Archive of Featured Alumni
Archive of Featured Alumni
This archive contains past postings on Medieval Institute alumni in alphabetical order.
A | B | CD | E | FG | HIJK | LMNO | PQ | R | STUVWXYZ
Benjamin R. Andresen, MA, 2003
I currently work for Whole Foods Market as the Information Technology Coordinator for Store and Technology Support. As such, I use my education in indirect ways. The skills I learned researching, writing, teaching, and verbally presenting a complex idea or framework have been instrumental in my success.
While at WMU I enjoyed every class I took on Irish archaeology with Dr. Amos, or "Doc" as we called him. Two other classes I enjoyed were "The Psalms and Their Illustration" taught by Dr. Teviotdale and a class on Forensic Osteology that I was able to take out of the Criminology department.
After graduation, I married Meg Bowman, another Institute graduate, relocated to Chicago, and had my son, Witt. (posted 2010)
George Walton Benson, MA, 2003
I thoroughly enjoyed earning my MA in Medieval Studies. While at WMU, I taught MDVL 145: Heroes & Villains of the Middle Ages and was the webmaster for the MIP online bookstore. After graduating in 2003, my wife and I returned to New Mexico where I began working in the financial services industry. Since then, I have worked for banks and credit unions in several capacities; I am currently the Sr. Financial Analyst for U.S. New Mexico Federal Credit Union. I have also since earned my MBA from the University of New Mexico, currently own three businesses that provide medical services to individuals and hospitals, and enjoy living in the Southwest with my wife and three beautiful children. Though no longer in academia, I enjoy attending UNM’s annual Spring Lecture Series, hosted by the Institute for Medieval Studies under the direction of former WMU professor Dr. Timothy C. Graham. (posted 2010)
Samantha Cairo-Toby, MA, 1999
While pursuing my MA at the Medieval Institute I took a student position at the University Libraries working in the Special Collections department. Through this job and my classes on "Medieval Book Illumination" and the "History of the Book" offered through the Medieval Institute, I learned that I not only loved taking care of rare books, but that I wanted to preserve them for future generations through book conservation. After graduating in 1999 I immediately took a job teaching World Mythology at Lansing Community College until the job Special Collections Coordinator was finalized at the WMU Libraries (I managed to hold down both jobs for two years until the winter driving got the best of me and I quit the job in Lansing). Being the Special Collections Coordinator put me in charge of the department's conservation program. I augmented my conservation skills that I learned in my initial job training with classes taught at the Newberry Library in Chicago and various other workshops throughout the country. It was during this time period I also learned I had a knack for creating handmade artists' books and began to enter them in regional shows.
In 2003 I decided to get my Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) at Wayne State University in Detroit, while continuing to work for WMU. In 2005 I graduated from the Library program with an emphasis in Special Collections and Book Conservation, got married to my husband Jim and moved to San Francisco, California. In 2006 I began working as a research librarian/archivist at the Museum of Performance & Design in San Francisco, using my conservation skills to advise both the Museum and Library staff on how to protect the more precious items in their vast collection. While working for the Museum I also assisted several authors and movie researchers search our archived images of the performing arts in San Francisco. The most notable of which was helping the Pixar storyboard artists find images of magicians for their movie short Presto that was released with the feature film Wall E in 2008. I quit my job at the Museum in the spring of 2009 to raise my daughter, Madeleine, now almost a year old. I am currently still producing artists' books and volunteering my conservation skills to the Patrick J. Dowling Library at the United Irish Cultural Centre in San Francisco, the oldest all Irish Library in the United States. (posted 2010)
Elisabeth (Lisa) Carnell, MA, 2002
My path to the Medieval Institute was circuitous: I began my undergraduate degree as a sculptor, but after taking a Latin class filled with medievalists I piled on history and English majors, thus changing my course. I continued at Western Michigan University in the interdisciplinary graduate program of the Medieval Institute at the same time I worked as part-time staff in an unrelated department and, eventually, also taught our undergraduate course, Heroes and Villains of the Middle Ages. My professional intention had been to continue on the academic track and earn a PhD after defending my thesis (on interpersonal magic in the Picatrix—Arabic title Ġāyat al-Hakīm—a grimoire synthesizing earlier works on astrology and magic). But life got in the way, as it so often does, and the realities of raising a special-needs child resulted in my making the decision to decline an admissions offer and discontinue the PhD application process altogether.
