2024-2025 Honors Students

Sofia R. Aiello

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Sounding the “Red Alert”! Blood’s Passage from the Menstrual Corpus
Thesis Advisor: Lisa Lampert-Weissig

"In tackling a thirty-page analytical essay, I synthesized my entire education—as a transfer student, Literature/Writing major, and lifelong reader. I am enormously grateful for the mentorship of Professor Lisa Lampert-Weissig, and our meetings guided my many research rabbit holes into a cohesive argument with stakes. Through my participation in the Honors Program, I cultivated my interests in speculative fiction, menstrual advocacy, and the vampiric arts. I learned to implement organizational strategies and to trust my instincts while writing in conversation with myriad authors. Above all, I gained an appreciation of literary criticism as another form of creative writing."

Oluwakorede Tolulope Awosanya

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Deviant
Thesis Advisor: Silpa Mukherjee

"Unexpectedly, it wasn’t the process of writing my thesis that induced the most stress but rather coming to terms with finally finishing it. I’ve never thought beyond a deadline. I’ve avoided pouring myself into something enough to care about its journey once departed from me. It was always safer to not care. Being a part of this honors program was a much needed form of writer's therapy. Now, there’s no pit in my stomach when admitting that I do care about my writing. I’ll care and care some more."

Riley Begley

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Crownspawn
Thesis Advisor: Lily Hoàng

"I learned that I was capable of writing longer pieces and that writing will forever be something that I will love to do. Getting to work on my thesis every week was the highlight of my winter quarter. I will be forever grateful for this program!"

Rabiya Chaudry

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Italy, China and the Middle East: Uncovering the Culture of Fairy Tales
Thesis Advisor: Géraldine Fiss

"This was the most stressful things I’ve ever done and I don’t regrets any of it. My project went through so many changes and adaptations, but I will never not be proud of everything I accomplished."

Marcela E. Davies

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: The Chalice of Life
Thesis Advisor: Jac Jemc

"My experience with the Honors Program has been pure gold. I grew immensely under the guidance of Professor Hoang and Professor Jemc, along with the invaluable feedback from my workshop peers, Ryan and Miriya. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity, especially the chance to collaborate with my son, Noah, who illustrated my story, ‘The Chalice of Life’. As Maya Angelou said, ‘You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.’"

Ryan Durrett

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: ETOPIA!
Thesis Advisor: Brandon Som

Theo Erickson

Winner of the Sherley Williams Memorial Award in Literary Arts!

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: A Parable for All Occasions
Thesis Advisor: Anna Joy Springer

"The Honors Program gave me the opportunity to make progress on a project I'm deeply passionate about. During this program I was advised by Professor Anna Joy Springer, whose time and expertise I am grateful for. The Honors Program allowed me to workshop extensively with a small group of my peers, which was a wonderful experience that I will take with me as I continue into new writing communities."

Ichi Full

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: A Queery of Complicity in 1970s Japan
Thesis Advisor: Andrea Mendoza

"Being in the Honors Program gave me such a fantastic opportunity to work on a project that deeply matters to me and gave me ideas of how I would want to continue to develop the thesis into something more. Honors gave me a greater appreciation for theoretical work and cultural critiques after the hours upon hours of research. From being able to work with my amazing advisor and receiving helpful feedback and advice from her, to being able to hear from other honors students about their hard work on their projects, literature honors was my favorite aspect of UCSD."

Nicholas Hong

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: The Blue Frog Cried When It Ate The Abalone
Thesis Advisor: Lily Hoàng

LJ Hubbard

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Justice Delayed — How Court Awarded Attorney Fees Based on Historic Rates Discourage Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws
Thesis Advisor: Erin Suzuki

"I should have taken the blue pill."

Miriya Huie

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Heaven Below
Thesis Advisor: Jac Jemc

"The UCSD Literature/Writing Honors Program was a great way for me to build my skills, reflect on what I'd learned at UCSD, and make great strides towards what I hope to eventually be my first published novel. I really appreciated it as a chance to get closer to my peers, professors, and the ideal of what I want to be someday further along in my career."

Alex Lara

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: The Powder Room
Thesis Advisor: Lily Hoàng

"This program was really fun because I got to meet and work with such amazing and cool authors. I was able to expand my ideas and take risks with my writing. I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity to be part of this program."

Megan C Lee

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Eat Noodles for Longevity
Thesis Advisor: Joo Ok Kim

"I would first like to thank Professor Joo Ok Kim for her guidance and support, and I would not have succeeded in this undertaking without her.

