MFA Student Ambassadors are currently enrolled MFA students who have volunteered to connect with prospective and newly admitted students and answer questions about the student experience. Read more about our Student Ambassadors below. You can contact them by emailing iasgrad@uw.edu.
Meet the MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics Student Ambassadors
Amy Eldridge, 2021 cohort
Amy Eldridge is a member of the 2021 Cohort in the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing and Poetics at the University of Washington, Bothell. She specializes in short fiction with works that strike a delicate balance between character-driven and voice-driven prose. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa, she chose to attend UW for her MFA to expand her knowledge of poetics, hone her craft, and network with a diverse community of creative individuals. Her thesis consists of an exploration into psychogeography and how the geographical environment of the world affects our emotions and behavior. When she’s not writing, she also acts as one of the co-curators for Gamut—UW Bothell’s student-led reading series.
Bujinlkham Erdenebaatar, 2021 cohort
Bujinlkham Erdenebaatar is a is a second-year MFA student in Creative Writing and Poetics at the University of Washington, Bothell. She was born in Dundgobi, Mongolia, and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the National University of Mongolia.
She is always proud of her ancestry as a descendant of nomads, and she strives to imbue her art with nomadic philosophical beliefs about the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. She wants to hide the light even behind the pain through her words, and she sincerely believes that each of her writings will bring healing to someone.
Madison Gaines, 2021 cohort
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Previous Degrees
BFA in Creative Writing with a double concentration in fiction and poetry from George Mason University
Writing Interests
Historical fiction, Black and African American literature, qualitative research as a foundation for creative writing
Other Interests
Farmers markets, mythical creatures, tea kettles, front porches, interactive people watching, valleys, Old Bay, cephalopods
Dria Simmons, 2021 cohort
Alexandria Simmons is a life-long writer of prose, and a converted poet, falling in love with the writing form quickly and deeply as a form of self-expression and as a means to herald differing perspectives on a controversial society. Her works have shown a wide range of interest; from technical writing and military-focused community projects, to steampunk fantasy and historical fiction. She has been published with various journals, for both short stories and poems, and has been recognized by the United States Army on numerous occasions for trailblazing poetry, essays, and speeches. In the Writer’s Digest’s 75th writing competition, Simmons won an award in the short story category with A White Rose for His Lady. To her additional flattery, she was also honored for her poem, Memorial Weekend. She completed her bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University in 2017: Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing and Communication and is currently spending her days working hard to earn her MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics at UW Bothell. Her recent writing interests include humanity, mental illness, clashing perspectives on realism, femininity, folklorism, and culture.