Meet Kaitlynn Sass

Kaitlynn Sass is the 2022-2024 Student Advisor for Sigma Tau Delta and a PhD student in the Literature and Criticism Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she studies multimodal LGBTQIA+ literature and media. She holds a BA in English from Clarion University and an MA in Composition and Literature from IUP. Kaitlynn served as the 2016-2017 Eastern Region Student Representative and then went on to hold the Student Advisor position from 2018-2020. She was the 2021 recipient of the William C. Johnson Distinguished Scholarship Award. She is passionate about nonprofit work and about advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights.

1. I chose to become an English Major because I had an incredible ninth grade English teacher who made me fall in love with learning. She inspired me to want to become a teacher and show other people how much fun learning about English can be.
2. My favorite part of being an English Major is learning about all of the different applications for the work that we do. I never would’ve guessed that I would spend most of my time in my PhD program studying graphic novels and video games!
3. The last book I read was Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree.
4. My favorite book is Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.

   

5. A book character I identify with is Meggie Folchart from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.
6. The last book I bought was The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune, but I have not yet read it.
7. My favorite book to movie adaptation is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
8. I’m both a reader and a writer.
9. My favorite style of writing is creative nonfiction, especially in short story form.
10. My go-to children’s book is Corduroy, by Don Freeman.
11. My favorite childhood memory is going to my grandmother’s house every Sunday afternoon for lunch with my whole family.

    

12. Growing up, I was sure I would be an English teacher.
13. My first job was selling admission tickets at my local county fair.
14. My dream job is starting and running a nonprofit organization.
15. I like to spend my free time traveling; cuddling up with a good with with my cat, Pumpkin; and having afternoon tea with my best friends..
16. The destination at the top of my travel bucket list is Amsterdam.
17. The literary place I’d most like to visit is The Shire.
18. If I could move anywhere in the world, I’d live in Oslo, Norway.
19. If I was stranded on a desert island, the three things I would bring with me are a fishing rod, sunscreen, and a hammock.
20. The one song I could listen to on repeat is “Way Less Sad,” by AJR.
21. The best gift I ever received was a script for the pilot episode of Stranger Things signed by the whole cast.
22. The best gift I’ve ever given is a digital portrait of my best friend’s cat, made to look like the cat is dressed up as royalty.
23. If you find me in the kitchen, I’m typically whipping up pasta, because it is the only dish I’ve truly mastered.
24. If I could try any food from a book or series, it would be the boeuf en daube from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.
25. The author (dead or alive) I’d most like to spend a day with is Fredrik Backman.