Ellaha Pirzada '24
BA English
Minor in Studio Art

Where are you originally from?
I grew up in Islamabad, Pakistan, and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of 18.

On her major:
I majored in English Literature with a minor in studio art. Throughout my four years, I’ve had the honor of taking courses with incredible faculty in Department of English who recognized my passion for English Literature and nominated me into the English Honors program.

Favorite class: 
Dr. Timothy August’s Asian-American class was the most memorable, perhaps because of his emphasis on driving a compelling dialogue between the literary work we were studying and our thoughts and experiences.

I am also obliged to mention Jason Paradis, a great artist and professor, whose instruction was critical in pushing me to paint the most challenging but rewarding paintings.

 Awards and Accolades:
After taking a poetry class with Dr. Carmen Bugan, she pushed me to write more poetry and enter competitions. As a result , a poem of mine was published in Quilted Whispers, Poetry Nation’s Special Anthology Edition. I was also recently shortlisted for the Anthology Poetry Competition 2023.

I'm also a recipient of Evangelos and Foteini Tsirka Endowed Scholarship, Department of English Homer Goldberg Scholarship and Dr. N.S. Ramamurthy Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

Achievements:
My greatest achievement at Stony Brook was completing the requirements for the English Honors program within a year and developing my honors thesis Pup Fiction: Anthropomorphic Dogs in Adult Media.

Post-graduation plans:
After graduation, I will be joining the teacher corps for Teach For America at Phoenix. While teaching English to 7-12 grade, I will be earning my master’s in education at Arizona State University.

Clubs or organizations:
During my time here, I interned at the SBU Libraries, the University Scholars Program and The Statesman. I worked for the Writing Center and the Residential Safety Program on campus.