Alumni

Graduates with the Designated Emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies have gone on to a range of related careers.

NameAffiliated ProgramYearDissertationDissertation CommitteeCurrent Employment/Occupation
Sabina SimonEducation2024A Portrait of a Community College Post AB 705: Investigating Ideologies and Experiences of Students, Faculty and StaffDana Ferris (Chair, UWP); Kory Ching (UWP); Vai Ramanathan (Linguistics)Assistant Professor of English as a Second Language (ESL) at American River College (ARC)
Jason HockadayNative American Studies2024Belonging: A feminist rhetorical analysis of themes that have come up during the early grassroots of Konomihu music reMatriation, 2019-2024. Jessica Bissett Perea (Chair, NAS); Inés Hernández-Ávila (NAS); Justin Spence (NAS)
 
Applying for positions
Jennifer Burke ReifmanEducation2024The Lies We Tell about Writing Placement: Countering Normative Understandings of Agency in Self-Placement PracticesTrish Serviss (Chair, UWP); Jennifer Higgs (Education); Danny Martinez (Education); Dan Melzer (UWP); Carl Whithaus (UWP)Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at San Diego State University
Shelley DykstraSpanish2023Writing Anxiety and Enjoyment in University Spanish as a Second and Heritage Language LearnersAgustina Carando, (Chair, Spanish); Claudia Sánchez-Gutiérrez (Spanish); Vaidehi Ramanathan (Linguistics)Multilingual Support Specialist at the California Department of Education (CDE)
Amy LombardiEducation2022Hidden in Plain Sight?  The Effects of Content-Evaluative Stance Markers on Readers’ Attitudes and Perception of Author Stance in Persuasive TextDana Ferris (Chair, UWP); Vaidehi Ramanathan (Linguistics); Laura Aull (University of Michigan)Media Analyst at Ads Fontes Media
Dani Ahuicapahtzin CornejoNative American Studies2022Confronting Erasure: Educational Challenges and Interventions that Empower Intertribal Youth in the Bay AreaLiza Grandia (Chair, NAS); Ines Hernandez-Avila (NAS); Dan Melzer (UWP)Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at Diablo Valley College
Stacy WittstockEducation2022Reflections in Funhouse Mirrors: Using Institutional Ethnography to Understand Constructions of "Remediation" in a Basic Writing ProgramTrish Serviss (Chair, UWP); Cynthia Carter Ching (Education); Kory Ching (UWP); Dan Melzer (UWP)Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Department of English, UNLV
Sophia BamertEnglish2021

Plotting Race: Narrative Form and Urban Racial Geographies

 

