Meet the Student Representatives (SRs) and Associate Student Representatives (ASRs)
Eastern Region
Lyndon Seitz - Student Representative (SR)
Westfield State University
Westfield, MA
Email: sigmatd.e@gmail.com
Lyndon Seitz, a junior at Westfield State University, studies English with a writing concentration and a Philosophy minor. He hopes to pursue an M.F.A. in poetry after he graduates, and has yet to decide where life will lead him after that. He attributes his love of reading to long summer days spent reading book after book of whatever he found available. He has a particular fondness for science fiction and poetry, but will read just about anything.
Lyndon has been a member of Sigma Tau Delta since the fall of 2011, and although being highly active has served as his chapter's Inter-Chapter Relations Officer, where he tried to bring together the chapters of the region. At Westfield State University, he has served as Poetry Editor and Managing Editor of Persona, the Westfield Literary Arts Journal. He also is co-A&E editor and a regular contributor to the campus newspaper at Westfield, has served as the poetry editor of Mind Murals, and has been fortunate enough to have had work published in both Mind Murals and The Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle.
Kaila Cummings - Associate Student Representative (ASR)
Westfield State University
Westfield, MA
Email: sigmatd.e2@gmail.com
Kaila Cummings, a senior at Westfield State University in Westfield, MA, is pursuing a B.A. in English with a writing concentration and is minoring in Film Studies. In addition to taking classes, she works full-time as an assistant manager at Dunkin' Donuts, is the fiction editor of Westfield State's literary journal Persona, and has her own radio show on WSKB college radio. After graduation she hopes to pursue an M.F.A. in fiction. In her free time she watches movies like it's her job and writes horror movie reviews online. Kaila is excited to be serving as the Associate Student Representative of the Eastern Region.
Far Western Region
Katie Patterson-Hullett - Student Representative (SR)
Dixie State University
St. George, UT
Email: sigmatd.fw@gmail.com
Katie Patterson-Hulett will complete her B.A. in English, with an emphasis in literary studies, in the spring of 2014. An outgoing President of Alpha Pi Epsilon, her Dixie State University chapter, Katie looks forward to another year committed to fostering connections within Sigma Tau Delta and the Far Western Region. When not engaged with club activities and academics on campus, Katie can usually be found behind a camera. Her full-time job as an international wedding photographer keeps her challenged and busy, but she loves the opportunity to travel to new places and build lasting relationships with her clients. Katie dreams of combining her love of literature and her experience with the camera to become a documentary film maker, focusing on telling stories that have been pushed to the margins of life. While looking into film schools, she stays actively involved in her local filmmaking community, directing whenever she has a chance. With two lovely little girls and a super husband supporting her dreams and goals, Katie is grateful and excited for the opportunity to serve as the Far Western Student Representative.
Robert Durborow (ASR) - Associate Student Representative (ASR)
Southern Utah University
Cedar City, UT
Email: sigmatd.fw2@gmail.com
Bob "Chaos" Durborow is a senior English Creative Writing major minoring in Graphic Design and Theater Arts at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. He has served as the Vice President of his local Sigma Tau Delta chapter and currently serves as Historian. He can get into a significant amount of trouble in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, and Klingon, as well as in English. During his second term as ASR in the Far Western Region, he plans to continue to pursue his goals to help draw regional chapters closer together and to promote growth. Chaos is committed to promoting literacy and interest in the power of words. Most notable of these efforts is the creation of an annual Litfest event in association with the Groovefest American Music Festival, held annually the last week of June in Cedar City, UT.
Chaos has won a number of awards for his writing and has had poems and short stories published in the Kolob Canyon Review, Reflections Magazine, and other publications. He also edits SUU's HSS Journal of Scholastic Excellence. Chaos commands a tactical paintball team, Ghost Echo, which trains ROTC, National Guard, Reserves, and various law enforcement units. He loves to read, draw, hike, and fish. He has worked as a professional soldier, critical care technician, surveyor, handyman, and phlebotomist, among other things. He has owned several successful businesses and is a nationally certified archery instructor. Other than that, he's rather boring.
High Plains Region
Miranda L. Bridgforth - Student Representative (SR)
Fort Hays State University
Hays, KS
Email: sigmatd.hp@gmail.com
Miranda Bridgforth is currently attending Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS, where she will graduate in May 2013 with a B.A. in Philosophy, minors in English and Leadership, and certificates in general philosophy, leadership studies, and public life. During the month of June she will be studying abroad in Germany, and in August she will be starting her M.A. in English. When she has time, she thoroughly enjoys getting lost in a good book; she particularly relishes young adult literature, especially stories that address the theme of man vs. self and explore the human condition.
Previously, Miranda has been the Vice President and the President of the Rho Psi Chapter. She is determined to remain active within her chapter while avidly serving the High Plains Region as the Student Representative. Her goals for this year are to fully represent all chapters of the region at the Society level and to build inter-chapter communication.
Janine Brooks - Associate Student Representative (ASR)
University of Nebraska Omaha
Omaha, NE
Email: sigmatd.hp2@gmail.com
Janine Brooks, a graduate student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), hopes to graduate in May 2014. Although her focus has primarily been in Early British Literature, she also is working on certificates in both advanced and technical writing. Janine aspires to become a high fantasy fiction author and believes her education will enhance her writing. A nontraditional student, Janine works at the university as an office manager in the UNO Chemistry Department. She has taken on a variety of leadership roles at the university, and is presently serving a term as President of the UNO Women's Club. Active in UNO's Sigma Tau Delta chapter, Janine helps with the Better World Books fundraising and participates regularly in chapter meetings and events.
