Four students from the College of Liberal & Creative Arts were recently named Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars for 2018 – 19.
From the Philosophy Department, undergraduate Teagan Bullock (faculty mentor: Anita Silvers) and graduate students Alonso Reategui (faculty mentor: Carlos Montemayor) and Michelle Thomas (faculty mentor: David Landy). From the English Language and Literature Department, graduate student Francesca Colonnese (pictured above; faculty mentor: Jennifer Mylander). Each award is $3,000.
The California Pre-Doctoral Scholars Program is designed to increase the pool of potential faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of California State University students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. The program places a special emphasis on increasing the number of CSU students who enter doctoral programs at a University of California institution.
Overall, 11 San Francisco State students won this scholarship for 2018 – 19.
Colonnese says the award will aid in her pre-doctoral applications and enable her to attend conferences. Her research explores early modern and Victorian poetry and how poets across the centuries capture the passage of time in their texts. “I hope to explore how humans have a much fuzzier relationship with time than the orderly ticking of a clock,” she says.
“Attending literature conferences last year helped me immensely as a scholar. Not only was I able to hear interesting scholars talk about their work, but I was also able to present on a couple of ideas of my own,” Colonnese adds. “There isn’t any better way to get a feel for the field and see how I might fit.”
In October, she will give a presentation at the North American Victorian Studies Association conference in Florida on Alfred Lord Tennyson’s female characters.
“It will be a wonderful chance to listen to some of the scholars who I have read for my classes here at SFSU,” she says. “The pre-doctoral program also includes provisions for summer research so, with any luck, at this time next year I’ll be in a research library thumbing through some very, very old books.”
— Ufuoma Umusu
Links
- California Pre-Doctoral Scholars Program
- Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholars at San Francisco State
- Philosophy Department
- English Language and Literature Department
Photo courtesy of Francesca Colonnese