I now straddle both worlds of my academic past, as both Coordinator for the International Congress on Medieval Studies and regionally-shown potter. Although I had continued to give academic papers related to my thesis topic the years following my MA, over the last several years I've shifted gears to focus on medieval-informed literature of this century and enjoy presenting content- and context-driven readings of the Harry Potter series at non-academic conferences (allowing me to use my interdisciplinary academic training for The Forces of Good). (posted 2011)
Steven Cartwright, MA, 1992
I began studies at the Medieval Institute in 1990 with an interest in the study of the Bible in the Middle Ages. I learned paleography here, and began editing the Latin texts of Atto of Vercelli's commentaries on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans for my Master's Thesis. I continued on at WMU, getting a PhD in medieval history in 2001, comparing the Romans commentaries of William of Saint-Thierry and Peter Abelard. I will soon be publishing the first complete English translation of Abelard's commentary with Catholic University of America Press, and am also editing a volume on St. Paul in the Middle Ages for Brill. While a doctoral student, I also edited and translated a little-known tenth-century commentary on Second Thessalonians by Thietland, second abbot of Einsiedeln. I published this translation with Medieval Institute Publications.
I currently work full time for WMU Libraries in the Acquisitions department and teach part time for the History Department. I am also active in the Professional Instructors Organization, which represents part-time instructors at WMU. I am married to Barb and have a twelve-year-old daughter, Katie. I love teaching the Middle Ages to my history students, and look forward every year to Medieval Congress—one of the highlights of my year! (posted 2010)
Melodie Harris Eichbauer, MA, 2000
I earned my MA in Medieval Studies and continued my doctoral studies in history at The Catholic University of America. I defended my dissertation entitled "From Gratian's Concordia discordantium canonum to Gratian's Decretum: The Evolution from Teaching Text to Comprehensive Code of Canon Law" in 2009. My deepest gratitude goes to Ken Pennington, who directed my research, and to my husband Paul, who has supported me through both degrees and did not mind when I defended on our anniversary.
I am currently part-time faculty at Florida Gulf Coast University where I teach a survey course in medieval history and seminar courses in medieval religious culture. I hope to continue my research in legal and ecclesiastical history as an assistant professor. I look forward to returning each year to the Congress for the scholarly environment and to catch up with old friends and reminisce about our time at the Institute. (posted 2009)
Juleen Audrey Eichinger, MA, 1992
I earned my MA in Medieval Studies while working full time as Production Editor at Medieval Institute Publications. It was a particularly intense period: mediaevalia day, night, and weekends. But it was also an intellectually exhilarating period . . . so much so that I went on to earn a PhD in History in 1999! I could never have done it without lots of support and patience from colleagues, administrators, professors, and family. But the research, critical thinking, and discipline skills acquired as a student inform virtually all aspects of my intellectual life and communications, making the "investment" invaluable.
My subsequent career path has been rather non-traditional but equally satisfying: a period as Director of Communications for WMU's Research and Graduate Studies, then a move to Tucson, Arizona, where my editorial business, Eichinger Communications, LLC, provides editorial services to scholars and publishers in Medieval Studies, History, and Literature. What career could be better than reading interesting articles and books, working with long-time colleagues as well as with an expanding group of talented professionals from around the world? (posted 2009)
Tai French, MA, 2005
My two favorite features of the Medieval Institute were the variety of disciplines and the teaching experience. Since the Institute is interdisciplinary, it was very broadening to have such a variety of courses to take and professors to learn from. Although my focus was on medieval literature, courses in research methodology, Carolingian history, history of religion, and others helped me to gain a well-rounded view of the Middle Ages. Being able to co-teach Medieval 1450 gave me solid experience in creating curriculums, lecturing, setting assignments and working with students. It is amazing how much you can learn when you need to narrow down 1000 years of history, literature, religion and culture into one semester! One of my fondest memories is of the students’ submissions for their final creative projects; we received many trebuchets and castles made of questionable materials (popsicle sticks and sugar cubes), but we also received a life-size replica of a Viking shield and two batches of (not bad) mead!
