Introduction to EGO 2021

Dear fellow English graduate students,

Welcome back! As we begin another semester, we’d like to take a moment and re-introduce our very own English Graduate Organization.

In 2014, English graduate students Chris Pipkin, Brian Chappell, Colleen Weir, Rebecca Vacarro, and Jessica Schnepp came together to form Catholic University’s first English Graduate Organization (EGO), which provided English graduate students with a more vibrant community. From Christmas parties and faculty brown bag lunches to research colloquia and peer mentoring, EGO supported student development, both socially and professionally. Although EGO has continued to develop and change, its goal has remained ultimately the same: to support graduate students through the rewarding yet arduous process of English graduate school. Today, EGO is led by Emily Grace (President), Matt Steinafel (Vice President), and Rachel Daly (Treasurer). We feel grateful to continue fostering a spirit of support and collegiality within the department, and we look forward to serving you throughout the upcoming school year.

As we navigate a world altered by the pandemic, we are still committed to fostering professional and social connections both within the department and the CUA community as a whole. While the peer mentorship program is currently in suspension, we still plan to host Research Colloquia and organize social gatherings throughout the semester. A list of some of our upcoming events can be found below.

All EGO positions are elected by the English graduate students, and positions are held for one to two years. This year, two positions are currently empty: PhD Representative and Events Coordinator. If you are interested in serving on EGO and would like further information on our open positions, please let us know. Service is an essential part of any academic career, both during graduate school and beyond, and we are sure that former EGO members would agree with us when we say that serving on EGO is a rewarding and enjoyable experience. We’d love to have you!

We look forward to a fantastic year, and we thank you for your interest and support.

All the best, EGO.

Emily Grace, President
Matt Steinafel, Vice President
Rachel Daly, Treasurer


UPCOMING EVENTS:
EGO is currently planning a number of professional and social events for the Fall. Please see below for a list of the events you can look forward to in the coming weeks and months. We hope you will join us!

Start-of-Year Gathering
We will host a gathering mid-September, in accordance with University safety guidelines, to reconnect with current colleagues. We hope you will join us for an hour of collegial mingling with our department students and faculty; details will follow via email.

Other events
EGO also hosts a number of smaller social events during the semester; you can look forward to game nights and movie nights, as well as coffee and doughnut hours.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
In addition to our social events, EGO is also dedicated to professional development. We currently organize the EGO Research Colloquia, and we are eager to expand our initiatives as your needs require. EGO will send out a survey in which graduate students can indicate which types of professional events would be most beneficial; professional events will be planned based on your feedback. You are always encouraged to let us know if there is anything that we can do to support your professional development.

EGO Research Colloquia
We are happy to announce the continuation of the EGO Research Colloquia, open to all graduate students in English. The EGO Research Colloquium offers English graduate students the opportunity to workshop their scholarly writing with fellow graduate students and English department faculty, enables them to develop as researchers and writers, and provides them a unique opportunity to share research with the English department community and to gain experience presenting that research to colleagues.

The EGO Research Colloquium is period-inclusive: a place where graduate students can present scholarship covering any period from Anglo-Saxon England to the present day. Moreover, the EGO Research Colloquium emphasizes the importance of feedback along every stage of the writing process; therefore, the Colloquium accepts work both unpolished and polished: seminar papers (to be revised for publication), journal-length articles, conference-length papers, and dissertation chapters.

Details regarding two colloquia, one in October and one in November, will follow via email.