Alumni
Alumni
Featured Alumna
Sarah Kelley Brish, M.A., 2009
I began my studies at the Medieval Institute with no particular focus in mind. While taking courses on a variety of topics, I discovered a passion for languages and translation. My favorite courses were those on Old Norse and Old English, particularly Jana Schulman's seminar on monstrosity in the Beowulf manuscript. When not immersed in coursework, I engaged with the department first as a Graduate Assistant—in the Cube, as assistant to the Congress Coordinator—and then as co-instructor for MDVL 1450. I spent three wonderful and rewarding years at the Medieval Institute, forging great friendships and fond memories.
Since graduating in 2009, I have taken a break from full-time academia. I have made good friends with my spinning wheel and knitting needles, and stockpiled several pounds of fabulous fibers and yarns. In 2010 my husband and I moved to Ann Arbor, where he works in the software industry. There, during the Christmas season of 2010, I began working for Zingerman's Mail Order.
In the spring of 2011 I dove back into the academic world. In March I presented a paper on language and gender in the Beowulf Manuscript at the Michigan Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters conference in Saginaw. The beginning of May found my husband and me traveling to Norway, where I presented a paper on Norse Mythology in video games at the Across Media conference in Trondheim. We spent a further week touring Norway and seeking out places with medieval ties – Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Haakon’s Hall in Bergen, and the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, to name a few.
I continued to work at Zingerman's throughout 2011. My son, Evan Alexander, made his arrival several weeks early, taking Jeremy and me by surprise during our Christmas vacation. Since Evan’s birth, I have left my job and am now enjoying the journey of motherhood. Between naps and feedings (both Evan’s and his parents’), I am attempting to become reacquainted with my spinning wheel and an Old Norse translation project, while chronicling the adventures of my little Viking along the way.
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Graduates of the Medieval Institute
Western Michigan University first granted the M.A. in Medieval Studies in 1964, and over 150 degrees have been awarded in the years since. Many Medieval Institute alumni who have remained active in medieval studies gather at a reception sponsored by the Goliardic Society at the International Congress on Medieval Studies.
1964
- Albert George Crawford
- E. Rozanne Elder
- Tyrell D. Hughes
1965
- Judson I. Mather, Jr.
- Burns K. Seeley
1966
- John E. Martell, Jr.
1967
- Susan S. Huston
1968
- Michael E. Moriarty
1969
- Lila Beth Burke
- Richard Green
- Marilyn Hughes
1970
- Apostolos Andritspoulos
- James B. Bettendorf
- Ursula Ilse Dissmann
- Thomas Michael McElmeel
- John C. Parsons
- Willard T. Wolff
1971
- Raymond Eugene Bierlein
1972
- Eleanor Krawutschke
- Stanley David Pikaart
1973
- Raymond M. Rademacher
1974
- Wayne B. Householder
- Diane H. Routt
1975
- Dennis J. Clarke
- Patrick H. Ryan
1976
- Robert C. Brinker
- Mary Lohr Haab
- James E. Myers
1977
- Stephen Paul Foster
- Valerie Catherine Hauch
1978
- Diane L. Harwood
1979
- Margaret Mary King
- Rick M. Rogers
1980
- Michael Alan Benton
- Hugh C. Griffith, Jr.
