We trust you are all as happy as we are at the arrival of spring! On the Boston campus, that means finally emerging from windy, cold weather and bare trees. Seeing the Swan Boats back in the pond at the Public Garden is when we know that it’s time to prepare for the May Graduate Hooding Ceremonies. The hooding ceremonies mark the final step and culmination of the hard work and dedication our talented graduate students have achieved. We came together for the Graduate Hooding Ceremonies on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at the Shubert Theater. You’ll see photos below of all the touching and proud moments we experienced that day.
May also marks the end of a busy academic year. Over the spring semester, the Graduate Student Association (GSA) welcomed a new representative, Benjamin Pinzon.
More information about the GSA events that took place this past spring are below.
Even though it’s the end of the year, we love taking the time to look back at everything we’ve accomplished together. Emerson’s graduate students have proven once again what an amazing group of talented and intelligent people they are. We hope you enjoy looking back at the spring 2025 semester, and we wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable summer. See you in September!
Interview Practice, Headshots and What’s Next For You?
We believe it’s essential to take advantage of all the tools that Emerson offers to help launch a career, such as the joint event held by the Career Development Center and the GSA on April 22nd. Tamar Gaffin-Cahn, Assistant Director of Graduate Student Career Service, held practice interviews to help grad students and soon-to-be alumni refine their interview skills. She offered expert feedback to help students gain confidence as they prepare to head out to the job market. The GSA helped organize the event and introduced students to the newest career development tool, a free headshot photo booth. This tool allows both current students and alumni to update their professional image. Find the photo booth on the second floor of Walker outside the Office of Student Success!
To further understand students’ thoughts and experiences related to career assistance, May 2025 graduates were asked to fill out the First Destination Survey We want to learn about the impact you’re making in the world as you set out on your next endeavor! Class of 2025 Emerson College graduate students, share your thoughts and let us know what’s next for you!
Program Spotlight: Writing for Film and Television
Professor Jim Lane has been a student of film and television for a long time. He first discovered his love of film and storytelling as an undergraduate at Harvard College. He realized that writing, teaching, and talking about the craft was something he was not only good at, but it fulfilled his quest for knowledge and creativity. As a seasoned writer and scholar focusing on the art of film and screenwriting, along with his years of teaching, mentoring, writing, and research, the role of Graduate Program Director of Emerson College’s Writing for Film and Television MFA program was an easy fit.
The Program’s Roots
Emerson’s Writing for Film and TV program was first launched in 2016 by screenwriter and professor Emerita Jean Stawarz. According to Lane, the program was the brainchild of Stawarz, who worked with the chairs of Visual and Media Arts and the deans of the School of the Arts. Lane recalls, “It took a year or two to brainstorm, spitball, and whatnot, and then to sort of pull together a curriculum with the idea that it would be a low-residency program, meaning that the majority of instruction would take place online, remotely, and for the most part asynchronously. The residency component of the program would be at the beginning of each semester where we have a week of workshops and instruction.”
The low-residency Writing for Film and Television graduate program requires students to complete 40 credits of coursework. As mentioned, the program begins with a week-long residency on Emerson’s Boston campus in the fall. In the spring, students spend a week on the Los Angeles campus. Following the residency, students enroll in two online classes each semester. Online classes are mostly asynchronous, with some synchronous elements. Students who complete the program walk away with a professional-caliber portfolio containing short and feature screenplays, a television spec script, an original pilot, plus an additional script (pilot or feature screenplay), and critical essays. Experienced film and television professionals with years of industry and classroom experience teach the program.
Professor Lane’s Foundation
For Lane, teaching and guiding graduate students in Emerson’s Writing for Film and Television program fulfills two aspects of his professional interests as both a film expert and a scholar. Lane admits, “I’m really more of an academic.” As an undergraduate, he had declared a major in Classics, but when he found out that you could study film instead, he began studying visual arts with an emphasis on film and photography. He says he went from one of the oldest majors in the college to one of the newest majors! It was then, he said, “I got the film bug… and I’ve had it chronically for the rest of my life.”
After graduating from college, he was hired as a teaching fellow in the same department he graduated from. He worked with his mentor, a film history professor who had a major influence on his life and career path. As a teaching fellow, he had the opportunity to write lectures every week and work with students doing research and film analysis.
Furthering His Education
Lane made a decision to continue studying film and after researching various PhD programs. He found one that allowed him to earn a PhD and get course credit for making films at UCLA. Thus, he moved from his home town of Boston to Los Angeles. He received his Master’s, and then a PhD in Film and Television Studies at UCLA.
