Here, I interview Mikaela Shea, a student in my cohort at Columbia. Like myself, Mikaela is in her thesis hours.

What drew you to Columbia in the first place?

There are some really successful and talented writers on staff, such as Joe Meno, Audrey Niffenegger, Nami Mun, Mort Castle, and Sam Weller, to name a few. I wanted to try life in a bigger city and Chicago and Columbia’s urban campus were perfect for me.Can you describe your experience here somewhat?There were some amazing classes and professors and some not-so-amazing classes and professors, but that’s what you’ll find at any program. I would make the same decision to come to Columbia all over again because of the professors that pushed me, taught me, encouraged me, and continue to do so.

I know you started work on things you’re still developing early on. Can you talk a bit about the genesis of your thesis? Where did it start, how has it developed, and where are you at with it?

My thesis is a novel, which began as a short story in Ann Hemenway’s Fiction I class. I worked on it throughout my time at Columbia and am now about 50,000 words in. I am very fortunate to have Audrey Niffenegger as my thesis advisor. Later this month, I will begin a residency at Ragdale in Lake Forest, IL, and hope to finish the first draft there!

I work with you on a literary journal that you conceived in 2013 with the help of your husband.  Can you talk a little about that?

The journal is called 3Elements Review and is a quarterly themed journal. Each quarter, we establish three “elements” that must be in your story or poem. We’ve published many successful writers such as: Susan Tepper, Ben Tanzer, Ryan W. Bradley, and Cyn Vargas, and have discovered many wonderful emerging writers as well. We had to research many literary journals in Jotham Burrello’s Fiction Writers and Publishing class and that really helped me solidify what I wanted 3Elements to be. I learned what worked and what didn’t. I feel that the presentation is extremely important and I’m thankful to have a husband who is talented in the design field and supportive of the journal. Most of our success has come from reaching out to writers on Facebook, Twitter, and having listings on sites such as Poets & Writers and Duotrope.

Thanks for your candor and answers.

Thank you for finding me interesting enough to blog about.