- Claire Kriebel
1981
- Elvira Borgstadt
- Steven F. Vincent
1983
- John S. Penman
1984
- Joseph P. Huffman
- Dennis R. Overman
- Patricia Ann Quattrin
1985
- Constance Reik
- Elizabeth Ann White
1986
- Luann M. Weber
1989
- Daniel M. Huisman
- Germaine Manuel
- Scott W. McCloskey
- Connie Nelson
- Gaylon Vaughn Owens
- Ross Alan Roberts
- Betty A. VanderWielen
1990
- Christopher J. Beiting
- Jonathan Cloud
- Yvonne Carmichael
- Andrew Lennart Pearson
- Chun Ping Shen
- Ulrike Strasser
1991
- Karl Edmund Boehler
- Daniel M. La Corte
- Pongracz Sennyey
- Robert Thaddeus Wojtowicz
1992
- Steven Richard Cartwright
- Juleen A. Eichinger
- Mildred H. Spurbeck
1994
- Sandra Kay Masters
- Maureen Mae O'Brien
1995
- Janet S. Evenson
- David Harrison Horton
- Margaret T. Mudroch
- Laura Jean Radiker
1996
- Brian Robert Carniello
- Amy Eleanor Dawson
- Michael C. Johnson
- Michael Thomas Martin
- Karen J. Ostertag
- Erica K. Tolley
- Anthony John Warnick
- Kathryn Leigh Woodruff
1997
- Colleen Marie Bos
- Jana L. Byars
- Lewis M. Coleman
- Robert William Doyle
- Norman B. Frost
- Patricia Relf Hanavan
- Kate M. LaPorte
- Anthony D. Lippincott
- Frances K. Lippincott
- Deborah A. Oosterhouse
- Pamela S. Rups
- Nina Steed
1998
- Mary Maxine Browne
- Kevin Lee Glick
- Robert D. LaPorte
- John Andrew Scofield
1999
- Samantha J. Cairo
- William E. Hamilton
- Troy Roger Ortman
- Mark Edward Porath
- Tyler Sergent
- Amy Michelle Stout
- Amy Lynn Weinberger
- Joshua A. Westgard
2000
- Gregory L. Beckelhymer
- Christopher J. Burgess
- Matthew Bryan Gillis
- Melodie F. Harris
- Judith A. Krane-Calvert
2001
- Scott Anthony Borling
- John Henry Chandler, Jr.
- Scott A. Havens
- Michael Donald Livingston
- Dorothy C. Porter
- Andrew J. Robinson
- Scott T. Smith
- Larry J. Swain
- Kerry Mondele Warren
2002
- Elisabeth Marie Carnell
- Christopher W. Coppeans
- Shawn T. Herlihy
- Toruko Ishihara
- Alan Keith Kelly
- Bridgette Kristen Slavin
2003
- Benjamin R. Andresen
- George Walton Benson
- Kenneth Howard McMaster
- Laura M. Reinert
2004
- Jill Colleen Bogart
- Megan E. Bowman
- Kimberly Dawn Campbell
- Steffany R. Campbell
- Sarah M. Eaton
- Patrick Todd Gavin
- Gregory Lee Laing
- Cynthia Marie Wilcox
2005
- Hilary E. Fox
- Rachel T. French
- Amanda G. Madden
- Elisabeth A. McCaffery
- Bryan Lee VanGinhoven
2006
- Jack R. Baker
- Erik A. Carlson
- Kristi M. DiClemente
- James R. Gregory
- Terri M. Jenkins-Suggs
- Christine Kozikowski
- Melissa D. Williams
2007
- David E. Clark
- Micah A. Erwin
- Matthew S. McConnel
- Theresa M. Whitaker
2008
- Katie Joann Brambrink
- Jill D. Hamilton
- Ellen Nancy Herron
- Anthony H. Minnema
2009
- Michael Brinks
- Sarah Kelley Brish
- Jason M. Clements
- Colleen Dunn
- Louis Shwartz
- Lydia Walker
2010
- David Baron
- Mary Blanchard
- Marisa Cathcart
- Kevin Gladney
- Arthur J. Russell
2011
- Benjamin Ambler
- Juliette Arico
- Sean Cunningham
- Shannon Cunningham
- John R. Mocek
- Danielle Smith
- Daniel Toft
- Joshua Withrow
2012
- Amanda Deslauriers
- Elan Justice Pavlinich
Photographs:
- Sarah Kelley Brish (M.A., 2009) and family
- Duane Starcher and William Combs in 1964
- Waldo Library in 1972
- The Hillside Buildings, former home to the Medieval Institute
- WMU campus in 1983
- Stewart Clock Tower
- Walwood Hall, current home to the Medieval Institute
- Untitled sculpture by Charles Huntington on the WMU campus
- Entrance marker to the WMU cmapus
- Class field trip to the Toledo Museum of Art in 2006
- Medieval Institute students and staff in the Rawlinson Center (photo: James Kison)
- Master's regalia on display
- Class field trip to the Newberry Library in 2011