Professor Lane says his decision to enter a doctoral program at UCLA was an experience that was positively life-altering. After receiving his degree, his first teaching job was at the University of Miami, where he taught filmmaking as well as film studies. After his time at UMiami, Lane taught at Emerson’s Boston campus before Emerson sent him to Los Angeles to serve as Executive Director of Emerson LA. He then returned to teaching as a full-time faculty member. Lane has been a part of the MFA in Writing for Film and Television from the beginning of the program. His expertise and knowledge are irreplaceable!
Students in the Writing for Film and Television MFA program come from all over the country. Their breadth of life experiences help them develop the plots and characters for the scripts they eventually develop. “We have a lot of our students working full-time jobs, or they are full-time parents. We also have students who apply when they are still seniors in college. And then we have people who are applying who are years removed from college,” Lane adds. The students attracted to this program are those who desire to create and explore film and television in new ways.
Learn More
The Writing for Film and Television MFA is part of the Visual and Media Arts department in the School of the Arts. Students enrolled in the program have access to a vast array of talented faculty. They come from a multitude of disciplines and are working filmmakers, producers, screenwriters and academic researchers. Having a community and faculty who provide mentorship to help students develop their film and television writing skills through both the online courses and the in-person low residency weeks makes this a successful and sought-after graduate program. Applicants interested in learning more about the Writing for Film and Television MFA program should contact the Graduate Admissions Office.
Meet your GSA Representative!
Hi, my name is Benjamin Pinzon. I am your current Representative of Graduate Students (RGS). I am from Knoxville, Tennessee, where I attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studying marketing. While pursuing my MA in Strategic Marketing Communications at Emerson, I’m excited to further a career in Boston’s advertising field.
The Representative of Graduate Students serves as the president of the Graduate Student Association (GSA). Mainly, supporting graduate student life at Emerson. I provide funding to Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs), plan campus events, and help facilitate student initiatives. I act as a bridge between students and departments. My role is to direct students to the right resources, and offer guidance and professional development opportunities. My office is open for appointments or walk-ins during office hours—I’m here to help!
I am proud to be the Representative of Graduate Students! I’m hoping to continue adding brand new GSOs to campus and creating new events for the GSA. I look forward to exciting things in the fall!!!
The GSA includes all on-campus graduate students* and invites them to attend events and meetings.(*Online and low-residency students can contact the Graduate Studies to find out how they can become members by emailing GSAInfo@emerson.edu.)
Our Newest Grad Student Organizations
Queer and Beyond – Queer and Beyond is an organization for graduate students at Emerson College, dedicated to celebrating and uplifting the queer community. We create a welcoming space where queer identities, stories and creative expressions thrive beyond boundaries. Through social gatherings, artistic collaborations, discussions and community events, we foster a sense of belonging and solidarity among LGBTQ+ graduate students. Most importantly, we come together to share pure fun and joy, embracing the expansive spectrum of queerness at Emerson. (And yes, allies are welcome to be a part of the fun too! Just don’t be surprised if you leave with a little extra sparkle!)
The Association of Screenwriting Students – Founded by students in Emerson’s Writing for Film & TV MFA program, this group brings together grad students with a passion for screenwriting. We organize writing workshops, networking events, and chances to connect with your peers—all to help you sharpen your craft and grow your creative network. Whether you’re deep in a feature, stuck on a pilot, or just trying to figure out where the slugline goes, all Emerson grad students with a knack for screenwriting are welcome here.
GSA/GSO Events
The Office of Graduate Studies, the GSA, and Grad Student Organizations hosted numerous events during the Spring 2025 semester. Here are some photos of the events!
Grad Night at Boston Garden
Emerson College Book Club
End-of-Year Bash
Student Spotlight: JP Legarte
For first-year graduate student JP Legarte, fitting into the creative writing community at Emerson seemed to come easy. As an artist whose medium is words, joining Emerson’s Creative Writing MFA program with a focus on poetry, felt like a natural transition in his development as a poet. Coming to Emerson was fortuitous for a creative artist like Legarte, where experimenting with poetry forms and style is truly encouraged and appreciated. And while Legarte was raised in a midwestern suburban neighborhood outside of Chicago, when he arrived in Boston, he wasn’t surprised to find himself becoming a member of the city’s eclectic and active poetry community. “I’m very much the type of person to prepare for this sort of thing,” says Legarte.
