ASU English celebrates '25-'26 grads and award-winners
By Kristen LaRue-Sandler — May 29, 2026
The ASU Department of English offered congratulations to academic year 2025-2026 graduates and award-winners at a recent reception on May 12.
Pulitzer winner Mitchell Jackson, the John O. Whiteman Dean's Distinguished Professor of English at ASU, gave the faculty address, in which he declared that acting with integrity was one of the most important virtues. Using his own difficult experiences as a jumping off point, Jackson discussed the work of Yale Law Professor Stephen L. Carter, particularly Carter’s essay “The Insufficiency of Honesty.”
“It is my deep and sincere wish that no matter your journey, your major has inspired you to promote reading, champion critical thought, engage in discourse, and caretake language however you can,” Jackson said. “But maybe most of all, I hope you will live the three steps of integrity and live it even when it's tough. Live it — especially — when it's tough.”
Jackson's presentation was followed by remarks from spring 2026 Dean's Medalist for English Emerson (Sheyla) Amaya, who thanked the department and mentors and helpers for their support. Amaya’s presentation focused on what they had learned about the creative life.
“Writing is not about certainty,” Amaya said. “It is about persistence. It is about choosing again and again to sit with yourself long enough to understand what you are trying to say, and then having the courage to say it anyway.”
Speaking of plans to join Teach for America in the fall, Amaya offered a heartfelt “thank you,” as well as an exhortation: “I'm incredibly grateful for the chance to give back and to become the kind of support I once needed. So wherever you go after this, into classrooms, into careers, into spaces that do not yet know your name, take your voice with you.”
After remarks, English Chair Nush Powell introduced members of the Sanders family, whose recent $50,000 endowment funded the Michael V. Sanders Memorial Scholarship. The student winner of the inaugural Sanders scholarship was introduced as well.
The event culminated with the presentation of gift cards donated by Changing Hands Bookstore to all graduates in attendance. Changing Hands is a local independent business co-founded in 1974 by ASU English alum Gayle Shanks.
The event was part of a week of celebrations at ASU, including multiple special ceremonies and a commencement speech by actor and environmentalist Harrison Ford, culminating in two convocations held by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on May 15 and 16. Graduating students from the Department of English participated in the Maroon Ceremony on May 15.
The Department of English congratulates its hard-working, high-achieving students and wishes them well in their next endeavors.
Images at top, from left to right: Nush Powell, Mitchell Jackson, Emerson Amaya, and Armando Angulo with members of the Sanders family. Photos by Ashley Sorensen.