Alumni
Our Distinguished Alumni Board is active in representing the department, raising funds, and mentoring students.
We invite you to explore ways to get involved.
Share Your Expertise
We invite you to attend English Career Connections, our career and leadership conference in the fall. This event connects alumni with students through a series of panel discussions, networking lunches, and roundtable talks on professionalism. We want you to share your knowledge and experience with our students.
If your organization would be interested in participating in career fairs, please email Ingrid Johnson.
We encourage students to engage in hands-on learning that supports course content. Many students are interested in participating in an internship in a business or community organization and you may be able to help them locate such an opportunity. You may also know of research or service learning projects that would support classwork. Please contact Katherine Hall if you can help in this way.
We welcome alumni to speak with students and faculty about their work. To encourage students to take action in the world around them, we host presentations to inform them on a range of topics, from globalization to community impact, and to showcase a variety of industries. If you wish to volunteer to speak to a class or provide a lecture, please contact the department chair, Kelly Pender.
Share Your Wealth
Our students benefit from the support of alumni and friends who invest in expanding opportunities. Gifts are made in two categories — annual and major — and include endowed scholarships, a program excellence endowed fund, and an endowed lecture.
Annual gifts of any size demonstrate your recognition of the value of your degree and your desire to see the program thrive. Please designate your annual gifts to the Department of English.
Distinguished Alumni Board
The department’s Distinguished Alumni Board represents a diverse group of alumni. Formed in 2003, the board plays an active role in representing the department, raising funds, enhancing visibility, developing connections, and mentoring students. Among their projects is the annual English Career Connections weekend. Board members visit campus to work one-on-one with students sharing career advice and offering support for their academic and professional endeavors. The members also established the Distinguished Alumni Board Scholarship to support current students.
Board members have successful careers in fields ranging from law to teaching, financial services, nonprofit management, development, creative writing, editing, technical writing, and media services.
Distinguished Alumni Board Members
2024 Cohort
- Jennifer Butlin
BA ’92, Executive Director, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Reston, Virginia Nursing Administration - Maggie DiGuardo
BA ’04, Molecular Genetics, Fellow Physician, Rochester, Minnesota - Stefan Hall
BA ’93, MA ’98, Chair and Professor, Game Design, Director of Communication Fellows, Nido R. Qubein School of Communication, High Point University, High Point, North Carolina - Christal Presley
BA ’99, MA ’00, Author and English Department Chair at Georgia Cyber Academy - Kendall Rovinsky
BA ’19, Communication Specialist, UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Matthew Sams
BA ’07, Executive Director, The Hokie Way, Roanoke, Virginia - Chrystal Starling
MS ’03, Educator, Urban Dove, Stamford, Connecticut - Mimi Walters
MA ’85, Basketball Coach, The Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore, Maryland - Sarah Schaefer Walton
BA ’12, MA ’15, Assistant Professor of English, Marshall University, Director of Digital Humanities, Huntington, WV - Courtney Woodley
’05, Contracting Officer/U.S. Coast Guard
2025 Cohort
- Clay Delk
BA ’02, MA ’03, Principal Content Designer, Lattice, Raleigh, North Carolina - Lisa Derx
BA ’87, Vice President, Government Relations, Best Buddies, Dayton, Maryland - Orlando Dos Reis
’11, Editor at Scholastic - Alex Gomes
’13, IT Program Management - Stephen Laycock
’91, Senior Director for Engagement, CyManII, FBI Exec. Director (ret.) - Josh Thompson
BA ’12, MA ’15, Ph.D. student, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia - Cate Ware
’09, Director, Public Sector Proposal Management - Mimi Walters
MA ’85, Basketball Coach, The Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore, Maryland - L. Lamar Wilson
MFA ’10, Assistant Professor, Florida State University, Marianna, Florida - Paula Yost
BA ’02, Attorney, Concord, NC
Previous Board Members
- Dan Bailey ’67
- Frankie Y. Bailey ’74
- Larry Bechtel
MA ’85, Sculptor, Blacksburg, Virginia - Mike Bedsaul
- Michelle Bliss
- Erv Blythe
- Allen Brizee
- Gerald C. (Jerry) Canaan, II
- Hannah Carlson
BA ’08, Area Director, ExploreLearning, Charlottesville, Virginia - L. Gerald Carter
- Kathleen Cooperstein
BA ’09, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC - Shayla Corprew
BA ’07, Governance, Risk, Compliance and Policy Technical Communicator, Moseley, VA - Clara B. Cox
- Kathryn Crowder Yarzebenski
- Elizabeth Crowther
- Steve Culver
- Gina Desiderio Edmison
MA ’04, Director of Marketing and Communications, Healthy Teen Network, Ellicott City, Maryland - Charles Epes ’71
- Charles Fisher ’88
- Will Furrer
- Michael Germana
MA ’00, English Professor, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
- Karen Gibbs
- Sara Goodwin
- William Carl Hankla ’80
- Wanda Hawkins Dean
- Paul Kennedy
- Tim Larson
BA ’90, Senior Networking Engineer, Northrop Grumman, Ashburn, Virginia - Charles Lattimer
- Bob Lazo
- Adam Leslie
- Johann A. Norstedt
- Donna Mitchell ’84
- Kelleigh N. Moyer ’84
- Carole Nickerson
- Marie Paretti
MA ’90, Associate Professor of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia - Rob Patzig ’94
- Louisa Alice Peartree
- Stuart Price
- Mark Scroggins ’86
- Robert Tate
- Jenny Telwar
- Darrell Tillar Mason
- Peter Velz
BA ’11, Senior Protocol Officer for the U.S. Department of State - Dawn Watkins
- J. Carter Wiley
- Sharon Will ’77
- Allan Wolf
- Mike Yergovich