Hsuan Hsu (Co-Chair, English); Matthew Stratton (Co-Chair, English); Mark Jerng (English)Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer in the Engagements Core Curriculum at the University of Virginia
Diana RecouvreurEducation2021Building Pathways in California’s Corrections to Education Pipeline: Striving Towards Sustainability at California Community CollegesMichal Kurlaender (Chair, Education); Gloria Rodriguez (Education); Rebekka Andersen (UWP)Education Program Consultant
DJ QuinnEducation2020Passion,
Compassion, and Professionalization: 
A Digital Ethnography of Online Professional Development for Faculty Teaching Writing-Intensive Courses
Carl Whithaus (Chair, UWP); Dan Melzer (UWP); Jennifer M. Higgs (Education)Lecturer, University Writing Program, UC Davis
Alexandria RockeyEducation2020The Ecology of Feedback in an Online STEM CourseCarl Whithaus (Chair, UWP); Dana Ferris (UWP); Rebekka Andersen (UWP)Instructional Designer, Bakersfield College
David CoadEducation2019Teaching Rhetorical Strategies through Social Media: A Qualitative Study of FYC Instructors and StudentsCarl Whithaus (Chair, UWP); Cynthia Carter Ching (Education); Amber Buck (University of Alabama)Lecturer, Department of English, Santa Clara University
Becky KlingEnglish2019Civil Ghosts: Transatlantic (Il)literacy and PersonhoodElizabeth Miller (Chair, English); Kathleen Frederickson (English); Mark Jerng (English)Lecturer, Department of English & Comparative Literature, San Jose State University
Aaron LanserEducation2019Community and Identity in the Academic Borderlands: Digital Underlife Among First Generation College Student WritersCarl Whithaus (Chair, UWP); Dana Ferris (UWP); Chris Thaiss (UWP)Lecturer, English Department, Cal State Stanislaus
Tori WhiteComparative Literature2019Petrarchizing Genders and Genres in English, Italian and Spanish LiteraturesMargaret Ferguson (Co-chair, English), Juliana Schiesari (Co-chair, Italian and Comparative Literature), Frances Dolan (English), and Michael Subialka (Comparative Literature)Coordinator for Success Coaching and Learning Strategies, Office of Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Services (OEOES), UC Davis
Michele ZugnoniEducation2019Encouraging Empowerment Through Expression: Creation of a Self-Reflective Writing Group for First-Generation College StudentsChris Thaiss (Chair, UWP); Carl Whithaus (UWP); Nancy Pearsall (UWP)Assistant Professor of Instruction, Northwestern University
Matthew ZajicEducation2018Assessing Attention and Engagement During Writing in High-Functioning, School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity DisorderPeter Mundy (Chair, Education); Christopher Thaiss (UWP); Megan Welsh (Education); Steve Graham (Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University)Assistant Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
Katie EvansEducation2017Engaging undergraduate writers: A study of motivational dynamics in the second language writing classroomDana Ferris (chair, UWP); Vaidehi Ramanathan (Linguistics); Chris Thaiss (UWP)Lecturer, University Writing Program, UC Davis
Kendon KurzerEducation2017Writing in Economics Classes: Departmental Practices and Multilingual Student ChallengesDana Ferris (chair, UWP); Chris Thaiss (UWP); Michelle Cox (Cornell University)Lecturer, University Writing Program, UC Davis
Kenya MitchellEducation2017The Deleted DraftsChris Thaiss (chair, UWP); Paul Heckman (Education); Mary Soliday (San Francisco State)Academic Writing Consultant at The Dissertation Lab
Manuel SennaEducation2017Variations in Support for Second Language Writers: Lessons from Top International Student DestinationsDana Ferris (chair, UWP); Carl Whithaus (UWP); Chris Thaiss (UWP)EFL Lecturer at Fukuoka University, Japan
Katherina SibbaldEducation2017Tyranny in the Mirror: Critical Reflections on Literary Talk with High School Juniors in Writing ConferencesKerry Enright (chair, Education); Steven Athanases (Education); Sarah Perrault (UWP); Danny Martinez (Education)Adjunct Professor, English and Education, Sonoma State University
Rusty BartelsCultural Studies2016War Memories, Imperial Ambitions: Commemorating WWII in the U.S. Pacific National Park SystemRobyn Rodriguez (chair, Asian American Studies); Caren Kaplan (American Studies); Sarah Perrault (UWP)Assistant Teaching Professor in Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition at Syracuse University
Jenae CohnEnglish2016The Books that Bind Us: Remediation of the Printed Book as Social Practice in the 21st CenturyCarl Whithaus (co-chair, UWP); Evan Watkins (co-chair, English); John Marx (English)Executive Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, UC Berkeley
