MFA Alumna Finds Career as Employment Specialist

Eastern Washington University alumna Maura Lammers finds a career after getting her MFA in Nonfiction and achieving publication in The New York Times and The Masters Review

Eastern Washington University alumni Maura Lammers has had her fair share of successes and learning moments in her life. She comes from a diverse professional background and has held many types of jobs before attaining her MFA in Nonfiction in June 2019. She notes, “The MFA Program at Eastern made me a better reader and critical thinker.”

She especially appreciated that the flexible program of study allowed her to take both nonfiction and fiction courses, since she writes in both genres. In her own words, she has also had “a glimmer of success at the beginning” when it comes to her writing. In September 2018, while she was still working on her MFA, her essay “Pudge Will Keep Us Together” was published in the Modern Love column in the New York Times. In July 2019, a month after she graduated, her story “Century Women” was published in The Masters Review. She notes that the publications motivated her to keep working hard and write new material.

Lammers is currently working as a supported employment specialist where she helps adults re-enter the workforce. She credits her graduate student assistantship at the EWU Writers’ Center, where she worked as a Responder and mentored work-study students, in preparing her for the new role. However, true to her values and work ethic, she is still writing as well, and has been writing fiction and is currently brainstorming future nonfiction works.