Alumni Stories
Taylor Tejada ’19 is an elementary school teacher and screenwriter. After Westmont, Taylor received his M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California’s prestigious School of Cinematic Arts. His master’s thesis was a feature-length script exploring the world of death metal from the perspective of a runaway teen. Currently, Taylor writes scripts inspired by his Peruvian and Quechuan heritage, where Latine and indigenous characters are forced to confront their pasts after making the biggest mistake of their lives. He also teaches English and Creative Writing. As a teacher, he hopes to embody everything that the Westmont English Department taught him– namely, that stories are the best thing in the world and that everyone has a story to share.
Caylie Cox ’21 adventured through the British Isles on England Semester, worked in Writers’ Corner, and completed a Major Honors Project. She was accepted on the strength of this writing sample into Texas Christian University’s Rhetoric and Composition Ph.D. program, where she received a fellowship and an extra grant for academic achievement. She now researches writing as storytelling while teaching first-year Composition at TCU. Caylie’s Westmont education prepared her well not only for the academic rigor of graduate school but also for keeping her faith strong in an unfamiliar context. She could not have asked for a better foundation for her dream of earning a Ph.D. and demonstrating Christ’s love through teaching others.
Career Pathways
Westmont English majors and minors take their enhanced abilities in reading, writing, and unpacking complex subjects into a variety of career pathways:
- Law
Teaching - ESL/EFL Education
- Creative Writing
- Publishing & Editing
- Journalism
- Screenwriting
- Corporate Communications
- Ministry
- Marriage & Family Therapy
- Technology & Innovation
- Human Resources
- Medicine
- Health Services Administration
- Grant-Writing
- Marketing
- Digital Content Creation
- Non-Profit Administration
- Social Entrepreneurship
- And More!
Faculty and Staff
Please join the English Department in welcoming Assistant Professor Jonathan Diaz to our faculty! Prof. Diaz, holds an MFA in poetry and is a PhD candidate at Baylor University. This fall, he will be teaching ENG-002 Composition, ENG-006 Studies in Literature: God and Neighbor in U.S. Literature, and ENG-044 Studies in World Literature: Latin American Literature in English Translation.
Please join us in welcoming back Professor Emeritus Randy VanderMey, who taught at Westmont from 1990 to 2022. He is returning to teach ENG-104 Modern Grammar and Advanced Composition with a focus on Artificial Intelligence tools.
Assistant Professor of English Rebecca McNamara is currently co-leading England Semester with Dr. John Blondell (Theatre Arts). Additionally, in July 2024, Dr. McNamara gave a lecture on "Teaching with (Un)certainty" in which she explored trauma-informed pedagogy for Chaucerian literature.
Facing the Falls, a short documentary co-produced by Westmont's Wendy Eley Jackson, was selected for the Academy Award-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival in summer 2024. From IMDB: "The film tells the story of international disability rights advocate and entrepreneur Cara Elizabeth Yar Khan. Deep in the throes of an aggressive, fatal muscle-wasting disease[...], Cara ventures out on a daring, 12-day expedition through the Grand Canyon."
Professor Emeritus of English Marilyn McEntyre has co-edited New Thoughts on Old Books: Why Read, Homer, Milton, or a Medieval Nun at a Time like This?, published by Cambridge Scholars in April 2023. This anthology contains chapters written by Paul Willis, Cheri Larsen Hoeckley, Randall VanderMey, and Candace Taylor.
The English Department recently acquired Race and Vision in the Nineteenth-Century United States, an anthology of essays edited by Shirley Samuels and published by Lexington Books in 2019. Assistant Professor Kya Mangrum published an essay within entitled "Beheld by the Eye of God: Photography and the Promise of Democracy in Frederick Douglass's The Hero Slave."
Program Requirements
Click on each link for course and program descriptions from the 2025-26 catalogue.
Course Descriptions
English Major
English Minor
Writing Minor
See college catalogue for our most recent minor requirements.
Sample Schedule
Fall
- ENG 7H, 60 or 90
Spring
- ENG 44, 45, or 60 (each of these can be repeated when offered with a different instructor or topic)
Fall
- ENG 44, 45, or a writing elective (ENG 87, 104, or 111)
Spring
- ENG 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, or 165 or another upper-division literature course to fulfill a core requirement (such as Literature before 1800, Single Author/Pair of Authors, Identity, or Literature of the Americas/Anglophone Literature)
- ENG 014, 101, or another elective
Fall
- Upper-division literature course to fulfill a core requirement (such as Literature before 1800, Single Author/Pair of Authors, Identity, or Literature of the Americas/Anglophone Literature)
- Upper-division writing elective (ENG 111, 104, 141, 142, or 143)
- Internship (ENG 190, APP 190), or equivalent work for Horizon, Phoenix, or Writers’ Corner
Spring
- Upper-division literature course to fulfill a core requirement (such as Literature before 1800, Single Author/Pair of Authors, Identity, or Literature of the Americas/Anglophone Literature)
- Upper-division literature or writing elective
- Internship (ENG 190, APP 190), or equivalent work for Horizon, Phoenix, or Writers’ Corner
Fall
- Upper-division literature course to fulfill a core requirement (such as Literature before 1800, Single Author/Pair of Authors, Identity, or Literature of the Americas/Anglophone Literature) or an upper-division writing elective course
- Internship (ENG 190, APP 190), or equivalent work for Horizon, Phoenix, or Writers’ Corner
Spring
- ENG 192 Capstone or 199 Major Honors
- Internship (ENG 190, APP 190), or equivalent work for Horizon, Phoenix, or Writers’ Corner
Global Opportunities
Westmont’s England Semester
Westmont’s Europe Semester
Westmont in Northern Europe
Food Systems & Food Writing: California, Iceland, Italy Mayterm
Artist in the City: New York City Mayterm
The Horizon
The Horizon, Westmont’s newspaper, is published by students each week and features news and views on a variety of issues and topics.
To inquire about contributing to the paper or serving on the staff, contact the editor-in-chief through the Horizon email horizon@westmont.edu.
Phoenix
The Phoenix is Westmont's literary, art, and music publication produced by students and featuring all student work.
The Phoenix publication is made available during the annual spring semester Phoenix Night, which also spotlights live performances of student original music. For more information, contact the editor-in-chief, Julia White.
Citadel
The Citadel, Westmont’s yearbook, is produced annually by students and features student portraits, the year's highlights, and honors for seniors.
The yearbook is free for all students and is made available to students at the end of the academic year. To inquire about serving on the staff or acquiring a yearbook, contact the editor-in-chief.