Meet our new Words Smiths
by Sophie Hilker ’20
A warm welcome to all students, faculty, and staff new and returning. This fall, The Words has a mix of both on our staff. Laura Bergland ’20 and Sophie Hilker ’20 have moved up in the ranks, both academically (eek! existential senior year vibes!) and professionally, as we will be acting as your Co-Senior Newsletter Editors. Rejoining us this year is our fabulous Social Media Coordinator, Malcolm Cooke ’21. Malcolm will not only be running the English Department Facebook and Instagram pages, but will also act as a Contributing Editor here at The Words! Working alongside our returnees, we also have a few new staff members, Contributing Editor Dalton Greene ’22, as well as Associate Newsletter Editors Ash Ma ’21, Amy Vandevelde ’21, and Harrison Runnels ’20.
Dalton Greene ’22 is a sophomore English Lit major with a minor in Classical Languages. He hails from Wheeling, West Virginia, which is so snugly nestled between Ohio and Pennsylvania that it hardly counts as West Virginia at all. He enjoys long walks on the beach, peppermint tea so sweet it’s basically a liquid candy cane, and serving as the resident pearl of the English department.
Ash Ma ’21 is a junior Economics and English Literature major and Japanese minor. She grew up in Xi’an, China, which was called Chang’an, the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army. Ash enjoys bittermelon. Actually, she doesn’t, but she likes forcing herself to eat healthy but unpalatable things.
Amy Vandervelde ’21 is a junior with a double major in Classical Languages and English Literature, and she also has a Political Science minor. She is from Ottawa, Illinois. Amy is the Opinion Editor of The Mac Weekly, works in the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship, and is one of the new English Honor Society officers. She claims to practically live in Old Main because she spends much of her free time studying on the 3rd floor in the Classics Department and drinking lots and lots of coffee while socializing throughout the English Department.
Harrison Runnels ’20 is a senior English and Computer Science major from Omaha, Nebraska. Outside of school, he plays football at Macalester and is the proud owner of a 2009 Toyota Camry. Harrison is new to The Words and says he is excited to work with our talented team!
We could not have said it better ourselves, Harrison. We look forward to creating a wonderful Words community this fall and cannot wait to share all of our staff’s talents with you.