And already, Legarte has proven his success within the Boston poetry scene. He recently read one of his original poems at Boston City Hall, which is displayed inside the historic building.
Discovering Poetry
His interest in poetry began as early as junior high. He remarks on having a great English instructor who helped stoke an interest in short stories and writing. But it was his ninth grade English class where he began to focus on poetry. His teacher did a deeper dive into the genre, and something about this artistic expression ignited a spark in Legarte. “There’s something simultaneously fun and challenging about exploring the form of poetry. Which line breaks? Or maybe even the absence of which rhythms align with the message or the theme I am trying to communicate.”
Life Experiences
Growing up in the outskirts of Schaumburg, a northwestern suburb of Chicago, he attended small, private Baptist school. He then pursued his bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Legarte’s early experiences in middle and high school gave him the foundation to become the talented poet he’s grown into. He’s thankful that Schaumburg was one of the more diverse suburbs. Even in the small religious school he attended, there were fellow Filipinx Americans that were part of his friend group.
In his senior year of high school, Legarte was also part of a writing group. A fellow senior started a club called Writer’s Corner. It soon became a place where Legarte was able to cultivate his writing and style. The writing group allowed him to explore what that style looked like as a writer just starting out in poetry. Legarte thinks back to those early days, and how they are reflected in his work. He says, “I do feel like attending a religious school was tied into my writing in some ways. I think of the greater context of Spanish colonialism over the Philippines. They brought Catholicism there [to aid] their colonial endeavors to subjugate the Filipinos. I’m kind of wrestling with that notion. I did consider myself a Christian, and currently it’s a little more complex. I’m wrestling with my belief and what it looks like.”
Those experiences make their way into Legarte’s poetry, whether it’s informing the tone or speaking to a specific experience or relationship. Legarte says he realized that the figure of God or Christ reappears in certain poems, even if God or Christ isn’t the main focus of the poem. Nowadays, his focus is more on the greater questions and the overall idea of colonialism as extinction.
His poetry explores what it means to believe in a figure that people have used in a violent way against his people. Working through the poetry allows him to explore what he actually believes in, separate from the faith and community in which he was raised. Legarte is asking questions, not only of the reader of his poem, but within himself. “This even applies to outside the sub theme of religion and belief,” he continues. “What does it mean to dive into the tension of it all, and to try to unpack it? What parts of me are born from that tension? How do I continue to navigate that today?” Legarte says that what really stands out to him with poetry is just the vast possibilities within it.
Exploring Poetic Genres
Legarte doesn’t know if it’s the main craft that really tethered him to poetry, but rather the lyrical nature that poetry can take up, and how it sounds when performing out loud. He specifically likes spoken word poetry. He says, “There’s something about the sound poetry makes, which is heightened or emphasized in that genre.”
One of the first poets that Legarte says helped to ignite his deepening love of the form was the poet Anis Mojgani. Mojgani wasn’t a poet that Legarte was assigned to read in school. Instead, he found him through searching for spoken word poets on YouTube.
Legarte was captivated by Mojgani’s style on the stage. He would make it sound like he was just recounting this tale or narrative, a message he wanted to communicate. “It sounds like he’s just communicating to the audience like a best friend. And I carry that with me. Within my poems, no matter the tone, I want to cultivate that sort of closeness with my reader, my audience. Even if it’s not me performing on the stage. Even if it’s just people reading my work on a piece of paper or on a web page,” says Legarte.
Expanding Knowledge at Emerson
Legarte praises Porsha Olayiwola, his first semester poetry professor at Emerson. She helped him narrow and hone his focus. This ability allowed him to make progress on his manuscript early in the MFA. His thesis focuses on the idea of colonialism as extinction. It also dives into the symbolism and connotations inherent within the letter X. “I feel like there’s so many things that can be attached to X, right? Like X can be used to signify a target. But X is also a variable in math. X-ray, you know, even the sound of X. Ex as in past partners. I feel like I’ve been writing poems around these threads.” He is exploring what it means for Filipinx Americans through his poems, and investigating what it looks like to survive and rebel against the different forms of extinction over history, and what that might look like in the future.
Legarte has also worked with poetry professor Dan Tobin who helped him with experimental and visual styles. Dan helped him focus on detailed inspection of his work, ensuring each word has a purpose.
