Reflections on My LLP Internship

The Community that Every LLP Major and Minor Should Know
By Brianna McGuire
LLP Social Media Intern

“It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression”
 -Alfredo North Whitehead

     I am completely grateful for my time here as the social media intern at the Language,
Literature, and Philosophy Department. Throughout my time at TSU as an English major I never came across any one else that shared the same passion as me for writing and literature until now. 
     Being in this environment with professors who want the best for me when it comes to a career with an English degree and coming across my wonderful peers that have a genuine love for writing and literature is something that I never thought I would see in my four years here at TSU. As stated in my first blog, every time I would mention to others that I was an English major I would get a negative reaction. 
     However, spending my time here as the social media intern, my choice of major and of study has turned into a positive reaction for others and for myself. 
      The English department does not get all the recognition they truly deserve. The professors work hard to show each student that they matter. They do everything in their power to improve student writing and set them up for success in their future. The students are extremely deserving and passionate about literature and expressing themselves through the art of literature.
     The art of literature and the English department is constantly overlooked and I sincerely hope that during my time here as the intern, I was able to bring some kind of recognition to a department that truly deserves it and have gravitated more passionate students towards this amazing study. 
   Lastly, to the department chair, Dr. Pinkard thank you for opening this amazing opportunity to me and I want to express my gratitude for your everlasting help with everything.

Fall Graduate Secures Graduate School and Future

LLP Student Profile: An Interview with Nickcolus Blakemore
By Brianna McGuire
LLP Social Media Intern

Nickcolus Blakemore

Nickcolus Blakemore is a graduating English major with a minor in mass communications and an eye
on the future. He was selected from a national pool into two graduate school invitatoinal graduate prep programs that took him to Texas this summer as part of STEP and Michigan this Fall to participate in MUSE.  He has graduate school plans for life after TSU, and his sincere gratitude for the English department is very beautiful and genuine. Blakemore spoke with me about his experiences in LLP and about the professors that have pushed him to become a better student and a better writer.

Tell me about yourself.

I will be graduating this Fall and I hope to get my master’s degree and have a career in screenwriting in the future. In my writing, I hope to center black people on television and tell a story of the struggles and challenges that we face as a race.

Tell me about your experience as an English major.

 As an English major, I can truly say that most of my support has come from my professors. They have been very dedicated to my success, and they have been very willing to work with me one on one and give me the time that I may need as an individual to ensure that I have the best possible path forward. At times, I do wish that the English Department could get more recognition and attention from the university because the professors do put in a lot of work, and I would just like to see their work supported and rewarded from outsiders.

What are some skills that you may have gained from the English department?

 There are so many. First and foremost, I would like to give a big shoutout to my mentors and professors Dr. Zeba Shahbaaz and Dr. Michelle Pinkard, the department chair. They have both instilled values like consistency, reminding me to stay consistent with my work and my writing. They have really trained me to become a better writer. I don’t think that I could be the writer that I am now without them. Lastly, they have encouraged me to go forward and challenge myself to different opportunities.

Speaking of opportunities, can you tell me more about the MUSE program that you just attended at Michigan State? How did you get involved?

 The opportunity was actually sent to me by those two professors I’ve mentioned before. After it was sent to me, I decided to do some of my research on the faculty and the program itself. When I did my own research, I saw that the program was researching certain topics that I was interested in such as Afrofuturism, critical race theory, black LGBTQ, and feminist theory. After seeing that, I applied and got accepted. It is a program that allows students to introduce your research interest and prepare you for graduate school. While I was there, they had us sit in a few classes, panels, and seminars — most importantly, a graduate school seminar where they spoke to us about tips and preparation for grad school.

 What was your experience like at Michigan State University? After your experience there, are you interested in going there for grad school?

 There are top tier institutions for research and I loved to hear that because I know that it would allow me to discover a broad range of interests when it comes to research. There are a lot of things that I enjoyed about the English department there and what they have to offer, they also have a lot of interdisciplinary studies there as well. As far as grad school is concerned, it is definitely an option for me, at the moment I am keeping my options open though.

 How did the MUSE Program impact you?

 It made me feel more prepared for grad school, they encouraged me after hearing my research so that kind of let me know that I was on the right track and they helped me to see what I can expand my ideas on after hearing the panelist and professors speak. It was a very full circle experience.

