You love #bsuenglish, don’t you? We tweet funny things, introduce you to new literature loving friends, keep you updated on events happening in/around the department. We’re like that somewhat off-her-rocker Aunt who pops up occasionally to give you really good advice, except we don’t ask a million questions about your love life.

But when @bsuenglish tweets at you, when you read through this week’s blog posts, when you admire an intricately designed poster hanging outside of your classroom, where exactly did those things come from? Who exactly are you talking to? While the great Wizard of Oz wants you to “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” we’re pulling the curtain back, and introducing you to the four awesome interns, as well as our new intern coordinator, who are running the show for the 2015-2016 school year.

First up: Evan Andreae – Graphic Design Extraordinaire, Copy Editing Consultant 

Evan is a 5th year student at Ball State majoring in General Studies, with Professional Writing and Philosophy minors, although he didn’t come here expecting to graduate with such a wild combination. He was originally a Music Media Production major, then a Chemistry major. He loved his time in each (up until maybe his irredeemably awful grasp of Organic Chemistry 2), but came to realize English – writing, reading, designing, and creating – was what he was best at, and what he truly enjoyed the most.

Evan does try to keep in touch with elements of his previous majors; he’s going into his 8th semester performing with the Statesmen, Ball State’s all-male chorus, and he’s still a massive science geek. If things had gone slightly differently he definitely would have been an astronaut. Once he graduates he’d like to look for work in the city – Chicago, New York, or anywhere in between (ideally within walking distance of concert venues and tacos) – and start making a career of his creativity, whether it be in design, marketing, publishing, or writing.

Next up: Lauren Birkey – Graphic Design Virtuoso, Ambassador to the Graduate Office 

Lauren is a junior English Studies major with a minor in Professional Writing and Emerging Media. This is her first semester working with the English Department, and she is looking forward to learning more about social media marketing and design. She hails from Middlebury, Indiana and is very fond of Rise n’ Roll donuts.

She likes to read anything and everything, from Band of Brothers to Me Talk Pretty One Day to Pride and Prejudice. She’s also a pretty big movie nerd. She isn’t planning on teaching English, though at some point in the future she would like to work as an academic counselor or librarian.

Note: Lauren is mostly unresponsive unless fueled by coffee.

Then we have: Luke Bell – Supreme Tweeter, Facebook Facilitator, Social Media Manager

Luke is a senior Creative Writing major here at Ball State with a minor in Professional Writing. In addition to interning in the English Department, Luke is also the lead prose editor for The Broken Plate. In his free time Luke writes creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. He plays guitar and writes music, and has been trying (unsuccessfully) to find band mates that will tolerate his musical ego. Contact if interested.

Luke’s favorite books are The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. His current favorite band is The Struts, he is fond of hummus, and has a fear of moths. Like any senior, Luke is apprehensive about the future and isn’t quite sure what he wants to do with his life if the rock star gig doesn’t work out. But no matter where his life takes him, he is sure that he’ll be writing, and wouldn’t change his major for anything in the world.

Next: Taylor Wicker – Copy Editing Counsel, Content Creator for the Blog 

Taylor is a senior Creative Writing major, and has worked in the English Department for the past three years. Surprisingly, no one has fired her yet. She’s an avid admirer of pepperoni pizza, especially if it’s from Greek’s, and is 100% a beer snob. Ideally, she’ll work for a marketing firm as a content creator/copywriter once she graduates college, but would love any career involving writing. Her niche is creative nonfiction, but she likes to dabble in poetry occasionally (depending on how her love life is going).

If you check her book shelf, the most worn books would be The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach, and Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk.

Last, but quite the opposite of least: Professor Eva Grouling Snider – Fearless Leader, Master of All Things PR Related, Guiding Light to the Interns

Eva is the new Communications Coordinator for the department, which means she has the pleasure of working closely with Evan, Lauren, Luke, and Taylor. She has been at Ball State for four years, during which time she has taught first-year writing, digital literacies, professional writing, document design, and web writing. She also consults and freelances on web and document design. You can find her online at egsnider.com.

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We hope this gives you a better impression of who we are, the hard-working individuals “behind the curtain,” so to speak. Don’t hesitate to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We always love to hear from you, and we’re looking forward to a truly great year.