Convocation Spring 2026
2026 Convocation Ceremony Video:
2026 Convocation Slideshow
GRADUATE AWARDS
Bilinski Foundation Fellowship
Madeline Mendoza
Buchanan-Arms Award in English
Maryam Tadayon
Phyllis Flanders Dorset Scholarship in English Literature
Navid Etedali
Graduate Student Award in Rhetoric and Writing
Mehdi Mohammadi
Hillerman - McGarrity Scholarship in Creative Writing
Paris Baldante
Emelia Beam
Howard Dean Everett Scholarship
Madeline Mendoza
Dr. E.A. Mares Award for Chicano Literature
Anne Carrica
Mary M. McDonald Scholarship Fund in English
Maryam Tadayon
Rudolfo Anaya Fellowship
Bianca Lucero
Candra Lowery
Vicente Ximenes Scholarship
Tahenaz Biva
GRADUATE TEACHING AWARDS
Teaching Assistant Literature Teaching Award
Ashley Bernardo
Teaching Assistant Creative Writing Teaching Award
Asa Holcombe
Outstanding Core Writing Instructor
Lucas Garcia
Outstanding Peer Mentor
Cat Hubka
Outstanding New Writing Instructor
Isabel Hunt
Best 1110 Assignment Sequence
Jeslyn Pool
Emily Alameda
Asa Holcombe
Best 2120 Assignment Sequence
Maryam Tadayon
Paris Baldante
Anne Carrica
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
Bank of America Undergraduate Student Award
Fiona Page
Bank of America Returning Student Award
Anna Yarrow
Reba Rutz Beidleman Endowed Scholarship
Naomi Fontenoy
Linda and Arthur John Brender Endowed Scholarship
Lynn Camp
Elsie and James Demas Scholarship
Carter Gage
Howard Dean Everette Scholarship
Sophia Eagle
Virginia R. Fultz Scholarship
Maria Paez
Hillerman/McGarrity Scholarship in Creative Writing
Aaron Sheffield
Sophia Walker
Irene B. Kimball Endowed Scholarship
Soniah Davis-Crump
The Dale and Ivan Melada Endowed Scholarship
Quil Del Villar
Leslie Duran
Alyssa Garcia
Jacob Garcia
New Mexico Folklore Scholar in English
Jacob Deville
Katherine G. Simons Scholarship in English
Erika Costales
Katherine M. Sims Memorial Scholarship
Sarita Gonzalez
Joseph B. Zavadil Memorial Scholarship
Kaitlyn Caggiano
Doctor of Philosophy in English
Spring and Summer 2026
Madeline R. Mendoza, Rhetoric and Writing
“Land, Writing, and Futurity: The Rhetorics of Indigenous Futurisms as Pedagogical Praxis”
Director: Dr. Bethany Davila
Rae Stringfield, Rhetoric and Writing
“Public Death Rhetoric”
Director: Dr. Bethany Davila
Sarah M. Worland, American Literary Studies
“Taking Democracy Seriously through Humor: The Democratic-Aesthetic Methods of Poetry and Stand-Up Comedy”
Director: Dr. Matthew Hofer
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Fall 2025
Joseph D. Byrne, Fiction
“Bilateral Symmetry is Proof of God”
Director: Prof. Daniel Mueller
Spring and Summer 2026
Paris Baldante, Fiction
“Aerial View”
Director: Dr. Andrew Bourelle
Jasmine P. Colorado, Fiction
“Manglar”
Director: Dr. Andrew Bourelle
Lucas Garcia, Poetry
“Skin Stuck”
Director: Prof. Lisa D. Chavez
Bianca A. Lucero, Creative Nonfiction
“Entwined: An Ethological Approach to Our Relationship with Snakes”
Director: Dr. Stephen Benz
Master of Arts in English
Avery S. Armstrong, Literature
Anne M. Carrica, Literature
Wendi Wen Wei Lee, Literature
Zack Matthews, Literature
Fairooz Saiyara, Literature
Luke J. Sheppard, Medieval Studies
Graduate Certificate in Technical and Professional Writing
Fall 2025
