Critics 

Teresa Navarro just recently learned how to read and now she is learning how to count to ten. She still hasn’t learned how to tie her shoes and not to light a microwave on fire. In reality, Teresa Navarro is a junior in the English program at the University of New Haven and spends her time watching outdated Sci-fi, cartoons, and a lot of foreign television. She writes for funsies and for this Essay Workshop class. She hopes one day to see space and to pet the world’s biggest dog.

Sam Lindsay was recognized by Guinness World Records for “Most Repetitive Phrases in Writing” in 2014.  Her love of puns, procrastinating, animation, and sarcasm exceeds beyond the realm of what is considered “normal.”  She enjoys spending time listening to her ever-growing collection of illegally downloaded music, watching bad Korean dramas, and making sure that everyone knows that she’s an English major. (Did you know she’s an English major?)  In ten years she hopes to see herself become a novel editor who has acquired the entire content of the Library of Congress for her mansion in Italy.

Lauren Roberts is a Junior at the University of New Haven studying English with a concentration in Education. Until 3 months ago she had never written a proper review of anything and never thought she ever would. She spends the time that she isn’t writing essays reading books and watching Netflix and trying not to panic about her future. Speaking of the future if all works out in the next few years she hopes to still be school but this time helping the future children learn and discover the joy of reading. 

Jasmine Penny is a novel-devouring, pizza-subsisting, New York Mets-obsessed English major. She is fluent in sarcasm, and frequently flaunts her command of the language.  In her spare time, Jasmine can be found in various comfortable locations playing guitar or binge watching TV shows on Netflix. She is a big fan of things and other stuff.

Leann Boisvert is a proud Newingtonian, born and raised in the wonderfully seasonable state of Connecticut. At home, Leann dedicates her time to remedial office jobs for minimum wage and wandering around Stew Leonard's. At school, she works towards her ultimate goal of becoming a high school English teacher and Director (and eventually a Superintendent where she will have ultimate control and promote STEAM). When Leann is up to her eyeballs in homework, she enjoys procrastinating in every way imaginable. Her favorite ways to procrastinate involve rereading books, crocheting scarves, and watching horrible Christmas movies on Netflix. 

Nysia Ford was deemed an English major trader when she switched to Criminal Justice instead. This college thing is just a cover up because what she is really striving for is too live up to her inner-vampire-self and travel around the world with the help of her telepathic abilities. To cover up her true identity, she plans on working in the juvenile and family justice system. She is a Netflix loving New York-ah, that is obsessed with drawing/painting random inspirational pictures, and watching amazing horror movies and silly cartoons.  

Katelyn Sahagian is not a real reviewer, just a person who is extremely opinionated and outspoken. She is a sophomore at University of New Haven in the English program. She enjoys writing in general, but loves it when she can influence the way others think about certain topics. She is a bit of a nerd when it comes to many topics like Superheroes and Musical Theater, but she owns it proudly. Cats are something she will never not love simply because they are cruel and cuddly all at the same time. Katelyn longs to write something that will cause her readers to think about the topic, even if they completely disagree with her.

Shannon Whitaker, as opposed to everyone else in this class, is a senior Theatre Arts major. She enjoys singing show tunes and watching as much Netflix as possible. When Shannon is not in Connecticut educating herself she is at home, in Maryland with the weirdest and coolest family ever. As a Theatre Arts major, this course started as a petrifying English nightmare to her. However, she grew to love this class and the challenges that accompany writing reviews. This Essay Writing course has helped her expand her writing skills and the ability to hold conversation with English majors. It has been a great semester in this course and Shannon looks forward to using the skills she acquired here towards other courses and inevitable debates that she finds herself in. In the meantime, Netflix is calling. Some of her written reviews are available on the left to read.  

Ryan Geonzon used to be an engineering major. At the end of his freshman year, he decided to toss away all chances of employment and become an English major instead. Apart from reviews and academic essays, Ryan also writes poetry and snarky comments on Facebook status updates. One of the titles he holds is "the Beautiful Poet," which was awarded by a group of tipsy 20-somethings in a hotel room once. He amazingly does not only write. He also goes to anime conventions and dresses up as different characters. One time he made a wig out of floral wire, hot glue, hair wefts, and duct tape. Ryan does not use Netflix, but Netflix must be mentioned somewhere in his bio since it appears in everyone else's.