Janine, who has served in the past as both a Student Representative and an Associate Student Representative to the High Plains Region, wants to encourage more unity within the region. She also hopes to bring about mentorship between student leaders that would help to strengthen membership within individual chapters.
Midwestern Region
Timothy Leonard - Student Representative
Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN
Email: sigmatd.mw@gmail.com
Originally from South Florida, Timothy is currently attending Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), in Fort Wayne, IN. Timothy is pursuing a dual English B.A. in English Literature and Writing, after which he plans to pursue an M.A. in 19th Century British literature. He has a strong passion for literature, primarily concentrating in British fiction, and is researching to develop a concrete definition for sensation fiction. Timothy enjoys the writings of Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, The Bronte sisters, Edith Wharton, James Patterson, and Rick Riordan.
Timothy is currently the Vice-President of his Sigma Tau Delta chapter. He is also the founder and President of the Adaptadons Sports Club, which provides individuals with mental or physical disabilities an outlet to participate in sports while attending college. Additionally, Timothy was the co-manager of the women's basketball team at IPFW, and was elected Homecoming King. Timothy plans to continually be part of Sigma Tau Delta and its efforts to develop and enhance literacy in individual's lives. He is honored to be the Midwestern Student Representative (SR) for the 2013-2014 school year and plans to continue to work toward strengthening communications among the Midwestern Region chapters.
Colin Loeffler - Associate Student Representative (ASR)
North Central College
Naperville, IL
Email: sigmatd.mw2@gmail.com
Colin Loeffler is thrilled to serve as the Associate Student Representative for the Midwestern Region. He is a senior, double-majoring in English Literature and Theater at North Central College in Naperville, IL. When not busy with class, Colin works in North Central's Admission's Office and the college's writing center. He is also Treasurer of the Theatre Student Society, in addition to taking piano and cello lessons. Colin has performed in several of his school's theatrical productions, a favorite being Giles Corey in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. When he graduates, Colin hopes to enter an M.A./Ph.D. program in literature or theater history. In whatever free time he manages to have, Colin enjoys tea, indie films, and animated television shows.
Southern Region
Victoria Gore - Student Representative (SR)
Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA
Email: sigmatd.s@gmail.com
Victoria Gore is a junior at Southeastern Louisiana University majoring in English with a concentration in literature and language. She will graduate in Spring of 2014, and hopes to continue her education at SELU pursuing an M.A. in English, with a dual concentration in technical writing and literature and language. She's been a Sigma Tau Delta member since 2011, serving both as Chapter Historian and President. Her literary interests include fiction, science fiction, magical realism, and memoirs. Her other interests include knitting (badly), watching cartoons on Netflix, technical writing, and puns. As Student Representative for the Southern Region, she hopes to bring unity to the region and encourage communication among chapters.
Emily Traylor - Associate Student Representative (ASR)
Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA
Email: sigmatd.s2@gmail.com
To satisfy her love of grammar and language, Emily Traylor is an undergraduate student at Louisiana Tech University studying English and Spanish. Her future plans include attending graduate school for English, and she hopes to continue to hone her Spanish skills by helping native Spanish speakers to learn English, either in America or abroad. Emily's research interests include feminism, queer and gender studies, new historicism, and primarily British literature. In her free time, Emily loves yoga, Netflix, making pies with her grandpa, knitting, and spending time with her family and cats. As the Southern Region's ASR, she hopes to maintain open lines of communication and further the development and camaraderie of the Southern Region.
Southwestern Region
Morgan Johnson - Student Representative (SR)
Southern Arkansas University
Magnolia, AR
Email: sigmatd.sw@gmail.com
Morgan Johnson is currently a sophomore English major at Southern Arkansas University. When not lugging stacks of books to her next literature class, she's working as a consultant in the campus writing center or trying really hard to perfect her yoga downward dog. She currently holds the chapter-elected position of Student Editor for the SAU student writing publication, Emergence. While Morgan hopes to teach, she is not ruling out first earning an M.F.A. in Poetry. Morgan's favorite authors include, but are not limited to, J.M. Barrie, Samuel Beckett, Toni Morrison, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. French frustrates Morgan, although she will claim to be fluent if anyone challenges her comprehension.
Morgan is incredibly excited to represent the Southwestern chapters of Sigma Tau Delta, and is interested in engaging in projects that will build a stronger sense of community between chapters.
Nia Yarborough - Assistant Student Representative (ASR)
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View, TX
Email: sigmatd.sw2@gmail.com
Nia Imon Yarborough is a senior at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), Prairie View, Texas, where she is in pursuit of a B.A. in English, with a minor in Political Science, and a certificate in Chinese. She is the President of the Upsilon Lambda Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta. Despite her love of the English language, during the summer of 2011 Nia became one of the first PVAMU students to attend Middlebury Language schools, where she participated in an eight-week Chinese immersion program in which all forms of spoken and written English were forbidden. Upon graduation, Nia plans to attend a joint-degree program in pursuit of an M.A. in international relations and a J.D. specializing in corporate law. She intends to further her language skills in order to utilize them while working in the area of foreign policy for the United States Government.
Nia is overjoyed to represent the Southwestern Region as the Associate Student Representative for the 2013-2014 school year. Beyond assisting the SR, she plans to establish bonds between the Upsilon Lambda Chapter and the other chapters of the Southwestern Region. She believes this communication to be extremely vital for smaller chapters like her own and for the Society at large. She encourages members to keep in contact with the representatives of their respective regions as they are the student voice of that region.