Laura K. Burkemper
Athena C. Gordon
Spring and Summer 2026
Galli K. Huaute
Bianca A. Lucero
Krista M. Rundiks
Tasawar Abbas Shah
Undergraduate Departmental Honors
Carter Gage
"O, Won’t We Have a Maritime: Theorizing the Port
as a Site of Cultural Modernity in James Joyce’s Ulysses”
summa cum laude
Advisor: Dr. Sarah Townsend
Kadra Guillermo
"Body Listening"
magna cum laude
Advisor: Prof. Daniel Mueller
Sarah Massey
"The Death of a Sparrow"
summa cum laude
Advisor: Prof. Lisa D. Chavez
Megan Osborn
"Hell Mouth"
magna cum laude
Advisor: Prof. Daniel Mueller
Sophia Walker
“The Creator, The Soldier, The Thief, The Poet, and The King:
Stories Exploring the Intersection Between Modern Fantasy and Christianity”
magna cum laude
Advisor: Prof. Daniel Mueller
10th Annual Karen McKinnon Poetry Awards
1st Place: Margaret Carriedo for “Premature Grief”
2nd Place: Sophia Eagle for “Premeditation”
3rd Place: Julie Linder for “Je ne suis pas la fille de mon pere
(I am not my father’s daughter)”
Publication Prize
Limina First Prize Winner: Kadra Guillermo
Undergraduate Degrees, Minors, and Certificates
Bachelor of Arts in English Studies
Fall 2025
Taryn Aguilar
Theodore Bloyd
Cameron Cleary
Cara Dwyer
Denise Fairweather
Elizabeth Fredrickson
Nes Hairston
Molly Johnston
Sarah Kamei
Anthony Lucero
Aleecia Lueras
Carl Miles
Tyler Miller
Casper Montoya
Megan Morgan
Jessica Neubauer
Evelyn Pinon
Diego Salazar
Emma Sanderson
Kayla Stoltenberg
Isabel Veitch
Alex Wells
Winter Whitlock
Bachelor of Arts in English Studies
Spring 2026
Noreen Acosta-Martinez
Jacob Armstrong
Miranda Benson
Karina Bolanos
Candis Canaday
Isabella Clarke
Emmett DiMauro
Sophia Eagle
Sydney Freland
Addison Fulton
Carter Gage
Alyssa Garcia
Denton Garcia
Bachelor of Arts in English Studies
Spring 2026 (continued)
Emilio Garcia Benavidez
Brooke Hill
Carolyn Jones
Calijah Kaye
Lily Kirk
Lee Lommler
Sarah Massey
Kelsa Mendoza
Cynthia ORourke
Megan Osborn
Mason Parrish
Alyssa Peterson
Aja Quintana
Alyssa Ramos
Genevieve Renfro
Carlos Ruelas-Leue
Hannah Senteno
Darian Thomson
Kendel Thrush
Monika Toledo
Cashmere Walker
Naomi Walker
Sophia Walker
Bachelor of Arts in English Studies
Summer 2026
Pradip Basnet
Vanessa Chavez
Malaya Everette
Lauren Hampsten
Ash Leon
Kerry McEnaney
Jairo Robles Rodriguez
Jared Sanders
Jenessa Seaman
Second Major in English Studies
Fall 2025
James DeAngelo
Spring 2026
Christian Bitsoi
Dominic Hinson
Miles Laurence
Victoria Newell
Lilly Porter
Miriam Reichsfeld
Ariah Romero
Rose Vigil
Summer 2026
Rashida Herndon
Bachelor of Arts in English-Philosophy
Fall 2025
Sawyer Alford
Spring 2026
Kadra Guillermo
Duncan Levandoski
Minor in English
Fall 2025
Rymer Hewitt
Randolph Kpai
Spring 2026
Youssef Amin
Angelia Aragon
Misha Chavez
Ivy Chen
Sara Flores
Keenan Greywolf
Amelia Griego
Laurence Halcyon Case
Clay Looney
Christian Lucero
Minor in English
Cara Martin
Gabriel Morris-Stubbs
Morgan Nelson
Ana Olivas
Kyla Romero
Summer 2026
Elyse Acosta
Jax Estrada
Megan Winter
Minor in Technical and
Professional Communication
Spring 2026
Jacob Martinez
Undergraduate Certificate in Technical
and Professional Communication
Fall 2025
Kayla Stoltenberg
Spring 2026
Isabella Clarke
Kat Long
Mason Parrish
Aja Quintana
Summer 2026
Lauren Hampsten