 Last question, I know that you spoke earlier about your gratitude for the English department because of their generosity and encouragement. Before you graduate next month, are there any words that you would like to leave the English Department with?

 Thank you for everything, and I will see you all at the top!

On the behalf of your peers, thank you Nickcolus for being a great representation for other English students at Tennessee State University. From having multiple classes with you, I have noticed that you have represented the Language, Literature, and Philosophy Department very well through your hard work, determination, and passion for writing. We cannot wait to see what you will do in the future, but we know for certain that you will make other students like me very proud and inspired by your future endeavors.

 

 

LLP Faculty Kicks of Dungeons and Dragon's Campaign!

Interview with Dr. Shane Gomes, GSA Adviser and D&D master

By Brianna McGuire

Social Media Intern

Dr. Shane Gomes

Dr. Shane Gomes, starting his teaching career here at Tennessee State University in 2020. Since then, he has accomplished much in Languages, Literature, and Philosophy.  Today, he kicks of a new Dungeon and Dragons Club on Nov 4th.  He is also the new faculty for the Gender Sexuality Alliance Club, where he hopes to create the safe space LGBTQ+ students that he wished he had for himself while he was in college. He teaches numerous classes for LLP, including English 1010 and 1020, World Literature (2320), Technical Report Writing, and most recently, a special topic course that focuses on tragedy in popular culture literature. 

Dr. Gomes’ colorful office is filled with the comics he read as a kid. He says his father had every Marvel comic from 1956 to 1985. Nerdy stuff just makes him happy. Gomes says that he hopes to convey to students that everything they do carries political weight and it is impacting us based on our race, class, gender, ethnicity, etc. We need to learn how people are using that against us and to take control of our communication by making sure that we are getting our own thoughts out there instead of others.

My interview with him below provides insights on his experiences with LLP,  GSA, Comics, and so much more!

Tell me about yourself.

I am originally from Hawaii, born in Honolulu. I was homeschooled for most of my life and then I attended University of Northern Colorado for some years and then returned back home and graduated with my Bachelor’s in Psychology and a minor in English from University of Hawaii. I then went back to University of Northern Colorado for my masters and then moved to North Dakota to receive my doctoral degree from North Dakota State.

What was life like after college?

 During the depths of recession, I was able to find a job that was related to my psychology degree working as an addiction counselor and I also ran drug testing for a small non-profit. There were a lot of issues that blocked me from actually helping people, so I decided to go back to school to get my master’s degree studying English.

 What made you want to leave the psychology field and gravitate towards English for your masters?

 During my time in undergrad, I really wanted to study English or film but I decided to study mainly psychology because I bought into the idea that you may need to go into a field that will guarantee you a job after graduating from college. I didn’t even listen to my English professors that told me that English majors could get jobs all over the place. After going into the psychology field, I realized that it was not something that I genuinely wanted to do and decided to go into the English track. And once I started teaching, I was like yeah this is something that I want to do like forever. I don’t want to do anything else.

 What is your experience now working as a professor at Tennessee State?

 I really enjoy it here, I am also the head advisor for the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) which is something that I really wanted to be a part of and last semester I suggested a tabletop gaming club and I was supported and funded for it.  The Dungeons and Dragons club should be meeting very soon, so I am very excited for that. This is a place where people actually listen to what I have to say and take it very seriously and that has not been the case at other universities.

 Can you tell me more about the special topics course?

 Yes! We are focusing on some of the classic tragedies and bringing in some of the modern interpretation of the genre, like we spoke of Black Panther. We are focusing on tragedy and what it does politically and the people in power. The students seem very engaged and interested!

 

Why do you hope to accomplish being the head advisor for Gender Sexuality Alliance?

 The main goal is to promote inclusiveness on campus for members of the LGTBQ community and make it a safe environment for them. One thing that we are doing is including pride training for faculty and staff for them to create an accepting classroom for queer students. More than importantly, I would like to make it an organization that I would have felt comfortable coming out of when I was an undergrad.

 What is something that would like to tell English majors/minors that you wish you could have told yourself during undergrad?

