Humans of Sigma Tau Delta

We are thrilled to welcome Karen Auvinen as an Honorary Member of Sigma Tau Delta!
Karen Auvinen is an author and environmental writer known for her work on nature, resilience, and the human experience. Her writing, including her memoir Rough Beauty, has made a lasting impact in environmental literature.
Welcome to Sigma Tau Delta!

We are thrilled to welcome Maryfrances Wagner as an Honorary Member of Sigma Tau Delta!
Maryfrances Wagner is a respected poet whose work reflects deep engagement with language, memory, and human experience. Her contributions have enriched the literary community.
Welcome to Sigma Tau Delta!

“Literature for me has always meant the world and to be given the opportunity to study it and be part of an organization that not only encourages it but also strives to promote literature and reading, enables me to stand tall and advocate for the beautiful community of scholars who are a part of Sigma Tau Delta.
As an international student moving to the United States to pursue a Masters (and subsequently a Ph.D.) was an overwhelming situation to be in. However, when I was invited to join Sigma Tau Delta in 2021, I found a sense of belonging and community. The opportunity to present my research and talk about my love for Literature was something I had craved for since I was a young girl—having finally found kindred spirits in fellow Deltians, I felt right at home. The support and encouragement from local chapters as well as on a national level to embrace ones love for Literature is warming to the heart. I will forever remain in gratitude of my Chapter Advisor and the Sigma Tau Delta community for making me “one of theirs”.
Sincerity. Truth. Design”

Nikita D’Monte
Graduate Scholarly Paper Award Recipient, 2024-2025
Alpha Psi Nu Chapter
The University of Texas at Dallas, TX


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We are thrilled to welcome Gary Soto as an Honorary Member of Sigma Tau Delta!
Gary Soto is a celebrated poet, novelist, and children’s author, widely recognized for his contributions to Chicano literature and his vivid portrayals of Mexican-American life.
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"A passionate love for writing and literature brought me into academia, where I quickly realized that it was my home. My involvement as President of my Sigma Tau Delta chapter was a turning point in this understanding that I belong in academic spaces of perpetual learning and growth. I'm now a decade in and I have a Masters in English, and I'll graduate with my PhD in Philosophy next spring. I've dedicated my life to teaching philosophy and literature in university settings. But that doesn't stop me from writing pop romance novels when no one's looking. Or Substack op-eds when everyone IS looking... We live in unprecedented times, where clear and communicative writing is incredibly important for informing the public. I'll always be hanging out on some university campus, educating folks, but writing has given me the ability to bring knowledge off-campus too, in every space that I have the honor to occupy. Words are a gift, a passport, a time machine, a metaphysical path to a reader's deepest depths. I am so grateful that this is my purpose."

Sunny Heenen
Edwin L. Stockton, Jr., Graduate Scholarship Recipient, 2024-2025
Rho Delta Chapter
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL



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We are thrilled to welcome Emily Pérez as an Honorary Member of Sigma Tau Delta!
Emily Pérez is an award-winning poet and educator whose work explores identity, culture, and social justice. She has made meaningful contributions to modern poetry and literary scholarship.
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“I've always loved reading. Since I can remember, my mom has also always loved reading, and she usually goes to the library to get her books. I always went with her, so I've had a library card since I was seven. Reading has always been something I loved and enjoyed, and for a lot of my life, it was as natural as breathing, and going to the library as natural as going to the grocery store. I was going to the library to get books and reading every single night before I went to bed. But as I got older, in elementary and middle school, other students started to respond differently to that: I would get made fun of for reading so much (nobody ever called me a nerd, but that was the idea). So I started thinking more about why I like to read so much. I read because it’s fun, but I also read because I can learn so much. I remember reading a book about a character who had synesthesia, and that's how I learned about synesthesia in elementary school. And I read a book about a character who was intersex, and that's how I learned about intersex individuals. Books have been central to my life because they allow me to learn about other people and be more open minded.