Michal ReznizkiEducation2016Doctoral Preparation in Rhetoric and Composition:  Understanding Postsecondary Teacher EducationDana Ferris (chair, UWP); Christopher Thaiss (UWP); James Jerry Murphy (English)Lecturer, UC Berkeley
Mary K. StewartEducation2016Interactive Learning in Technology-Mediated First-Year Composition Courses: A Grounded Theory Study of Small Group Discussion and Peer ReviewCarl Whithaus (chair, UWP); Chris Thaiss (UWP); Rebekka Andersen (UWP)Associate Professor of Literature and Writing Studies, Cal State San Marcos
Hogan HayesEducation2015Mapping the Writing Resources Present as Students Transition into Upper Division Course Work in the Biological ScienceDana Ferris (chair, UWP); Carl Whithaus (UWP); Lee Martin (Education)Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition in the English Department at Sacramento State University
Kelsey KrausenEducation2015District Leadership and the Politics of Portfolio Management in an Urban School DistrictThomas Timar (co-chair, Education); Michal Kurlaender (co-chair, Education); Carl Whithaus (UWP)Senior Research Associate, WestEd, Comprehensive School Assistance Program
Tara PorterEducation2015Success and Sustainability of Writing-across-the-Curriculum ProgramsChris Thaiss (chair, UWP); Carl Whithaus (UWP); Dan Melzer (UWP)Self-employed, Web Developer
Grant EcksteinLinguistics2014Ideal versus Reality:  Student Expectations and Experiences in Multilingual Writing Center TutorialsDana Ferris (chair, UWP); Vai Ramanathan (Linguistics); Chris Thaiss (UWP)Associate Professor & Associate Chair, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Sarah KlotzEnglish2014Sentimental Literacies: Grief, Writing, and American Indigenous RightsCarl Whithaus (co-chair, UWP); Mark Jerng (co-chair, English); Hsuan Hsu (English)Associate Professor & Director of Rhetoric and Composition, English Department, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts
Miki MoriLinguistics2014Negotiating Ownership when Incorporating Outside Sources: A Qualitative Study with Multilingual Undergraduate StudentsJulia Menard-Warwick (chair, Linguistics); Dana Ferris (UWP); Vai Ramanathan (Linguistics)Associate Professor of Linguistics at the Centre Universitaire de Formation et Recherche (CUFR) de Mayotte
Aparna SinhaEducation2014Exploring Directed Self Placement as a Placement Alternative for First year College Students in Writing ClasseChris Thaiss (chair, UWP); Carl Whithaus (UWP); Karen Watson-Geogeo (Education);  Kory Ching (UWP)Associate Professor, Culture and Communication, CSU, Maritime Academy
Joanna W. WongEducation2014What to Write: Elementary Bilingual Students Writing in a Second LanguageChristian Faltis (chair, Education); Dana Ferris (UWP); Karen Watson-Gegeo (Education)Associate Professor & Elementary Education Program Coordinator, Department of Education and Leadership in the College of Education, California State University, Monterey Bay
Juliet Michelsen WahleithnerEducation2013High School Teachers’ Instruction of Writing:  Negotiating Knowledge, Student Need, and PolicySteve Athanases (chair, Education); Carl Whithaus (UWP); Michal Kurlaender (Education)Associate Professor, Literacy, Kremen School of Education & Human Development, CSU Fresno & Co-Director, San Joaquin Valley Writing Project
Betsy GillilandEducation2012Talking about writing: Culturally and linguistically diverse adolesecents' socialization inot academic literacyKerry Enright (chair, Education); Dana Ferris (UWP); Chris Faltis (Education)Associate Professor & Undergraduate Chair, Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa
Linda Florence MathesonComparative Literature2012Divinely AttiredBrenda Schildgen (chair, Comparative Literature) and Susan Kaiser (Textiles & Clothing/Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies)Retired as a Lecturer in Comparative Literature & Textiles & Clothing, UC Davis
Shannon PellaEducation2012A Situative Perspective on Developing Writing Pedagogy in a Teacher Professional Learning CommunityChris Thaiss (chair, UWP); Christian Faltis (Education); Karen Watson-Gegeo (Education)Assistant Professor, English Language Development and Bilingual/Biliteracy in Secondary Education. College of Education: Teaching Credentials, Sacramento State University
Brenda RinardEducation2010The Persuasive and Evaluative Essays of Adolescent English Learners: How Context Shapes GenreChris Thaiss (chair, UWP); Kerry Enright (Education); Dana Ferris (UWP)Continuing Lecturer, University Writing Program, UC Davis