Looking Forward
Legarte remains busy outside of working on his poetry and taking classes at Emerson! He works with the Brink Literacy Project as a community and grant development assistant. He also volunteers with them as a senior editor. Legarte says he envisions pursuing this type of role after graduating while continuing to work on his poetry. In accordance with his bachelor’s degree, he continues to pursue his interests in science, health, and environmental writing. He believes creative writing can improve communication in those fields. One of Legarte’s long term goals is to publish a major creative work in all the existing genres. His love of writing while honing his skills in the Creative Writing MFA will hopefully help him accomplish that dream.
Grad Student Achievements
Asya Partan – Creative Writing, Nonfiction, MFA, May ‘26: Asya had two book review essays published in The Rumpus: “Getting the Last Laugh: Alexei Navalny’s Patriot” and “The Relentless Impressionism of Immigration: Shubha Sunder’s Optional Practical Training.” WBUR’s Cognoscenti published her essay, “For Ukrainians, it’s been 1,000-plus days of life underground.” Brevity Blog published Asya’s Q&A with Emerson WLP alum Nicole Graev Lipson. It was entitled “No silos, no hidden truths, and no shitty first drafts.” At AWP 2025, Asya participated in a reading at the Wende Museum with fellow writers: “Born in the USSR: Diaspora Writers Against War.”
Ashley Abitz – Creative Writing, Poetry, MFA, Dec. ‘26: Beyond Words Magazine published Ashley’s poem “Chronicle of a Teenager in Love.” The Sine Qua Non Inaugural Poetry Contest selected her poem “Ghazal” for publication in their forthcoming inaugural issue.
Cai Conners – Communication Sciences and Disorders, MA, May ‘25: Cai presented their thesis at an international autism conference (INSAR) in early May. They will be starting a job at a private practice called Peer Projects in Beverly.
Jen Zeuli – Creative Writing, MFA, ‘27: Solstice Magazine published Jen’s essay ALICE In Wonderland, about the threat of shootings undermining school culture, in the April 2025 issue.
Hailey Lapine – Communication Sciences and Disorders, MA, May ‘25: Hailey developed a great interest in voice and upper airway disorders during her time at Emerson. Because of this, she decided to apply for voice clinical fellowships. After competing with over 140 people applicants, she feels honored to have received a job offer from UW Health Voice Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
Payton Conlin – Creative Writing, Fiction, MFA, May ‘27: Payton had two stories published this spring. The Infrarrealista Review published the first story, “Dad-in-a-Bag.” The Other Magazine will publish the second story, “Mourning Meeting.” Both pieces are flash fiction.
Savannah Beard – Sports Communication, MA, May ‘26: Savannah secured an internship at NESN for the Talent Intern role. Savannah started working on April 15th.
Jonaz McMillan – Writing for Film and Television, MFA, May ‘25: Jonaz’s children’s picture book Monster Hands, published by Penguin Random House in May 2024, has received four starred reviews and seven awards. Since its release, he has also worked on two different films “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” and “Deaf President Now!” Both films premiered at Sundance 2025. With ever more projects in the pipeline, a pending announcement, Jonaz feels truly grateful and blessed, especially as a Deaf writer, author, and artist.
Madison Mondeaux – Creative Writing, Fiction, MFA, May ‘26: Madison is the recipient of this year’s Rod Parker Playwriting Fellowship from Emerson. Her play, Red Wolf, premiered at Emerson Stage in March 2025. The New Plays Festival at her alma mater, Knox College, accepted her newest play, Kayfabe, which has become the basis for her thesis project next year, and produced it as a staged reading at the end of April. Madison was accepted to attend a writing workshop with Electric Literature editor Kelly Luce in Iceland this summer. Stork Magazine recently accepted Madison’s flash fiction piece, King Tide, for publication.
Sarah Hart – Popular Fiction Publishing and Writing, MFA, May ‘25: Black Cat Weekly published Sarah’s short story “Roseheath” in 2025. Holly & Broom published her 100-word drabble story, “Moon’s Child,” in 2025. Sarah also placed first in the NYCMidnight’s 2025 Short Story Contest, and is moving on to the next round.
Cresta McGowan – Popular Fiction Publishing and Writing, MFA, May ‘28: The Inaugural Zone 3 Writers Festival at Austin Peay State University selected Cresta’s essay, “The Dual Role of Fiction: Bridging and Dividing Humanity,” for a panel presentation on April 11, 2025.
