Our ambassadors gain:

• free swag
• resume-building
• professional development
• real-world experience
• advocacy for their major
• community with other JMU English Student Ambassadors

My name is Bella Bledzki, I use she/her pronouns and I am a junior English major with a Creative Writing minor. I became a writer because I love letting my imagination run wild and being able to live through experiences and worlds that don’t exist in my everyday life. I am currently querying literary agents for my YA fantasy novel and would love to live as a full-time author one day. I love being an English major because it has taught me so many skills besides just strengthening my writing. This major has taught me how to analyze, think critically, expand my creativity, research carefully and extensively, and understand/use feedback. Besides deepening my love for reading and writing, I am more confident in my abilities as a future employee and entrepreneur.

My name is Charlie and my pronouns are she/her. I am a Sophomore English major and an Environmental Humanities minor. I am especially interested in finding out more about the world through literature and using writing to showcase the differences in our environment. I plan to use what I’m learning here at JMU to help the world's wildlife by spreading awareness through writing. I’m also an editor for the Iris Literature and Arts magazine! 

Hello! My name is Gilli, my pronouns are they/she and I am a Senior English Major at JMU. My concentration is British Literature, and my two minors are World Literature and Creative Writing. I am a member of Sigma Tau Delta and Phi Beta Kappa, as well! My favorite aspects of the English major are conducting personal scholarly research to craft academic papers, partaking in seminar discussions around all types of writing, and talking to all the awesome professors! For creative writing, I love worldbuilding, historical fiction, and narrative poetry. I am interested in and horrified by how colonialism and the English language “infects” literature globally in history.  My interests vary by the month, but I have recently been into the horror genre and the complexities of vampire fiction. Outside of the major, I enjoy character designing for personal projects and doing research and planning for a high fantasy series I hope to pursue someday! My goal with this major is to stay academia-adjacent and connected to the liberal arts in my career.

Hi! My name is Samantha Johnson, my pronouns are she/her/hers.  I am an English major and WRTC minor and I will graduate in the Fall of 2024. I recently got into crocheting and have been doing that as well as reading (ofc!) and thrifting in my free time. I love the English major and am excited to be able to share it with others!

My name is Kat Mauser, an English major with minors in honors studies and secondary education and an endorsement in journalism. I'm a sophomore ('26) who enjoys writing for the school newspaper, hanging out with friends, and visiting my home in Maryland during breaks from school. I'm the coordinator for the English Student Ambassador, and I'm so excited to be returning for the second year. GO DUKES!

Hey! My name is Caroline McKeown, I am an English major and graduating 2026. I love my dog, coffee and music! I am hoping to one day get into the publishing side of English after graduating!

Graduation date: December 2023

Major: English

I'm from Vietnam and currently a senior in English. I love reading novels, my favorite one is Little Fire Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I also love writing, especially articles, book reviews, and short scripts. 

My favorite quote is: "What happens when people open their hearts? They get better." -Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood. 

Charles-Nicolas Owen currently attends James Madison University, majoring in English and minoring in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. He is passionate about art, literature, language, and the construction and utility of narratives. He intends to graduate from JMU in May of 2024 and pursue a career in teaching abroad in Francophone countries.

My name is Jules Perez (They/Them) and I am a double major in English/Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communications, with concentrations in creative writing and publishing! I am graduating in 2026, and after college I hope to work as a fiction editor and novelist. In my free time I love to run, watch horror movies, and spend time outdoors!

My name is Kaleigh Phelps, and I am a senior English major at JMU with a minor in Secondary Education. After graduation I hope to be a middle school English teacher! I have loved every moment of my English degree here at JMU, my favorite classes have been African American Poetry and Dystopian Women’s Literature. 

I am a sophomore English major, and I will be graduating in 2024. I also have a creative writing minor, since I hope to work for a publishing firm post graduation. In my free time I love to journal in my favorite notebook, braid my friends' hair, and keep story ideas in my phone notes.

Graduation Year: 2027

My name is Valezka Sarmiento (she/her), I am an English major with a minor in Pre-Professional Secondary Education and a second major in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication. I've always loved reading novels and I'm excited to see all the different kinds of literature I'll be reading here at JMU! Even though I'm a freshman, I feel like I've already gained a much wider perspective on English as a whole. I can't wait to continue taking classes in a subject so near and dear to my heart. You can find me constantly adding books to my TBR even though I already have so much to read. My favorite authors are Jojo Moyes and Sally Rooney. Outside of reading I love to watch period dramas and listen to music. There's nothing like the beauty of literature and I hope to become a teacher one day so I can inspire a passion for English in others.

Pronouns: she/her

Year of Graduation: 2025

Hello! My name is Maya Swift, and I am a recent transfer to James Madison University from New Jersey! I am a junior majoring in English and minoring in Environmental Humanities, for I love to write about the ever-changing environment on our planet. My dream career would be to write for a nonprofit organization about the preservation and importance of America’s National Parks. As an English major, I love being able to think and read critically and hope to be able to apply this to analytically studying and writing about the environment in my future. I am so excited to be a part of the English Student Ambassadors program and share my passion for reading, writing, and thinking critically!