Student Milestones and Achievements Because of the tremendous opportunities students can find at a school like Wilson, our majors have done some pretty amazing things during their time here. They've published, been on television, written and directed their own theatrical shows, presented at conferences, earned competitive assistantships and internships, and traveled extensively. Below are just some of the amazing accomplishments that students have achieved while majoring in English, Mass Communications, and Equine Journalism here at Wilson. CJ Giacomini ('12) completed an internship at Horse magazine over the summer and had several articles published in the magazine during her time there. Jess Domanico (‘11) presented her paper “Sincerity in Soliloquy: The Unraveling of Hamlet’s Murderous Identity” at the annual English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities (EAPSU) conference at Shippensburg University. Her article based on the essay was published in the academic journal Valley Humanities Review. Xiaomeng Li ('11) received a prestigious cash award from the Wilson College Club of Pittsburgh to aid her internship project. Nathalie Djiguimkoudre ('10) was accepted for study to work on a graduate degree in Linguistics at Florida Atlantic University. Nathalie received a full teaching assistantship from the University. The Billboard, Wilson's student newspaper, led by editors Kayla Chagnon ('10) and Sarah Martin ('11) advisor Dr. Aimee-Marie Dorsten, won first place in the American Scholastic Press Association 2009-2010 annual Newspaper Review and Contest. Kimberly Allen (‘09) wrote, directed, and starred in her own one-woman show Breakout: Ain’t Got Long To Be Here, performed at Laird Auditorium in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in March 2008. Jennifer Shakan’s (‘06) poem “Soft,” a work she first composed in her Advanced Creative Writing class, was published in the anthology Bend, Don’t Shatter, released from Soft Skull Press in 2006. Sheri Davis-Cordell (‘07) published articles on the authors Helen Wells, Julie Tatham, and Walter Gibson in a reference text released by SynSine Press while completing an internship with Professor Cornelius. She also delivered a conference paper in 2007 at Susquehanna University’s “Literature and Creative Writing Conference” entitled “Feminism, Religious Devotion, and Mary Astell’s Serious Proposal.” Nancy Hoke (‘79, further coursework ‘08) published the story “Mother-in-Love,” a piece she wrote during her Advanced Creative Writing class (Spring 2008,) in the anthology Voices of Caregiving (LaChance Publishing). Suzanne Cole (‘10) spent a summer volunteering for the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian community located on the fabled isle of Iona in Scotland. Suzanne applied for and earned one of the few spots given to students every year to come to Iona and share in a truly unique experience. Kimberly Maske-Mertz’s (‘08) article “Wilson College Awakened to a Growing Climate Crisis,” originally published in the campus newspaper The Billboard, was reprinted in the March 2008 issue of The Order of the Earth magazine. Satoko Unno (‘08) earned a paid assistantship at the Children's Literature Center at Millersville University. Michelle Pearson-Casey (‘09) has twice published reviews with the national book review magazine The Bloomsbury Review. Jessica King (‘07) had an article picked up and published nationwide by the Associated Press while serving on a summer internship at a newspaper in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania Janet Gardner (‘10) participated in developing and videographing a segment on Chambersburg history for Our Town, a program highlighting central Pennsylvania communities that appears regularly on the Harrisburg PBS affiliate WITF. HEAR FROM A WILSON WOMAN… JESS DOMANICO, ‘11 Jess Domanico graduated with Honors in 2011 and earned a full teaching assistantship to study literature at Auburn University. I came to Wilson as an Equine Facilitated Therapeutics major and decided, at the end of my freshman year, to add a major in English with a concentration in Literary Studies. Double-majoring in two fields with almost nothing in common and juggling an increasing number of extra-curricular activities was a challenge, but I wanted to take advantage of all the opportunities offered me during my time at Wilson. While peer-teaching the first year seminar class, working as a writing tutor, editing The Billboard, and compiling The Bottom Shelf Review, I discovered that remaining in an atmosphere where I could continue to learn and share my knowledge with others was important to me, so I applied to graduate school for English. Without Wilson’s leadership opportunities and engaging academic programs, I doubt I would have come to that decision.
