English Alumni Hall of Fame
Our Alumni
Our Alumni
The University of Delaware's English Department alumni have demonstrated remarkable career success across various fields, underscoring the versatility and value of an English degree. Employers today seek the "soft skills" that English majors excel in, such as creativity, adaptability, persuasiveness, and collaboration.
These skills have enabled alumni to thrive in diverse roles, including digital/social media management, law, technical writing, public relations, human resources, editing, content management, and teaching. The department's commitment to equipping students with necessary skills for the workforce is evident in the decreasing unemployment rates for humanities students and the narrowing pay gap between humanities majors and their STEM counterparts over time.
Alumni Spotlights
Krys'tal Griffin
Krys'tal Griffin | 2021
Job Title: Reporter, The News Journal
From intern to full-time journalist, see how this UD grad's internship helped her bag the job of her dreams.
A reporter for the Wilmington-based publication The News Journal, Krys'tal Griffin has found her place as a local journalist, reporting on everything from local to breaking news.
Griffin, a 2021 graduate of the University of Delaware's Department of English, had multiple internships with The News Journal during her time at the UD, including the opportunity to participate in the Ellen Cannon Internship Program. Named after UD English alum Ellen Cannon, whose gift to UD in 2012 established this competitive program, the internship gave Griffin both a stipend and the opportunity to work with the paper to help report, write and pitch stories.
When a reporter job became available, Griffin applied through the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association and it led to her landing a full-time job with the newspaper.
Griffin's main piece of advice for new and prospective students is to make connections, which is, in part, what she attributes to finding her footing in the field as a reporter. “Try new things because you never know what you might enjoy or how something can be incorporated into your intended career path," said Griffin.
For students interested in journalism and being a reporter, Krystal implores: "Don't be afraid to jump right into it. Everyone has to start somewhere. Everyone has to go through the experience of getting their first interview. It might even surprise you how willing people are to talk to a stranger when you show them your interest in their perspective."
Check out Krys'tal's latest stories for The News Journal on her staff website.
Joe Turner
Joe Turner | 2014 (Ph.D.)
Job Title: Associate Professor, University of Louisville
His research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Kentucky Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Culture.
Since graduating from UD in 2014, Joe Turner is an associate professor of English at the University of Louisville, where also served as director of graduate studies for the English MA and PhD in rhetoric and composition beginning in January of 2019. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Heather (an alumna of UD's English MA), and his two dogs, Anya and Greta.
His research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Kentucky Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Culture. Two recent publications have grown directly from his time at UD. A 2018 article in Pedagogy documents his job market advising sessions for PhD students at Louisville, inspired by John Ernest's meetings at UD, as well as a chapter in Jim Dean's 2017 festschrift. Other articles have/will appear in Rhetorica (twice), Rhetoric Review, the Chaucer Review, and a forthcoming volume on cocktails, The Shaken and the Stirred (Indiana UP).
When not writing, Joe prefers to spend time in Kentucky's great parks, trying to keep up with the dogs.
Job Placement Record
Lee Conderacci, 2024, English Instructor, Loyola Blakefield High School, Towson, MD
Brandi Locke, 2024, Postdoctoral researcher, Penn State Mellon Just Transformations for the Center for Black digital Research at Pennsylvania State University
Monet Timmons, 2024, Public Humanities Fellow, SNCC & Grassroots Organizing Discussion Series, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University
Melissa Benbow, 2024, Postdoctoral Fellow, National Park Service-Mellon Humanities
Alumni Testimonials
Michael A. Iannucci
I credit my UD education for much of my success. The faculty are some of the most intelligent and kindest people you will ever meet. My English professors taught me how to think creatively, read analytically, and write persuasively. Simply put, UD is an amazing place where dreams come true.
Degree: 2004, English Education
I am delighted that I get to both teach and write for a living. The support and modeling that the English Education faculty provided helped me hone my skills as an educator, and create a teaching philosophy that allows me to move all students to achieve at high levels.
Degree: 2012, English Education
Taria Pritchett