The Honors Program was just as much of an enjoyable experience as it was a learning one, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. I learned a lot about my own writing process and goals throughout the drafting, fleshing out, and finishing of my story. This is knowledge that I will carry with me for all my literary undertakings going forward. Exciting!!"

Cydney Macon

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Going Natural: An Essay Collection
Thesis Advisor: Casandra Lopez

"The Honors Program was a challenge worth taking! Through this program I found a new voice and style within myself. Particularly, writing about Black culture in a way that's effective was a great pleasure and something I'll continue to do for the rest of my life."

Maxine Mah

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: 찹쌀꽈배기
Thesis Advisor: Nguyen Tan Hoang

"The Honors Program not only connected me with Literature faculty and taught me discipline, determination, and hard work throughout the year, it also opened me to a beautiful community of other writers who enjoy art just as much as I do. I owe a huge thank you to Professor Lily Hoang for teaching the capstone course and believing in us to write this project as well as my advisor Professor Hoang Nguyen whose guidance helped make my project what it is today. Thank you to the Literature faculty and congratulations everyone!"

Elise G. Marino

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: The Heart is Your Life Points
Thesis Advisor: Kathryn Walkiewicz

"I'm incredibly grateful to have been a part of the Literature Honors Program. This course helped me gain further confidence in knowing that there are others who see writing and literary analysis as a vehicle to understand our world and discover new possibilities, like I do. I'm proud to have brought the world of video game storytelling into the realm of literary analysis, and with the research I did as part of this project, I'm reassured that future generations will continue to seek out stories as a means not just of understanding and connection, but also transformation."

Grace K R Morton

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Feminist Contemporary Gothic: The Horror of the Modern Woman's Reality
Thesis Advisor: Ariana Ruiz

"Receiving the opportunity to test the waters of graduate research as an undergrad has been extremely fulfilling. Getting to conduct a deep dive into a subject matter I truly love like the Gothic literary genre and research it from its origins all the way to the present led me through many interesting findings and showed me many authors who I had never even considered to be "Gothic" writers before as such. Being able to be a part of the Honors Program has given me a deeper appreciation for how expansive the world of literature truly is."

Rumi Sidhu Petersen

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Portraits
Thesis Advisor: Brandon Som

"Coming from a theatre background, the act of writing can feel very solitary. I'm so grateful to the Honors Program for demonstrating how community emerges on its own when writers work in close proximity. The workshop group I was assigned in fall quarter became a crucial support system, and I loved watching each piece transform from idea to words to fully fledged story. Congratulations to my fellow honors students, it's been a great year."

Ryan Pocinich

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Boys
Thesis Advisor: Jac Jemc

"All thanks to Professor Jemc and Hoang for their guidance this quarter. The Honors Program forced me to actually…well…write. And for that I am so thankful!"

Jasmine Ramirez-Motta

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Donde La Sol Conoce La Mar
Thesis Advisor: Amy Sara Carroll

"I gained amazing insight in learning the process of drafting, working with an editor, and knowing the audience that I want to write to."

Sarhamaritza L. Rojas-Alvarez

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: The Train
Thesis Advisor: Marco Wilkinson

"Writing my honors thesis was like climbing up a mountain with only a faint idea of what I wanted to reach. It was a slow and painful experience. This project challenged me in ways I couldn't imagine and probably taught me more about myself and my capabilities as a writer than any other experience could ever have. Writing is something you do alone, but the advice I got and the things I learned as I wrote my fiction piece for this program will stay with me, all the way through my future writing path."

Gabriela Ruelas

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: I Sucked The Bones Clean: An Extraction of Flavors and Affects
Thesis Advisor: Ariana Ruiz

"I wish I could have taken a scan of my brain before and after working in the Honors Program--I can guarantee it gained so many wonderful little wrinkles by the end of my time in the program. Working so closely with Professor Ruiz was such a restorative experience for the writer version of me and the version of me that lives day to day. I am extremely grateful that this was not an experience in which I blindly gave myself away to readers, but rather owned more and more of myself as I continued writing. #AbsolutelyNoTranslationsAreAllowed!!!!!!!!!!"

Sara Schibuola

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Crafting California: A Comparative Analysis Between Joan Didion's "Where I Was From" and Deborah Miranda's "Bad Indians"
Thesis Advisor: Casandra Lopez

"Participating in the Literature Honors Program my senior year was a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to research a topic of my choice, with the help of my advisor, Professor Casandra Lopez. I had never completed a project of this size before, and it was incredibly rewarding from start to finish. Thank you to my classmates and professors for encouraging me, and of course Deborah Miranda and Joan Didion for writing about the state I am honored to call home."

