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Rakan Algahtani
Rakan is a senior Communication studies major. He likes soccer as the most favorite sport. He enjoys spending time with his friends in Millikin. Rakan is an international student from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He has been involved in athletics activities for one semester in the Cross–Country team. Rakan plans to pursue a master degree in political science to have a career in the government of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia.
Sydney Brangenberg
Sydney was born and raised in the small town of Jerseyville, IL. She is currently a junior English Literature major, concentration in pre-med, and music minor. Some of her extracurricular activities are being a member of the sororities Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Alpha Iota as well as playing the oboe in the Wind Ensemble at Millikin. Her goal is to get into medical school and to become a surgeon. In her free time she enjoys playing the piano or guitar, reading a good book, watching movies and TV series, or spending time with family and friends.
Kyle Brown
Kyle is a sophomore Human Services major born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up, he found a love for helping others and being an aid to those in need and from this he made the decision to become a social worker. Alongside being a student he is also a First Year Experience mentor for freshmen students on Millikin University's campus as well as an active member of the Theta Iota chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity where he finds ways to help others in any way he can. After graduating from Millikin he hopes to go on to receive his MSW to become a social worker to aid youth and teenagers in schools or group homes.
Bryce Cherry
Bryce just started attending Millikin University in Fall of 2015. He is a Junior English Education major. Before attending Millikin, he received his Associate's Degree from Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois. He wants to become the teacher that inspires his students. When he graduates in the spring of 2017, he hopes to move anywhere that he gets a job, hopefully somewhere near Chicago. Teaching has always been his dream career, so he will stop at nothing until he achieves this dream.
Maddy Delano
Maddy is a Freshman English Literature major at Millikin University. She enjoys reading, watching Netflix, playing tennis, and spending time with her friends. She has played tennis since the fifth grade and now she is on the tennis team at Millikin. Maddy is the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) representative for Women's Tennis. Her hometown is Arlington Heights, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. She loves being home with her parents, her four siblings, and her Golden Doodle, Gus. In the future, she hopes to become a tennis coach for a club or college and additionally work with Literature in some way.
Laney Haupert
Laney is a sophomore theatre administration major from St. Charles, IL. She is involved in many activities on campus including being a part of Millikin's cheerleading team, serving as secretary for her sorority, Delta Delta Delta (Delta Epsilon chapter), and also serving as vice president of administration and finance for Millikin's Panhellenic Council. After graduation, Laney hopes to move to Chicago to pursue working for a large theatre company as a part of their administrative team.
Austin Jesse
Austin is a Junior secondary Social Science Education major. He was born in Decatur, Illinois, and has lived there all of his life. He hopes to teach in or around Decatur. When he graduates, he hopes to attend Lincoln Christian Seminary to obtain a Master's Degree in Theology, before moving on to get his Doctorate. Austin works at Kroger, as a backup Department head for Grocery, Dairy and Frozen. He also is on the Mt. Zion Library Board of Trustees, as well as an adult Bible School teacher, Vice-President, Usher, and fill in preacher at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church. In his free time Austin loves to read and watch movies as well as spend time with his Fiancè Lyndsay Blake Chapman.
Logan Mclaskey
Logan is a second year student studying English Education here at Millikin University. He enjoys long walks on the beach and reading graphic novels in his free time (though there are no beaches around Decatur so he doesn't get to enjoy that hobby as much as the latter one). He spends much of his free time—when not being melancholy about the lack of beaches, or reading graphic novels—procrastinating and playing video games. A few of his favorite books, including graphic novels, are This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, Blankets by Craig Thompson, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. In the terms of this casebook of Salvage the Bones, Logan has contributions in character and chapter summaries.
Mikayla Mendenhall
Mikayla is a History major with an English minor at Millikin University. As part of the James Millikin Scholar program she has spent the last two years engrossed in a lengthy project. She is currently in the process of writing a piece of historical fiction for children. The book's central character is an eleven–year–old girl living on the American home front during World War II. Mendenhall's goal for this endeavor is to hopefully spark their interest and make history more accessible to young people.
Sam Miller
Sam is a Junior English Literature and Writing major from Bloomington–Normal, IL. He hopes to eventually go on to graduate school and earn a master's degree in Library and Information Sciences with an emphasis in youth services. When he's not writing research papers, Sam spends a lot of his time watching TV shows that upset him emotionally and writing about supernatural creatures. He is also currently obsessed with Hamilton: An American Musical and aspires to one day be as ambitious and hardworking as "the ten dollar founding father," without having his reputation ruined and getting shot by Aaron Burr, obviously.
Emily Nielsen
Emily is a senior English Writing and Literature major ready for her final semester as an undergrad. She enjoys reading, writing and wants to travel the world after she graduates. In May she hopes to head home to Evergreen Park, IL and work as a publisher or copyeditor in Chicago. Her activities while attending Millikin include being a member of the Women's Swim team, the News editor of the Decaturian, a part of the Bronze Man Books, a student run publishing company on campus, and the sorority Alpha Chi Omega. One day Emily hopes to write an amazing book that sells millions, but for now she will settle for just finishing a manuscript.
Kara Niles
Kara is a Sophomore English Education major with a writing minor from Crystal Lake, Illinois. She aspires to become an English professor, published science fiction author, and playwright. She also enjoys working in art and music, and hopes to continue being involved in the fine arts after her collegiate career.
Claire Schmidt
Claire is a sophomore Theatre major with a minor in English Literature. While Schmidt is originally from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, she plans to move to Madison, Wisconsin after she graduates. In the future she hopes to become a dramaturg and help playwrights develop new work. When she is not busy, she can be found writing, reading, doing theatre things, eating Chipotle or all of the above.
Dr. Tony R. Magagna
Dr. Magagna is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Millikin University, specializing in modern and contemporary American literature. In addition to EN202: Writing About Literature, Dr. Magagna has taught a variety of literature courses, including classes on the modern American novel, contemporary American regionalism, modern American drama, and American popular culture. During the 2012-2013 academic year, he served as the Fulbright Lecturer in American Studies at the Universität Potsdam, Germany. From 2015–2017, Dr. Magagna holds the Warren G. Hardy Distinguished Professorship in English at Millikin, initiating new research and curricula focused on the intersections of new media/technologies and literature. You can find the course website for his new Hybrid Literature course here.