English Alumni Reunited at Mocktail Coffee House!

by Patrick Coy-Bjork ‘24

This month, we had the joy of welcoming back five of our beloved English graduates to a special Alumni Coffee House event! The guests featured were (from left to right) Jackson Ullman ‘20, Nora Stewart ‘21, Asher de Forest ‘21, Miram Moore-Keish ‘19, and Kira Schukar ‘22. These five have had a wide range of different career paths since their graduations, and were able to share their experiences with current English students. 

 Jackson, for example, has worked in tax and accounting since graduating, and is currently an International Tax Specialist for Travelers Insurance. In addition to majoring in English, Nora also studied Art History while at Mac. She has assisted with several art galleries around the Twin Cities, and has worked at the Minneapolis Institute of Art since 2021. Her current position there is in the Curatorial Department. Asher is a part of the team at the Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis while also doing an internship with the Playwrights’ Center. Asher also spoke on the variety of different jobs he’s had since Mac, including working in an ice cream shop, a liquor store, and assisting with several theater nonprofits. Miram attended graduate school at the University of Cambridge where she received her Master’s in Philosophy. She has continued embracing her passion for creative writing, and has had multiple collections of her poetry published. She now writes for the non-profit organization We Need Diverse Books while also doing content strategy for Capstone Publishers. Kira has been working in radio, including KFAI and MPR. For the latter of which, she worked on “A Prairie Home Companion,” a radio show featuring actress Sue Scott. She has also been an educator at the Minnesota History Center, done freelancing podcasting, and will be working with the Minnesota Historical Society Workers Union in the spring. 

The event was also complemented by delicious mocktails prepared by our talented student workers, including a faux “Moscow Mule” style ginger and lime drink, which you can see our lovable squirrel mascot Raphel enjoying a sip of. 

We were so appreciative to hear the perspective and experiences from the graduates, while also getting the chance to catch up with them over some tasty beverages. Thank you to these wonderful alumni!