May 3rd, 2023
Editorial Staff Profiles, Part IWith this semester coming to a close, we thought to share profiles on our editorial teams. Meet the Driftwood staff! Brought together by ENG 224: Practicum in Literary Publishing, the students on our staff also serve as editors for the Northern Lights. Kayu Brooks: Mother, Popcorn Lady, Editor
Kayu Brooks attends the Green Bay campus. While her major is in English, she recently completed a minor in Spanish! She hopes to one day get a career in the Green Bay Public School System, and though she is shy, she loves being arounds kids and hopes to use her Spanish-speaking skills to communicate with bilingual students.In Kayu’s experience, she’s come to find that professors are willing to assist with assignments and answer questions about the class more than she assumed, so always speak up and ask! One of those professors is Mrs. Hayden, who teaches two courses that Kayu took. Kayu was amazed by this incredible professor, for Mrs. Hayden was open to her students and taught in many ways to make sure everyone understood.Overall, Kayu’s experience in college has been positive. She has come to make many connections with fellow parents, and she’s also earned herself a bit of a reputation. Kayu is known as the “Popcorn Lady” since she would read in the same spot and munch on popcorn. She has even garnered the attention of the food-service workers who prepare popcorn for her when she stops by. In English 224, Kayu has felt a growth in her confidence as a writer, spurred by writing articles for the Driftwood, and she feels proud of what she achieved. Kana Coonce: Cat Wrangler, Editor
Kana Coonce (Manitowoc campus) is currently going for the Writing and Applied Arts degree, but he’s been around for quite a while. It took Kana ten years to get where he is right now, so his advice to any students out there is that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing yet!The course ahead for Kana is to get into publishing, mainly on the editing side, but his dream job is to be a fact-checker. He has been getting a lot of practice in that field thanks to English 224, and that’s due to the amazing work of Ms. Rysavy. She is a very warm and down-to-earth professor and has been a delight to have as a professor. Over the years, Kana has had several fun interactions during college, including the time he made the game “Pin the Head on Marie Antoinette,” which he still has the poster for. He’s loved meeting so many passionate people, too, and by far one of his favorite professors is at UW-Waukesha, a gender studies professor named Dr. Zanikowski. While she was a bit absent-minded, she was very intelligent and left a good impression on Kana.Grace Desotell: Co-Editor-in-Chief, Garden & Hobbies Editor
Grace Desotell (Marinette campus) is currently working towards getting a BFA in Writing and Applied Arts, and being a Co-Editor-in-Chief has given her a remarkable experience. English 224 has been her favorite experience in college so far. From writing for the Driftwood, jurying the Northern Lights, and writing feature articles, there is a reason she took this class twice. Ms. Rysavy, the professor for the course, has been an extraordinary teacher and has taught many grounded, real-world lessons about writing. To anyone interested in coming to class, don’t come half-heartedly. It takes a creative person to thrive in class, but the experience you’ve earned is well worth it. Grace hopes to one day write for a nonprofit organization, and eventually, start an online book editing business, something she’s already been doing for this course.Being a senior, she has been through a plethora of classes, and one of her favorite moments came when she was in biology class. She was sitting in the back of a stadium-style room, and when she pulled up on her jacket while leaving, a bunch of change came spilling out. The instructor graciously accepted the honor of having had money thrown at her. Grace’s only save was to admit that her lecture was that good. That wasn’t the only professor that got her laughing either. Professor Karl Boehler made Grace burst out laughing so many times that she could not pick a specific moment. It was that fun.Emma Krueger: Editor
Unlike many of the other students in English 224, Emma Krueger (Green Bay campus) is currently going for a degree in Graphic Design and hopes to find a job that uses her artistic skill. Though her focus is on art, the Driftwood has become a unique experience for her. She has never published writings before and loves seeing what everyone comes up with.She has had a few hilarious moments while she’s been in college. One thing that stood out to her was the college bingo nights. She adores how competitive people get over such a simple game, but her most bizarre story comes from her dorm room. She got a knock at the door, expecting her roommate or someone else. Rather, she saw her best friend in a cart while holding a 20-gallon fish tank with two fish inside. They bought one more fish to make the golden trio of Wubba, Bubba, and King Peaches.Emma wanted to shout out her art professor Aaron Renier for being such an incredible instructor. He was Emma’s first art professor and left a wonderful impression on Emma. He was supportive and encouraging, and when they showed their final projects, he was ecstatic! It made Emma more confident in her artwork. Her advice to new students follows the trend of art. Don’t be afraid to do things on your own. Talk to new people. Experience new things. You never know if you don’t try.Syd Morgan: Editor
Syd Morgan (Green Bay campus) is aiming to get an English degree with a Creative Writing emphasis so that she may one day work in a publishing company. Though she also wants to travel around the US in a Subaru Outback and experience van life.She’s had a few fun interactions with the professors at UWGB. One that stands out for Syd was sharing her “awkward moment of the day” with Professor Aaron Weinschenk, but one of her favorite professors is Professor Jennie Young. She runs the Women in Literature course, an empowering class with a lot of great discussions.In English 224, Syd’s favorite part is coming up with ideas and writing for the Driftwood. It has been very fun for her over the course of the semester. Now, normally, I try to weave the answers together, but Syd’s advice is so quotable that it deserves separation. “You can eat 100 pancakes in the span of 100 days, but you cannot eat 100 pancakes in one sitting. That’s all to say, get a little bit of work done every day, for you cannot do it all at once when it builds up.”