 The skills that you can learn in this field is transferable to any profession. Good communication skills, writing skills, analysis and critical thinking skills is our bread and butter, it is our thing. These skills can help you from the time you put in your application for a job, interviewing for a job, and implementing the job once you get it. You all should be studying something that you are passionate about, because when you are passionate about it there is a much better chance of succeeding at it.

 

Talking Poetry and Passion for Writing with LLP Major Destini Rainer

Rainer

 By Brianna McGuire
 Social Media Intern

A bright and ambitious student, Destini Rainer gives us insight into her passion for writing and how the English department has impacted her writing skills through mentorship, English classes, and an amazing poetry slam club called Soul Fire. She is a senior, double majoring in English and Political Science, with hopes of becoming an intellectual property lawyer. Rainer talks about her strong feelings towards writing and how Soul Fire has allowed her to explore her creativity with like-minded students.

My interview with her is below:

Tell me about yourself.

 I am currently in a couple organizations on campus, which are Women of Empowerment, Tennessee Intercollegiate Legislature, and Soul Fire which is coming into the works of becoming an improved version of itself within the English Department since COVID-19, and I am currently writing a book.

 What do you hope to accomplish with your English Degree?

 With my English degree, I just hope to become a better writer. I started off as an English minor and that was because I still really wanted to work on my poetry. I hit a writer's block a long time ago as soon as I hit college campus, I was very disconnected from my true self and political science didn’t seem like it was doing enough. I felt like I was missing a part of myself, and a huge part of myself was writing. I needed some way, shape, or form back to who I was a writer. So, I started off as an English minor and then eventually upgraded to an English major because I had time and I figured why not.

 After you graduate, what career field are you going into?

 I would like to be an intellectual property lawyer, protecting others belongings, inventions, books, and more. I would also like to be an author.

 How has the English department personally impacted you?

The first professor that I met was Dr. Pinkard and she opened my eyes to the thought that everything does not have to be black or white when you write, like it does not have to look the same or feel the same. With that being said, the English department really showed me how to not be so single minded and that writing comes in different shapes or forms. When it comes to being an author or poet, I now know that I can do anything that I want to do with my writing just as long as it makes sense.

What do you enjoy most about the English department?

 I enjoy how personal they are, that they really understand that a lot of us English majors just want to write and this is where our heart is and they want to help us elevate our writing so that we are not stuck in one place. I appreciate that they take the time to get to know us and our writing styles and also at the same time still try to properly teach us the correct formatting so that when we do go to graduate school or decide to take time off and actually write we know that we can actually go to them for help.

Rainer Center Front at Soul Fire

 Tell me about your role with Soul Fire. How did you get involved?

 My mentor is Dr. Pinkard, she is the person who really helped me to get out of my writer's block. She taught me different poetry styles and she always advertised Soul Fire to me, however the online formatting was not for me. You couldn’t really feel the energy of the room. So, for two years and I convinced Dr. Pinkard to make Soul Fire in-person and to make it live. As a poet, I know that poets strive to have that in-person feel and energy, there are certain things that you cannot feel through a zoom link. So this year, she finally said okay and allowed for Soul Fire to be in-person. Through my role as the student representative, I hope to create a safe and creative space for poets on campus. A lot of poets are not taken seriously on campus when this is our craft and that is what Soul Fire is meant to do. It is to allow us to creatively explore our craft.

Lastly, as the student representative, I hope to make our presence known to others on campus.

 What do you enjoy most about Soul Fire?

I enjoy being surrounded by other people that are like-minded. We sit and we read poems constantly. I love that it is from 5pm-6pm, after having a long-extended day and being really stressed I feel like Soul Fire is really that time that I don’t have in my room and I sit with other poets who also have had a long day and we just write and then we read and then we listen and when you listen you actually hear that other people have different experiences that you did not know that they had on campus or never would have heard before.  You also realize that this is a safe space.

 
What something that you would like to say to other students that are not involved in Soul Fire in hopes of getting them involved?

 I would say that if you do not feel like you do not have the interest in writing at this moment, come to Soul Fire to see if this is something that you would like. I believe that everyone has the mind to write and everyone can write poetry, it is not something that you are born with, it is something that can be taught and feel. When you come to Soul Fire you do not need confidence, it is something that you gain and walk out the door with. Soul Fire is definitely that space where you can freely think, write, and listen.

