Katie Amundsen was a solid writer coming out of high school, but when someone asked her four years later how much she improved at Lakeland College, she chuckled.
“I look at my writing during my first semester at Lakeland, and I just cringe,” the 2015 Lakeland graduate said. “I learned so much at Lakeland from all of the professors and my fellow writing students.”
Now the student is about to become a teacher. Well, actually, she’ll be a student and a teacher. Amundsen is at Wichita State University in Kansas, where for the next three years she will work on her master of fine arts (MFA) in creative writing with an emphasis in poetry while serving as a graduate teaching assistant.
Thanks to her tremendous talent and strong letters of recommendation from Lakeland College Fessler Professor of Creative Writing and Poet in Residence Karl Elder; Meg Albrinck, the college’s vice president for academic affairs, dean of the college and professor of literature and writing; and former associate professor of composition Signe Jorgenson, Amundsen’s tuition will be waived. In addition, she’ll receive a stipend to help cover other expenses.
Elder started what has become a pipeline from Lakeland’s writing program to Wichita State’s when he earned his MFA in creative writing more than four decades ago. Years later, Jodie Liedke, a 2007 Lakeland graduate and current assistant professor of composition at the college, earned her MFA from Wichita State. Amundsen said she’s honored to follow in their footsteps.
“They were both very influential when it came to me applying, and I’m so glad they were,” she said. “Karl told me all about the Wichita State program and helped me pick out my best poems to submit, and Jodie helped me with the application process and told me about the best restaurants in Wichita.”
Amundsen applied to five graduate programs and was accepted by four, two of which offered her funding. She is excited to begin teaching at WSU while continuing to hone her craft.
After graduating from Sheboygan South High School, Amundsen discovered that life doesn’t always follow a straight path. She chose Marquette University, but realized rather quickly it wasn’t for her.
“It just didn’t work, didn’t fit,” she recalled. “The size of the school was overwhelming, and I was homesick. I didn’t really get to know any of the other writing students or professors.”
She transferred to Lakeland, found a home, thrived and graduated with a double major in English and writing.
“I worked so well with all of the professors and all of them had such a profound impact on me,” she says.
Amundsen remembers her adrenaline pumping when she participated in her first introduction to poetry workshop.
“I had never been in an environment like that,” she said. “Just knowing the other students could tear my work apart was scary and exciting at the same time. But everyone was so helpful.”
Katie interned for Stoneboat Literary Journal http://www.stoneboatwi.com/ and dove deep into helping select and edit works from among many submissions. Even after her internship was complete, she continued to serve Stoneboat “for fun” as an associate editor. She also proudly completed her senior project, a collection of poems titled “Funetics,” and this past winter she read her favorite pieces to a wide-eyed group of middle school students in Sheboygan.
Eventually, she’d like to teach creative writing, specifically poetry, at a college or university. “That’s THE dream,” she said. Until then, over the next few years, she’ll strive to follow the examples set by the Lakeland professors who left such a positive impression on her.
“They know everything, and it’s amazing how they pass on that wisdom to their students,” she said. “Obviously I realize they don’t literally know everything, but when you’re a student and you’re looking up to them, you realize just how valuable their knowledge is. The fact that they share that knowledge so freely is awesome.”