Katherine Murray – Popular Fiction Publishing and Writing, MFA, Dec. ‘26: Katherine’s chapter, “Female Millennial Rage: The Weaponization of Cottagecore”, was published in Bloomsbury’s The Literary Taylor Swift: Songwriting and Intertextuality (2024).
Katherine Holmes – Popular Fiction Publishing and Writing, MFA, May ‘26: CALYX published Katherine’s short story in its Spring Issue 35:1. Wellesley Weston Magazine also published her travel essay in their Spring 2025 issue.
Brittney Graves – Popular Fiction Publishing and Writing, MFA, Dec. ‘25: Forevermore Magazine will publish Brittney’s short story “Dawn” in its June issue.
Kaiden Gregoire – Speech@Emerson, Aug. ‘25: Kaiden received two job offers for their CFY year. One at Lake Chelan Health Hospital and another at North Valley Hospital.
James Tickle – Popular Fiction Publishing and Writing, MFA, May ‘26: James presented his scholarly paper (Contemporary Myth and Magic: Examining How the Fantastic Enables Generative Readings of Human Will in Madeline Miller’s Circe) at the Southwest Popular American Culture Association’s 2025 Albuquerque Conference.
Tushar – Film and Media Arts, MFA, ‘26: Tushar’s video installation “When the dolphins heard the people laugh, they sang. When the people heard the dolphins laugh, they screamed,” was selected for a single-day performance by the Boston Cyberarts Gallery on April 3rd. It was a part of “re:boot” by Spark – Northeastern University.” The work will also exhibit later this year at The Wrong Biennale in November 2025.
Scott Pomfret – Creative Writing, Fiction, MFA, Dec. ‘25: You can read Scott’s newest published stories in Twenty-two,Twenty-eight Literary and in Literally Stories.
Lori Barrett – Media Design, MFA, ‘27: Lori was selected to design and paint a cow! They selected her design to be one of 25 cows on display at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA this summer. The cows are part of Cow Parade, a global public art event.
Bretton Cadigan – Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing, MFA, Dec. ‘27: The literary magazine Mobius Boulevard #17: March 2025 published Bretton’s short horror story “Old Growth.”
Muhammad Zayan Agha – Film & Media Arts, MFA, Dec ‘25: Muhammad won a student grant of $10,000 to make a short film about climate justice from the Elfenworks Foundation (a non-profit based in CA) and Ideas United (a leading creative studio based in Atlanta). The committee selected two film students from across the US. His work on the film project begins this summer.
Susanne Saleh – Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing, MFA, Dec ‘25: Her story, “The Facts of the Fire” (short story) was published in Frazzled Lit, December 2024. Nearest & Dearest: An Anthology of Dyke Domesticity accepted her personal essay “What Lives Forever” for publication (forthcoming November 2025). “Kindness,” a short story, was accepted for publication in the small press anthology, By Her Sword: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance Anthology, forthcoming June 2025. Front Porch Magazine, a new Emerson College literary magazine, accepted her flash fiction piece “Memphis” for publication. Susanne has also had 7 book reviews posted at The Lesbrary blog; full list here. The 2025 Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices accepted her to work in speculative fiction, where she will collaborate with Nisi Shawl.
Libby Bancroft – Creative Writing, Fiction, MFA, May ‘25: Last December, Globe Magazine published an essay she wrote for their Connections column.
JP Legarte – Creative Writing, Poetry, MFA, May ‘27: JP’s poem “To the Person Sitting in Darkness” was chosen for the 2025 Mayor’s Poetry Program in Boston and is displayed in the 8th-floor lobby of the Boston City Hall through April 2026. He received a full scholarship to attend the 2025 Juniper Summer Writing Institute in June and will be workshopping under Safia Elhillo. The 2025 Abode Press Summer Retreat accepted JP, who will workshop under Ariana Brown in June. He was chosen as a finalist for the 2025 Lit Fest Emerging Writer Fellowship in Poetry, and received an offer to attend the 2025 Lighthouse Writers Workshop in June where he will be workshopping under Eduardo C. Corral. The Arlington Author Salon invited JP to be one of three readers for the April reading celebrating National Poetry Month and the salon’s ten-year anniversary. He read alongside Vijaya Sundaram, the current Medford Poet Laureate, and Gilmore Tamny, an artist, writer, and musician in Boston. The WLP Graduate Student Poetry Award named JP Runner-Up for his poem “Said the Neck to the Knee.”
Graduate Hooding Ceremonies
Shubert Theatre
May 10, 2025
School of the Arts & School of Communication
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