Keiki Sunderland

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Dripping Quills: A Graphic Ecology
Thesis Advisor: Erin Suzuki

"The Honors Program gave me a valuable glimpse into the world of professional writers and dedicated hobbyists. The process was near-exhaustingly introspective, but a certain magic I didn’t really recognize within myself kept me moving through pages every morning. I am so grateful to my advisor Erin Suzuki and my capstone instructor Lily Hoàng for believing in my writing and for investing so much spirit in me. Their guidance throughout this process has encouraged me to identify with my peers as a community of writers and creatives that expands far beyond campus grounds."

Lauren Taylor

Winner of the Burckhardt Honors Award in Literary/Cultural Criticism!

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Permeating Racial Boundaries: The Multiracial’s Deconstruction of Colonial Racialization Via the Third Space
Thesis Advisor: Andrea Mendoza

"Being a part of the Honors Program allowed me to explore my research interests and find my niche. Having the opportunity to work with my fellow passionate peers and faculty advisors inspired me in my own academic journey and helped me push through despite the difficulties. Writing my thesis was by far the most challenging project I've untaken in my undergraduate career, but it has also been the most rewarding."

Meily Tran

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Writing with Sound and Image: Animated Music Videos and Experiments in Contemporary Literature
Thesis Advisor: Nadia Villafuerte

"I'm grateful for the opportunity the Honors Program gave me to challenge myself. Moreso, I am grateful to myself for working up the energy and courage to take on that challenge. I never thought I'd be able to pull off writing fifty pages, but when writing about something you're passionate about, the whole endeavor becomes that much more worthwhile. Writing about a field with so little research was as difficult as it was thrilling---thank you so much to my advisor Professor Villafuerte for her guidance, and thanks for the enthusiasm of all the people around me!"

Alexis Grace Trevizo

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Between the Lines: A Critical Perspective of Failure and the Formation of Identity in Bless Me, Ultima
Thesis Advisor: Ariana Ruiz

"This was one of the most difficult project I have undertaken so far, and it was such a wonderful experience. This thesis was incredibly challenging and pushed me to my limits, and then pushed me even farther. It helped me understanding critical writing, developing my researching skills, and how my own experiences can lend itself into my writing. I cannot express how grateful I am to this program and to everyone who helped me along the way!"

James Marie Turner

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: The Three of Us Don’t Know (Each other)
Thesis Advisor: Anna Joy Springer

"My Honors Program Experience here at UCSD has taught me to refine my writing process and work collaboratively with peers that are now close friends. Most importantly, this experience has taught me the about my identity and how it connects with my family and their history."

Chayla Jaye Palsis Venzon

Literature/Writing major

Thesis Title: Last Time
Thesis Advisor: Anna Joy Springer

"Writing the Honors Thesis was a vulnerable and difficult practice, but I'm thankful that I was able to do it. A special shoutout to Theo Erickson, James Turner, Anna Joy Springer, and Lily Hoàng for their support throughout this process!"

Risa Wendel

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Zadie Smith’s Four Dimensional Chess: Vernacular Cosmopolitanism in The Wife of Willesden Challenges Collective Representation and Gentrification
Thesis Advisor: Ameeth Vijay

"Being a part of the Honors program is one of the greatest experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Through the process, I not only learned how to conduct academic research and writing, but also proved to myself that I can keep pushing my limits. Completing my Honors Thesis, which I never would have imagined I would have written when I first started at UCSD, was such a rewarding experience. I am deeply grateful for the guidance that I received from my thesis advisor and support from my cohort and professors in the literature department."

Anna Wohlhieter

Literatures in English major

Thesis Title: Dystopia, Nature, and Dualism Entanglement in the Meaning of the Human in Klara and the Sun
Thesis Advisor: Devin M. Garofalo

"While writing this thesis was a challenge, I found the research and writing process to be incredibly rewarding. I was able to engage with ideas and topics that were new and exciting to me and I will take what I learned with me as a continue to grow as a scholar. I am very grateful for this experience and I learned a lot about myself as a person, a researcher, and a writer. I am thankful for my advisor, my peers, and my family for supporting me through this process."

Congyuan Yu

World Literature & Culture major

Thesis Title: Snow Crash: The Dissolution and Reformation of Habermas Public Sphere
Thesis Advisor: Ping Zhu