Eastern Illinois University :: English - Summer Camp 2016 Info for Campers

Summer Camp: Info for Accepted Campers

Welcome, English summer campers! We look forward to meeting you (and welcoming back those who are joining us for the second time). An acceptance letter from camp director Dr. Melissa Ames will be sent to all accepted campers by May 15th, referencing important paperwork that must be completed by May 24 and uploaded online. (These forms are located below.) On this page, you can also complete the RSVP forms for the showcase brunch and campus tour/appointments. In addition, you can learn more about the camp faculty and counselors from their biographies featured on this page.

Paperwork (due May 24)

RSVP Forms (due June 7)

English Summer Camp Faculty and Counselors

	Camp Director
	Dr. Melissa Ames is a Professor of English and the Director of English Education at Eastern Illinois University specializing in media studies, television scholarship, Internet studies, popular culture, feminist theory, and pedagogy. Her work has been published in a variety of anthologies and journals, ranging in topic from Television Study, New Media, and Fandom to American Literature and Feminist Art. Her most recent and forthcoming publications include her books,Women and Language: Gendered Communication Across Media (McFarland, 2011),Time in Television Narrative: Exploring Temporality in 21^stCentury Programming (University of Mississippi Press, 2012), How Pop Culture Shapes the Stages of a Woman’s Life: From Toddlers-in-Tiaras to Cougars-on-the-Prowl (Palgrave, 2016), Small Screen, Big Feels: Television & Cultural Anxiety in the 21st Century (University of Kentucky Press, 2020), and Hashtag Activism: Case Studies on Social Justice Movements (U Colorado/Utah State Press, 2022); chapters in Grace Under Pressure: Grey’s Anatomy Uncovered (2008),Writing the Digital Generation (2010), Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media, and the Twilight Saga (2010), Manufacturing Phobias (2016), Adventures in Shondaland (2018), Young Adult Literature in the Composition Classroom (2018), and The Vampire Diaries Collection (2022); and articles inThe Journal of Dracula Studies (2011),The Women and Popular Culture Encyclopedia (2012), The High School Journal (2013), The Journal of Popular Culture (2014), Pedagogy (2017), and First Monday (2021).
	Camp Faculty
	Julia Abazi is a graduate student at Eastern Illinois University majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She graduated from EIU in 2021 with a BA in English with a double concentration in Creative Writing and Professional Writing. She mainly writes fiction and poetry and completed an undergraduate honors thesis that focused on visual poetry as a dialogue, which included a small collection of erasure poems titled Ad Infinitum.
	Dagni Bredesen, professor emeritus of English at Eastern Illinois University, has published on Victorian widowhood, nineteenth-century female detectives, and, most recently, a co-authored essay on the 1857 Waterloo Bridge murder mystery in the Victorians Institute Journal (Dec 2020). Her recovery work of cheap fiction resulted in one edition comprising the two 1864 yellowbacks– The Female Detective and Revelations of a Lady Detective (2010)—and another of the penny dreadful Ruth the Betrayer or the Female Spy (2018). Her current long form work is a five volume collection of nineteenth-century British detective fiction, commissioned by the Routledge Historical Resources series.
	Travis Moody works as EIU’s Dual Credit and Outreach Coordinator by day, but he teaches for the English department by night! He’s also a graduate of EIU! In 2020, he got his Bachelor’s in English (Literary and Cultural Studies). In 2022, he completed his Master’s in English (Composition and Rhetoric). His favorite areas of study are postmodern American literature and composition in the first-year writing classroom. His master’s thesis focused on the use of comics to teach writing and provided a huge inspiration for his class during camp! In his free time, Travis loves playing video games (currently working his way through Breath of the Wild again), listening to music (currently on a Watsky kick), and hanging out with his dog, Bigly (there will absolutely be pictures during class)!
	EJ Hicks (they/them) (left) is a first-year English graduate student. They graduated from Eastern in 2022 with a BA in English and a concentration in Literary Studies and Creative Writing. They currently live in Champaign with their fiancée (right). Their favorite book is The Hobbit, and their taste in poetry ranges from 19th Century existentialism to contemporary queer narratives. They are a giant nerd, so if you get them talking about something they like, expect to be there for a while.
	McClain Homann is a local from Mattoon and senior English major with concentrations in creative writing and literary studies. McClain is also completing a minor in Premodern Global Studies. He has been a part of the English Studies Summer Camp since its first year in 2015 as a camper, until he attended Eastern Illinois University in 2018. He cannot wait to help inspire and motivate young creative minds and establish long lasting friendships, just like the program did for him all those years ago.
	Jagoda Szostakiewicz graduated from EIU with a BA in English Language Arts. After staying away from EIU one semester, she couldn’t be away any longer and is now pursuing an MA in Composition and Rhetoric. As a high school educator, she has taught Credit Recovery and Sophomore English. When she is not teaching Jagoda loves reading Young Adult Literature, traveling, and rewatching The Good Place.
	Makenna Boyd graduated from EIU in Fall of 2022 with her BA in English Language Arts and a minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. While at EIU she completed an honors thesis about diversity in Marvel fanfiction (ask her about it!). Favorite books change all the time but a current favorite is The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. She has been a camp counselor the previous two years and is excited to return as a teacher. Her hobbies include reading, swimming, snowmobiling, and keeping up with everything Marvel! She is currently teaching at Unity High School in Tolono. She can't wait to see you all and have a great camp! :)

	Chris Wixson (he/him/his) has been at EIU since 2002 and teaches courses in Shakespeare and modern/contemporary drama as well as playwriting. He is the author of books and journal articles on a variety of plays and playwrights, most recently on the work of Bernard Shaw. His adaptation of Shaw's last full-length play Buoyant Billions received its first reading at the International Shaw Society Symposium in July 2020. He also teaches in the department of Theatre and often serves as production dramaturg. His spare time is filled with B-movies, yin yoga, and jelly beans.

	Camp Counselors	Counselors
	Nick Bays (he/him) is a Sports Media Relations and German double-major and minoring in Radio and Audio Production. He is a senior at Eastern Illinois who is staying an extra year and a half to complete his German education. Nick's plan after college is to work in sports media (radio and/or television) with a possible future in Germany or Austria. In his free time, Nick loves to play video games and listen to music while occasionally writing. He is also a big Star Wars fan. Nick also enjoys making an occasional podcast episode or YouTube video. His favorite books include I Am The Messenger and The Great Gatsby.
	Chevvy (Bella) Edwards (he/she/they) is a Creative Writing major and is minoring in Environmentalism. She will be a Senior this coming year with an in-progress plan to become a published author. Chevvy likes to write, play guitar, and draw in his free time. He is a big fan of The Umbrella Academy and Marvel, amongst many other things. They are almost always listening to music, their favorite artists being Palaye Royale and YungBlud with a sprinkling of All Time Low and MCR. Her favorite books change all the time, but his all time favorites include (but are most definitely not limited to) Peter Pan and Romeo and Juliet. English Studies Camp was (and remains) a big part of who they are, and they can't wait to experience it with you all!
	Maddy McLaughlin is a junior at EIU, majoring in English Teacher Certification. Her hobbies include singing, going to Barnes & Noble, reading (both novels and Manga!), and volunteering at her local animal shelter. Her all-time favorite book series is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, although she has been reading various thriller and mystery books lately with the goal of reading 20 novels over the summer.