Meet The Interns: Kimberly Singleton

Kimberly Singleton is in her junior year at ASU as well as a student of Barrett, the Honors College at ASU’s West campus. After completing her undergraduate studies in English and Public Relations, Kimberly would like to attend graduate school for an interdisciplinary emphasis in English studies, encompassing Philosophy, Rhetoric, and Literature. This past June, Kimberly had an opportunity to present a paper that exemplified her interests in this interdisciplinary approach at Duquesne University’s Communication Ethics Conference. Kimberly currently tutors at the ASU West Writing Center and is the assistant to the editor for an academic book series through Purdue Press. This is the second issue of Superstition Review that Kimberly has had the privilege to work on.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Kimberly Singleton: As one of the Interview Editors for Superstition Review, my main responsibility is to craft at least five interviews with distinguished or emerging authors. First, I am responsible for contacting authors for a potential interview. If they agree to an interview, I research their work and create questions based on my results. The questions are then sent to the author for their responses.

SR: Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

KS: Superstition Review has allowed me the opportunity to experience a career in publishing as a young, emerging professional. By becoming involved with the magazine, I am able to see if this career is one I would pursue after graduation. Furthermore, an internship with such a notable magazine helps me to mature in my understanding of professionalism, integrity, dedication, and time management in the workplace.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

KS: The majority of my time is devoted to my other courses at ASU. I am also a tutor at ASU’s West campus Writing Center and the president of a student organization at the West campus. Both of these positions and the internship keep me very occupied during the week and even on the weekends. When I’m not busy with school-related activities, I enjoy salsa dancing and drinking coffee with my mom.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

KS: Although I have not received formal training in art history, design, or creation, I enjoy experiencing various pieces of art and would enjoy trying out the Art Editor position. My understanding of artwork has come from conversations with other artists, exploring art venues, and my vast interest in aesthetic theory.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary works.

KS: One of my favorite literary works is E.M. Forster’s delightful book, A Room with a View. Although I have read it countless times, each reading brings additional discoveries from the text. It is a rich piece of literature with multiple layers of meaning and symbolism that concern aestheticism, philosophy, gender politics, and social values.

SR: What are you currently reading?

KS: I am currently reading Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time for one of my courses. It is a dense philosophic piece that takes the entire history of Western Philosophy into question by challenging Cartesian ethics and instead maintaining our “Being-in-the-World” as the fundamental point for human knowledge.

SR: Creatively, what are you currently working on?

KS: Right now I am preparing to begin my thesis for Barrett, the Honors College which will serve as my writing sample when applying for graduate programs next fall.

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

KS: In 10 years I hope to be finished with my PhD and working in some capacity with a university whether it’s teaching, public relations, or publishing.

Meet the Interns: Lynda Farrell, Content Coordinator

lyndafarrell_0Content Coordinator, Lynda Farrell, is a senior at ASU West majoring in Political Science and English.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR? Please list job activities/explanation.

Lynda Farrell: I’m the Content Coordinator, which basically means that I make sure that everything that is supposed to make it in the final product, makes it in the final product, and doesn’t get lost somewhere along the way. And I keep it all organized while I’m at it.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

LF: This is my first time working with Superstition Review, and I heard about this internship from Professor Murphy, right after taking her Poetry 310 class.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

LF: The art section, because I love seeing the different examples of people’s interpretations of life.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

LF: Probably Taylor Mali (look up his work on YouTube), because I think he’s very, very clever. At the very least an interview would be interesting from him.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

LF: I think I would like to try out the Photoshop Editor’s position. While I’m not great at Photoshop, I like what I’ve done on the program before.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

LF: Seeing how it all comes together. I know that’s kind of a weak answer, vague, but it’s really my favorite part of a project. I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of something I and many others have worked hard on.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

LF: Oh, wow. Probably my first book, Let’s Pretend. It was the first time I was able to read on my own, and it opened a whole new avenue, a whole new universe. My mom’s favorite story to tell about my childhood is the entire year where I walked around with that book, until it fell completely apart. I was devastated.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

LF: huffingtonpost.com. It’s a news site that, well, leans left. The best part is the way it’s organized; I can see each story and choose which ones I want to pick, or I can choose to read only the US Politics site, or only the World Politics site, or Health, or Entertainment. Not every story on each makes it to the main page, but I have to say I’m on that site more than once a day, usually. Great for learning about the world and time killing.

SR: What would be your dream class to take at ASU? What would the title be and what would it cover?

LF: Okay, there’s two that I’ve always wanted to see listed, but never have. The first is Underwater Basket Weaving, because although I’ve always heard it as a saying about how easy some classes are, I think it would be really difficult, and really interesting. I mean, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never done any kind of craft project underwater. It would at least be an experience. Other than that, I would want to take a history class about Women in the Renaissance, or maybe something about how there have been values placed on women in most cultures and times.

SR: What are your feelings on digital medium?

LF: I have massively mixed feelings about digital media. On one hand, it’s a great tool for connecting quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, it has cut out a lot of personal interaction, leaving people sadly lacking in people skills. I love my Kindle because it is easier to take while traveling, it takes less raw material from the earth, and the books end up being less expensive (and my bookshelves stop looking like a disaster area); but there is absolutely no replacement for being able to hold a new book, smell it, and just feel the tactile sensation that reminds me of all that I loved in childhood. I will say that I had absolutely no problem replacing CDs and tapes with my iPod. Not a single qualm.