 What would you like to say to other English students?

 Your opinion is an extension of your mind. Whatever you are thinking, or decide to write is a reflection of you and the English department itself so have fun, don't be overwhelmed and you can persevere.

 Rainer is a huge inspiration to other students like me who share the same passion ofwriting. Just hearing her talk about it simply amazes me. It is a breath of fresh air to know that other students have the same intensity for writing and hope to explore their creativity through the art of literature. She has definitely convinced me to explore a newfound interest in poetry and attend one of Soul Fire’s sessions.

Congrats to Ms. Rainer on her many poetic successes!

Cookies with Colleagues

LLP Opens Doors and Opportunities with Meet and Greet
by Brianna McGuire
LLP Social Media Intern

Earlier this month, students in the Language, Literature, and Philosophy Department gathered for Cookies with Colleagues hosted by the LLP Department.

The purpose of this event was to gather LLP students together and bring more attention to LLP to students who were not involved in the program. Throughout the crowd were a couple of students who were not involved in the program, and we used the opportunity to introduce LLP to them. Dr. Michelle Pinkard, the Department Chair told students, “a minor can help you become more competitive,” in reference to a possible LLP minor, such as English, Spanish, French or Philosophy.

Dr. Justin Whitney asked students for their input on what should be added to the department’s program. Dakota B., a junior English major is interested in more publishing classes, other students are interested in advanced philosophy and theory classes. One student even talked about his experience in his Graphic Novel course and how much he enjoyed the class and wishes there were more classes like it. 

Overall, it was a great event! The students absolutely enjoyed it and are ready for the next one! Kennedy Robinson, a Junior English major says, “it was great to see other English majors and professors that I have never met before, and it was very cool.”

Many of her colleagues thought the same! Students felt welcomed after being in a space with other English majors and being introduced to professors and courses that are exactly for their specific field of interest. 

Meet the new LLP Social Media Intern

By Brianna McGuire
LLP Social Media Intern

Reading and writing has been a sincere passion of mine since I was ten years old, It is now a decade later and I still share those same values and interest in my ten-year-old self. I am now a senior English major starting an internship in the Language, Literature, and Philosophy Department at Tennessee State University. 

I am very excited for this new opportunity as it allows me an opportunity to work closely with the English department to help bridge the gap between students and LLP. During this internship, I hope to bring more awareness to the department and to attract more students our majors and minors.

Most times when I am asked, "What is your major?" and I reply, "English," I find myself being asked whether I would like to be a teacher or not. Why is everyone's first thought after hearing that a student is an English major that the student wants to be a teacher? I hope to change this perception in the minds of those on campus. There is much more that you can do with an English degree than just become a teacher, and I would like to relay this message and many more to all TSU students as the new social media intern. 

I aspire to accomplish much working with the English Department, I want to learn more of the opportunities that are available to me as an English major and relay those same opportunities to to my peers.

I am very grateful for this opportunity and ready to work!

Learn more about the new LLP Social Media Intern by reviewing her Spotlight Bio.

A Survival Guide for Finals Week

 By Eleana Stone
Social Media Intern

      As we wrap up the semester this week, most students are concerned and troubled by Finals Week. It is better to prepare in advance for finals, and to reach out to any professors for questions or concerns about your rather than waiting or giving up. Finals are already stressful enough, being prepared will save you from some anxiety.
     One of the most important steps is to create a plan for your finals. Use a calendar to mark out the dates of your exams, determine how much time you need to prepare. Making a schedule to study in advance for each class you have, and maybe consider spending more time studying for your harder classes.
Use your studying schedule to your best advantage! Study as often as you can, it may help to study with others as well. Once you create your schedule in advance, it is important that you can follow through with it.       If you are struggling with studying or understanding material on your own, you should seek out tutoring. Going to tutoring in advance of your finals is a big step forward.  
     Another important step is to remove any distractions, stress, or anxiety from your life. In other words, trying to remove yourself from things, activities or even people that will distract you from studying.
     Lastly, procrastination and distraction will take more away from you and your goals. It is important that you keep a clear mind, get enough sleep, stay hydrated and well fed.  Overall, finials can be extremely successful, but if there is consistent preparation, your chances of succeeding are high.