpler and quieter life in Indiana, Pennsylvania. You may catch him venturing away from his studies to grab a drink or a cup of coffee. If you see him, feel free to say “Hi,” but remember, don’t feed the animals.
Contact AJ at A.J.Schmitz@iup.edu
John Hepler, Webmaster
John is originally from northeastern Pennsylvania, but has lived up and down the East Coast as well as in Europe. A Millersville graduate with a bachelor’s degree in French, John worked for multinational corporations in IT and marketing for many years before deciding to return to his first passion, teaching. After finishing a master’s degree in TESOL and a master’s certificate in Instructional Technology at West Chester University, he continued on to IUP to pursue a doctoral degree in Composition and TESOL. Now finished with coursework, he is starting the dissertation stage of his academic career. Having just finished a two-year stint reading theses and dissertations in the Graduate Office (with Amy Klemm), this year he will be teaching a first-year composition course for ESL students, as well as two technology-based courses at IUP’s American Language Institute. Feel free to contact him with any questions you may have about formatting theses and dissertations or any other questions related to graduate studies and academic life at IUP.
Contact John at J.C.Hepler@iup.edu