“Since I prefer fiction, I'm often reading stories about people who don't exist, events that may not have actually happened or may be exaggerated, but all stories exist within their cultural and historical context, and I cannot teach a diverse array of students without knowing about these historical events. It's important for all of us to know about other people. So I personally have so much love for fiction, and I think fiction is a perfect way to learn; it makes you empathize.
“I didn't know Sigma Tau Delta existed until I got to college, but when I talk about a community of lovers of literature, I found that in Sigma Tau Delta. Studying literature is something that I want to do professionally to continue having that community of people who
also enjoy English literature. So that's what brought me to Sigma Tau Delta.”

Maggie Machado
PC Somerville Award for Future Teachers Recipient, 2024-2025
Alpha Epsilon Alpha Chapter
The College of New Jersey, NJ


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“I remember telling myself that I had to read at least fifty more novels before I had any right to write one of my own. Just a couple of years since then, I’m deep into a manuscript that started as a little novella in my head but is emerging into a full novel, God willing. Did I ever finish reading those fifty books? Not even close! But I realized the waiting game never ends—you’re always going to feel unprepared, until you start. I’ve stopped worrying about outcomes and instead focus on what I can do today.

My doctoral project blends the creation of this novel with a medical humanistic analysis of Asian literature, an attempt to show how fiction can hold the weight of trauma and offer solace when law and medicine fail to see survivors as more than cases. It’s my humble effort to represent those who were crushed by those who were supposed to protect them and then failed by the ones meant to serve justice.“

Junaid Shah Shabir
Edwin L. Stockton, Jr., Graduate Scholarship Recipient, 2024-2025
Alpha Psi Nu Chapter
The University of Texas at Dallas, TX



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Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglishCon

"Always got your nose in a bloody book—you're a bookworm!" my grumpy British Grandpa grumbled at me during growing-up years in Ohio at the home of my grandparents. Maybe Grandpa preferred I'd do more chores. So, I snuck ways to read—a flashlight under covers at night, or with a book tucked inside a clear plastic bag, I could even read during shower time.

When I left that house, at the prompting of many teachers encouraging "do something with your writing," I decided journalism seemed practical and went to Medill at Northwestern University. Scholarships and an internship with Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer—but two years in, I altered course. Journeyed to find my long-lost poet-mother whom I'd never known my whole life—she was connected to Beat Poet Bob Kaufman and the San Francisco/North Beach literary circles. Perhaps searching for roots and experience of the California counterculture that shaped my bohemian-spirited hippie parents, new roads stretched before me. I entered realms of mystique and magic offering alternatives, but things also break down eventually...

Now, after that 25-year detour from education, I found my way back again! Just graduated in May 2025, finally finishing my bachelor's degree in Literary & Intercultural Studies, magna cm laude from Dominican University of California. Through creative writing of nonfiction and memoir, telling my life-story became a 100-page capstone project that also aspires to the long-term goal of a book I will eventually publish! In further turns of events, my path comes full circle as a new graduate student in UC Berkeley’s Graduate Journalism program.

Rebirth, Remembering, Revival, Second Chances, & It's Never Too Late? I am so grateful, and it is an honor to receive support through a scholarship from Sigma Tau Delta—many thanks for making there be even more joy for reading, writing, study, and language!”

Ara Rosenthal
Far Western Regent Scholarship Recipient, 2024-2025
Alpha Omicron Rho Chapter
Dominican University of California, CA

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnglishCon

“Writing is an externalization of an internal experience, an unveiling of the soul. When we read, we deepen our capability to empathize as we uncover new viewpoints and vulnerabilities. That's why I want to teach high school English—to empower my students to discover the connectivity of humanity that is awakened through the written and spoken word.”

Kayleigh Kearsley
Far Western Regent Scholarship Recipient, 2024-2025
Rho Tau Chapter
Utah State University, Logan, UT


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