Master's students

Email: abattaglini@uwaterloo.ca

Alexandra Battaglini is an MA student in Literary Studies. She completed an Honours BA in English Rhetoric and Literature. She hopes to use her writing to better the world in areas including (but not limited to) animal rights, the environment, and empowering others to make a positive difference in their lives. Alexandra's interests include reading personal growth books, meditation and analyzing literature for deeper messages and symbolism.

​Email: lbracken@uwaterloo.ca
LinkedIn: Lisa Brackenridge

Lisa Brackenridge is pursuing her MA in Experimental Digital Media. Lisa’s research interests include communications studies, media theory, podcasts, and digital media. Lisa completed her BA in Communications Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a part-time student and a full-time staff member at Waterloo in the Student Success Office.

Email: s2carson@uwaterloo.ca

Suzanne Carson is an MA student in Experimental Digital Media. She was granted a BA in honours English from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2022, with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Writing for Career and Community. Her academic interests are in literary fiction, digital narratives, and semiotics. She is particularly interested in the political discourse of “The Troubles” in 1980s/1990s Northern Ireland, as well as the rhetoric of the political/cultural murals of this era. Outside of academics she writes short stories and poetry.

Email: smcasey@uwaterloo.ca

Sarah Casey is an MA student in Rhetoric and Communication Design. She graduated in 2022 from the University of Waterloo with a BA in Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication. Sarah has been a working writer for the past 15 years, producing everything from radio ads to government documents to brand guidelines and beyond. She is interested in the many ways humans manage to confuse and irritate one another with communication. In particular, she is interested risk society, public policy and trust, mis- and dis-information, and in the use of concrete/sensory rhetorics to reject dominant techno-scientific constructions of risk. 

Outside the classroom, you can find Sarah playing squash, adventuring with her family, or learning how to make stuff. She can go full Miss Marple with the knitting, but also loves to “lurk and learn” in online maker spaces. 

Profile forthcoming.

Email: riani.dewet@uwaterloo.ca

Riani de Wet is an MA student in the Literary Studies Program. She completed a BA in English and Psychology at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Her interests include African colonial/post colonial literature, the dynamics between literature and political/societal change, and oral literature and storytelling.

Email: h2eustac@uwaterloo.ca

Heather Eustace is an MA student in Experimental Digital Media who completed her BA in Fine Art at Emily Carr. Her research includes the effects of technological marginalization on social engagement, particularly in reference to older adults, and creative ways to overcome this marginalization, (such as therapeutic reminisce, storytelling and facilitation of social media engagement).  Ongoing work is focused on elaborating on this research and how it could inform automated machine learning methods.

Email: aaqfullerton@uwaterloo.ca

Ariel Fullerton is a master’s co-op student in the Literary Studies Program. She completed an honours English Literature BA from the University of Waterloo in 2019. She also completed a minor in French and received her Bed with a French Teaching specialization from the University of Western Ontario. Her research interests include ecocriticism, pedagogy, and French and English literature. Her other interests include spending time outdoors, reading, and creative writing. 

Email: bella.goudie@uwaterloo.ca

Bella Goudie is a master’s student in the Experimental Digital Media (XDM) program. She received her BA from the University of Waterloo in 2022 in Rhetoric and Literature Studies with a minor in Fine Arts. Her research interests include (but are not limited to) critical discourse analysis, rhetorical studies, and semiotics. Her other interests include hiking, camping, painting, and birding.

Profile forthcoming.

Email: mahanif@uwaterloo.ca

Ali Hanif is an MA student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design program. He completed his BA in Economics and English (Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication) from the University of Waterloo in 2022. His research interests include the history of rhetoric, especially Greek rhetoric, and the rhetoric of economics. Besides his studies, Ali spends his time practicing martial arts as well as reading Japanese and Russian Literature.

Email: sm3jafar@uwaterloo.ca

Mahum Jafari is currently completing her M.A. in Rhetoric and Communication Design, in the co-op stream. In June 2021, she received her Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Honours English, Literature and Rhetoric, as well as Legal Studies from UW. She also received a Diploma in French Studies, French Language II. This year she is serving as the Internal Communications Officer for SAGE. Her research interests include rhetorical pedagogy and the specific applications of critical discourse analysis on contemporary digital mediums. Her interests include creative writing and hiking.

Email: dbgriffi@uwaterloo.ca
Twitter: db_griffin

Danielle Jodway is a Master’s Co-op student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design stream. Her SSHRC-funded Master’s research examines the language used to discuss genetics and disability in British and American news discourse reporting on human germline engineering. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo in 2019 in Honours English Literature and Rhetoric, where she specialized in Intensive English and Digital Media Studies, and minored in Cognitive Science. Her other interests include linguistics, narratology, criminology, fashion design and watching her daughter discover the world. 

