How Three English Majors Are Influencing Creative Writing, Medicine, & Journalism
by Shuta Kiba
Ajanaé Dawkins, BA English Creative Writing, 2018
Ajanaé Dawkins is a poet, conceptual artist and theologian. She works through poetry, visual art, performance, and audio to explore the politics of faith, grief, and intimate relationships between Black women. She co-hosts the VS Podcast with Brittany Rogers at the Poetry Foundation.
As a theologian, she blends cultural criticism, memoir, and theology as autotheory to consider the relationship between Black church history, spirituality, and creation. Her work has appeared in the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, The Rumpus, Prairie Schooner, and more. Her exhibition, No One Teaches Us How To Be Daughters, debuted at Urban Arts Space in 2024. Her chapbook, BLOOD-FLEX, won the New Delta Review prize. Ajanaé is an Elizabeth George Grant Recipient and Writing Freedom Fellow. She was the Taft Museum’s 2022 Duncanson Artist in Residence and Ohio State University’s 2024 UAS Community Artist in Residence. She is a fellow of Torch Literary, The Watering Hole, and Pink Door.
Nirupamaa (Niru) Sivanushanthan, BS English + Zoology, 2015
Niru Sivanushanthan is a family medicine resident physician in Sacramento, California. Her areas of focus include chronic disease management, LGBTQ+ medicine, and sports medicine. She is privileged to work with all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds in family medicine.
During her undergraduate years at UW-Madison, she was also a Writing Fellow, and worked with faculty and students on rhetoric and teaching, and presented her research at the International Writing Center Association Conference in 2013. She received her M.D. at Ross University School of Medicine in 2021.
Her English degree nurtured her passion for communication and advocacy and allowed her to do the same for her patients. In 2022, she was an Emerging Leader Award Recipient through the American Academy of Family Physicians for her work in social needs screening in primary care.
Sammy Gibbons, JBA English Creative Writing + Journalism, 2019
Sammy Gibbons is a journalist and fiction writer living in Brooklyn, New York. She originated the role of National Network Print Planner and served as a culture reporter for the USA TODAY Network Atlantic Region. She was named Rookie of the Year by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association for her work as the sole news reporter for the Door County Advocate.
At UW, Sammy spent most of her time in The Daily Cardinal office which she led as Editor-in-Chief her senior year. She was also a DJ at WSUM. Her short story “Muse” was published in Illumination Journal’s Spring 2019 edition.
Her journalism is primarily featured in USA TODAY and its local affiliates. Recently, her reporting about the reality of transgender athletes was recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. Sammy’s short story “Directions” was published in Sinister Wisdom: A Multicultural Lesbian Literary & Art Journal’s Summer 2020 edition.
Nomination Process:
The Early Career Alumni Award recognizes UW-Madison English alumni who have demonstrated exceptional success in their chosen field within the first ten years after obtaining their degree. This can be demonstrated in several ways. Examples include, but are not limited to, professional achievements, contributions to society, service, or support of the University of Wisconsin.
The honorees demonstrate the value that their English education has had on their lives and the rewarding paths that an English major may take initially upon graduation.
All nominations will be considered by a selection committee, including representatives from the English department faculty and staff. Self-nominations are welcome.
Submit nomination by completing this form.
Each year, recipient(s) will be recognized at the annual English Awards Ceremony in April.