Since graduation, my teaching experience has been invaluable in assisting me to get a TA position with Ashford University Online. The skills I learned at the Institute, specifically encouraging students and giving them constructive feedback in the writing and research process, have helped me to work with diverse groups of students as they pursue their studies. The online format is perfect for me since it allows me to do what I love best: spending time with my husband and our two little girls! When I'm not grading, I enjoy embroidering gifts for family and friends, baking snickerdoodles for my husband, reading about dragons to my three year old, and teaching my eighteen-month old to make animal noises! (posted 2011)
Scott Havens, MA, 2001
I knew I wanted to be a medievalist when I was about 8 or 9. I wasn't sure what it was called then, I just knew that I would be spending my adult life dealing with knights and wizards and stories and language. My fascination with myth, story, and how they conflate with language and culture never ebbed throughout high school and played a significant role in determining which college I chose to attend. I picked up a Medieval Studies minor (it was all they offered) at SUNY Geneseo during my time there as an undergraduate and was instantly fascinated all over again. I especially loved the confluence of philosophy and religion during the early medieval period, taking several more electives than the minor required.
After leaving New York, I found myself at Western Michigan University as a graduate student at the Medieval Institute. I worked part time at the Institute of Cistercian Studies as an office assistant and made dear friends there. I also taught the Medieval Institute's undergraduate course, Heroes and Villains of the Middle Ages, both with several co-teachers and independently. I had committed myself to the translation and analysis of Alfred the Great's own translation of St. Augustine's Soliloquies. With the manuscript's provenance largely missing, I was forced to draw my research to a close much sooner than I would've liked and graduated shortly thereafter.
After garnering my Masters in Medieval Studies, I was suddenly in a bit of a bind. My partner, Andy, moved here from New York to be with me during my first year at Western and quickly got a great job in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and the tech bubble burst right around the time of my graduation. Neither of us wanted to take a chance on an uncertain economy, and so I suddenly discovered I needed to get a job locally. I taught introductory English and writing classes at Kellogg Community College and Kalamazoo Valley Community College for a few years, but ultimately there just wasn't a lot of call for ninth-century Anglo-Saxon philosophy specialists in the Kalamazoo area, so I pimped out some of my other skills. I went back to my roots and went to work at Barnes and Noble, and slowly began rising through the ranks towards management.
I also got involved with Laughing Pan Productions (a start-up game company) in 2003, and ended up running their demo program for two years while also contributing content to their various products and online presence. I traveled around the country and interacted with our fans online promoting our products for two glorious years. During that time I also was one of the co-writers of Goblin Markets: The Glitter Trade, a book designed for our core role-playing product that has yet to be released. After Laughing Pan closed its doors, I rediscovered my love of comics and began exploring that genre full tilt.