Email: af3martin@uwaterloo.ca

Alexander Martin is a MA student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design (co-op) program. He completed a BA at the University of Waterloo, majoring in Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication while minoring in History. Alexander is interested in the topic of social media and rhetoric. Specifically, how rhetoric becomes utilized amongst social media platforms to influences users. His future research interests concern this relationship and how rhetoric plays an important role in contemporary internet culture.

Email: lmcqueen@uwaterloo.ca

Logan McQueen is an MA Student in the Literary Studies program (MRP and Co-op). He completed his Honours BA in English Literature at the University of Windsor. Initially invested in public teaching, Logan pivoted into academics to pursue gothic/horror theory, women and gender studies, and Canadian poetry. He has worked extensively on-campus, with youth, and in marketing, but his passions lie mostly with experimental art and the macabre. These interests are currently merging as a project on the short fiction of Clive Barker, with an emphasis on body horror, transgressive sexuality, and the conception of “apocalyptic queerness.” He is, as of now, a full-time student, freelance writer, and amateur poet.

Email: sjmorgan@uwaterloo.ca

Sophie Morgan is a master’s student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design Program (MRP stream). She received her Honours BA from York University in 2022 in French Studies and Professional Writing with specializations in Digital Authoring and Organizational Writing. Her research interests focus on writing studies, composition pedagogy and literacy studies with a particular emphasis on coding as a form of literacy and writing in classroom spaces. She is also an honoured recipient of the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s and the President’s Graduate Scholarship. Beyond her studies, Sophie enjoys hiking, camping and photography. 

Email: eaoropeza@uwaterloo.ca

E Oropeza is a MA student in Rhetoric and Communication Design program (course-based stream). They graduated in 2019 from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Family Social Science. They are interested in the intersections between rhetoric, feminist research methodologies, affect, and the horror genre (in literature, film, and video games). Their other interests include music of all types and science fiction media.

Email: m3savage@uwaterloo.ca

Madeleine (Maddie) Savage is a Master of Arts co-op student in the Rhetoric Communication and Design program. Her research interests include women’s reproductive health, specifically analyzing hormonal birth control and its side effects. For her major research paper, she is conducting a survey on the rhetoric of oral contraceptives in advertising. In 2020, she received her Bachelor of Arts in English at Laurentian University where she specialized in Rhetoric and Media Studies.

Email: heather.shaw@uwaterloo.ca
LinkedIn: Heather Shaw
 
Heather Shaw is an MA coursework student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design program. She completed her undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in Communication Studies in 2009 and is excited to be continuing her studies. Heather works full-time at the University as a Program Manager and is studying on a part-time basis to explore concepts in communications, business, marketing, and psychology.

Email: m.slater@uwaterloo.ca

Máire Slater is a Master’s Co-op student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design stream. Her past work as a music teacher focused on the rhetoric in music that allows storytelling outside of language and strengthened her interest in the music and structure of language that work together to promote or undermine meaning. As well receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University in Honours English with a minor in Music, Máire also graduated from the Randolph College for the Performing Arts.

Email: JDSmith@uwaterloo.ca

Jay Smith is a master’s Thesis student in the English Literature Program. They received their Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from University of Calgary in 2022. They are academically interested in Queer Theory and Representation in modern media and developing fields of research like comics studies and interactive media.

Email: bstreppel@uwaterloo.ca

Bart Streppel is a master's co-op student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design Program. He received his BA from the University of Waterloo in 2021 in Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication with a specialization in Digital Media Studies. His interest in film, video games, and short story writing have led his research interests to collide on the front of narrative design and dissemination with special interest concerning the depiction and deconstruction of masculinity in digital media. His other interests consist of playing guitar, biking, and outdoor tent camping.

Email: k2upreti@uwaterloo.ca

Kriti Upreti is an MA co-op student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design stream. She received her BSc from the University of Toronto Mississauga with a double degree in Biology for Health Sciences & Professional Writing and Communication. Her research interests include rhetorical pedagogy, storytelling, literary multilingualism, and cinema including Italian neorealism. Her other interests include creative writing and kickboxing

Email:: ghvanderwoude@uwaterloo.ca

Greyson VanderWoude is an MA student in the Rhetoric and Communication Design program. He completed a BA in Literature and Rhetoric at the University of Waterloo. His research interests include propaganda studies and rhetorical studies. His personal interests range from reading free verse to lifting free weights. 

Email: j4vulic@uwaterloo.ca

Jelena Vulic (she/they) is a Master's co-op student in the Experimental Digital Media program. She completed her Bachelor of Fine and Applied Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2020 for the Game Design and Development program, with a minor in English. Though a coursework student, they have a continual passion in game studies, accessible design, queer studies, the rhetoric of storytelling and cultural studies, all of which have been reflected in the works produced throughout their inter-disciplinary academic career. 

In her spare time, Jelena enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, keeping up with game developers on Twitter, watching the latest piece of Star Wars media, and designing accessibility-friendly graphics.