Founded in 2016, the English Undergraduate Association (EUA) seeks to connect English majors and potential majors across Rice's residential colleges. The EUA hosts social and professional events to encourage bonding between members of the English major and to provide them with resources for their various postgraduate goals. Previous events the EUA has hosted include study breaks, alumni panels, graduate school panels, and book drives. To stay notified of EUA events, email one of the officers below asking to be added to the EUA listserv, and check out our Facebook Page. Join us!
Who We Are
Katherine Jeng (she/her/hers) is the co-president for the 2024-2025 EUA. She is a senior at Hanszen majoring in English and Social Policy Analysis, as well as pursuing a minor in Politics, Law, & Social Thought. Her favorite genres are romance, memoirs, and poetry. She can be found procrastinating on her senior project by hunting for good quality matcha, thrifting, and attending a concert. She strongly believes that English majors are the coolest people on campus and became president of the EUA to selfishly befriend them all. She can be reached at ksj5@rice.edu.
Angela An (she/her/hers) is a junior at Hanszen studying English, and she is co-president for the 2024-2025 EUA. Her favorite genre is contemporary fiction, but is always open to any recommendations in any genre. She is excited to connect with other English-interested undergraduates. She can be reached at aja16@rice.edu.
Ellie Cha (she/her/hers) is a senior at Hanszen College majoring in English. She’s incredibly excited to be this year’s EUA vice president and coordinate book exchanges and career panels that support the many talented English majors. You can find her reading historical fiction/dystopian fiction at Herring Hall or feverishly writing her essays at Fondren's 2nd floor! Please reach out for any English major-related or research-related questions or if you just want to chat! She cannot wait to meet everyone throughout the school year and help embolden the strong humanities family! She can be reached at ebc4@rice.edu.
Riley V. Combes (he/him/his) is a senior at Brown studying English, and he is the secretary of the 2024-2025 Rice EUA. His favorite things to do are to wallow in contemporary literary novels and watch reality TV with his roommates. Riley hopes to continue to make the EUA a space where the coolest majors at Rice can congregate and admire each other’s amazing taste in fashion, music, and of course, books. He also aspires to start that book club at some point! He can be reached at rvc2@rice.edu.
Lana Nguyen (she/her/hers) is a sophomore at Baker studying English and Education with a minor in History. When she is not chatting with friends or reading a book (she has plenty of recommendations), you can find her speed-writing essays on Fondren’s fourth floor. Lana is beyond excited to be EUA’s treasurer for the 2024-2025 school year! She can be reached at ln21@rice.edu.
Essence Ratliff (she/her/hers) is a senior at McMurtry College, and co-editor of The Wild Grain. She is majoring in English with a Creative Writing Concentration, and minoring in Sociology and Anthropology. She can be found reading and writing outside of Kraft Hall (only when the weather is nice though). Essence is super excited to be one of the co-editors-in-chief this year, and she hopes to spread awareness of The Wild Grain through different events such as an Open Mic Night, and getting student input on what they want to see on the platform! She can be reached at efr1@rice.edu.
Basma Bedawi (she/her/hers) is a senior at Hanszen studying English with a Creative Writing concentration, Sociology, and Social Policy Analysis. In her free time, she can be found reading (and writing) memoirs and fiction at coffee shops around Houston or DJing on-air for KTRU, which is one of her personality traits. Basma is so grateful for the opportunity to be co-editor-in-chief of The Wild Grain and hopes to make the site an even better platform for uplifting the work and experiences of English students across Rice campus! She can be reached at bab18@rice.edu.
Faculty Sponsor
Krista Comer is the new advisor to the EUA and happy to see the great events and community of majors! She teaches classes like Houston: Out on the Town, The US West and its Others, Youth Culture, and Contemporary American Literature and Culture. As a researcher, she cares about issues of place and how people notice (or don’t notice) the places they live or are from. You can see her faculty bio here. In a world of so much movement, noticing places we might call "home" helps us to think in surprising ways about identity, politics, and our own role in making the world more just for everyone.