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The Growing UMD English Alum Family

May 17, 2022 English

Granddaughter and grandfather side by side

Senior Emma Bailey ’22 was inspired to be an English major thanks to her grandfather, UMD English PhD alum August Nigro ’63.

Dr. August Nigro defended his PhD at the University of Maryland Department of English in August 1963, then taught abroad for the University of Maryland in Heidelberg, Germany. Now his granddaughter Emma Bailey ’22 is following his footsteps in the Arts & Humanities and getting a degree in English and Theater.

We interviewed Emma about her family legacy at UMD and experience in the English major. Emma is a Creative and Performing Arts Scholar and just completed the English Honors Program, writing a 27-page scholarly thesis on Native American stereotypes and the horror genre, for which she was awarded the 2022 Mack Award for Outstanding Honors Thesis.

Did your grandfather and family impact/inspire your decision to become an English major?

Absolutely. His love of literature and storytelling was contagious, and definitely influenced my decision to become an English major. A particular moment that I can pinpoint as influential is when the two of us would play my favorite game: How the States Got Their Names. This came at the end of my visit to my grandparents house, and was by far my favorite moment of the trip. While my parents packed, my grandfather would sit with me and concote tales about the origin of different states' names.

For example, Minnesota got its name from a young traveller who just wanted the smallest soda he could find (Mini-Soda). Alaska got its name from a "rhyming" pioneer: A husband is asked by another pioneer/if his wife will settle here/To this he responds/While looking beyond/Well you know what I'll do Sir?/ I'll ask 'er! (Al-ask-a).

This early play with words, language, and stories is just one example of the many ways my grandfather encouraged me to think deeper about the world around me and to find stories everywhere. He was my very first English professor!

What is your dream job or career?

An English professor or a museum archivist.

What are you passionate about (or even curious about)?

The better question would be what am I NOT passionate or curious about! However, to keep this short, I'll give you the main three: libraries, literature, and lastly, the horror genre. That last one probably seems a little out of place and usually causes an eyebrow raise, but to me, it makes all the sense in the world. I think pretty much anything related to what we fear or try to keep hidden holds incredible power over us.

The horror genre exposes those fears and forces us to confront them, highlighting the genre's radical potential for unpacking fear-based stigmas, like racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, etc. And who doesn't like a good scare every once and a while?

Photo of Emma Bailey preparing for the May 2022 Commencement Ceremony. Photo of Dr. August Nigro being hooded as a Doctor of Philosophy in Literature at the University of Maryland's commencement ceremony at the University of Heidelberg in 1964.