Currently, I'm a manager at the local Barnes and Noble when I'm not physically attached to my computer working on various items for my new writing project. I've taken up glassblowing, and love everything about the process and the result. Goblin Markets, as it turns out, will be released by the end of year, or so I'm told. I still live with Andy, my partner of now over fourteen years, and our two cats that rather enjoy being able to pounce on me at will while I write. (posted 2011)
Kimberly (Campbell) Laing, MA, 2004
After my graduation in 2004, I married fellow Institute graduate Gregory Laing and we bought a house in Kalamazoo while he pursues his PhD in English at Western. No kids yet, but we have two rescued greyhounds that fill out our family. I work for the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency as a Project Manager. I run various state and federal grant programs as well as providing professional development for K-12 teachers. In order to support my continued interest in medieval studies, I developed an online section of MDVL 1450: Heroes and Villains of the Middle Ages, and I have taught it for the last three years. (posted 2009)
Dorothy C. Porter, MA, 2001
My name is Dot Porter, and I work in digital humanities. My current position is Metadata Manager at the Digital Humanities Observatory, run out of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. "Digital Humanities" is a fairly broad term that refers to the application of technologies to humanities research and teaching. I focus mainly on the research aspect of the field, and it's fair to say that I never would have entered the field were it not for my graduate work in Medieval Studies. While a student at WMU I was intrigued by the
various electronic projects that were just becoming popular, which focused on bringing usually hard-to-view manuscript materials to a broader audience, particularly The Canterbury Tales project, Piers Plowman, and the Electronic Beowulf. After completing the MA I took an MS in Library Science at University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and from January 2003 I was the Program Coordinator at the Collaboratory for Research in Computing for Humanities. I first worked with Kevin Kiernan on the Electronic Boethius project and later worked with Ross Scaife on a number of different projects in the digital Classics. In October 2008 I took up my current position in Ireland. Although my current project list is quite broad, I still enjoy working with medieval materials when I can, and my own research interest focuses on the expression of the physical materiality of text-bearing objects within digital environments - including, of course, medieval manuscripts. (posted 2009)
Pamela S. Rups, MA, 1997
The Medieval Institute encouraged me to pursue my interest in how medieval manuscripts were made, and for my thesis, I made a medieval manuscript modeled after English bestiaries of the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries.
After I received my degree, I went to England and Scotland to do more research on the manuscripts I had seen mostly only in black and white on microfiche. I even had the great privilege of seeing a manuscript in the Bodleian Library that no one had been allowed to see for more than seven years. I also occasionally lecture across the country about making medieval manuscripts, accompanied by a display showing all the materials and processes.
I worked on my master's degree while an employee of Western Michigan University, and today I manage the Faculty Technology Center. I also do some graphic design work for the department and University as well as technology training.
So by day I am somewhat of a techie, and by night I work with my hands. I love gardening, native plant landscaping, creating artist’s books, Chinese calligraphy, playing fiddle, calling dances, bicycling, and meditation. My other joy in life comes from volunteering for hospice and Habitat for Humanity. (posted 2010)
Katie (Brambrink) Sewell, MA, 2008
I bounced around between majors as an undergraduate, but after studying medieval history in England for four months, I finally decided to follow my true interests, get a degree in history, and go to WMU for a masters in Medieval Studies. The time I spent at the Medieval Institute was extremely exciting, informative, and challenging! I was able to take a plethora of courses in history and religion as well as learn multiple dead languages, all while teaching two sections of MDVL 1450 each semester. While at WMU, I also worked part-time in Special Collections, which gave me the opportunity to travel twice with library staff to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky to work on the new manuscript catalog.
The teaching experience combined with my advanced liberal arts degree landed me a job at Indiana University-Bloomington's School of Public and Environmental Affairs as a Career Advisor. I currently teach for the school, advise students about career options, and also critique and edit career documents such as resumes and cover letters.
I live with my husband, Peter, a WMU history department graduate, and our two cats, Maxwell and Sadie. During my free time, I enjoy going for long walks around Bloomington, gardening, knitting, and reading (of course!). (posted 2010)
Photos:
- Benjamin Andresen's (MA, 2003) and Megan Bowman's (MA, 2004) son, Witt
- George Walton Benson (MA, 2003) and his family
- Samantha Cairo-Toby (MA, 1999) with her daughter, Madeleine
- Elisabeth (Lisa) Carnell (MA, 2002) with her daughter, Emma
- "Lightning and Shadow" by Elisabeth Carnell (horsehair raku, white stoneware)
- Steven Cartwright (MA, 1992)
- Melodie Eichbauer (MA, 2000)
- Juleen Eichinger (MA, 1992)
- Tai French (MA, 2005) with her husband Craig and their daughters, Mia and Addie
- Scott Havens (MA, 2001)
- Kimberly Laing (MA, 2004) and Gregory Laing (MA, 2004) with their greyhounds
- Dorothy C. Porter (MA, 2001)
- Pamela S. Rups (MA, 1997)
- Katie Sewell (MA, 2008) in her office in Bloomington