Elysian

Fall 2023 Contributor Notes

Yaritza Argueta-Morales

is a Senior majoring in Graphic Design and Business Administration. Besides photography, some of her other favorite hobbies are traveling,doing makeup, and hanging out with her family and friends. A huge thanks to her family, close friends, and Professor Crisman who supported and helped throughout her journey of photography.

Robert McDonald

is a Senior transfer student at AU. He’s a lover of writing and language with a drive for storytelling, but he also spends a lot of time playing with his many, many foster dogs. He hopes to write professionally as a published author in the future.

Hamide Azizi

is a Senior Nursing major with a minor in Physiology. She enjoys writing in her free time, roller and ice skating, and working out.

Amy Melgoza

is a Communications major at AU. She loves poetry, photography, and sharing her stories with others. May your ink forever flow.

Francis Balquin

is a Senior History and Secondary Education major at Aurora University. Music, photography, and writing are his favorite forms of artistic expression. He has regularly contributed photographs and the occasional written piece to Elysian

Claudia Mora

is a Junior at AU and is studying to be an elementary teacher. In her free time, she draws and has fun with highlighters.

Andrea Barron

is a Junior at Aurora University, majoring in Communication. Her work has previously been seen in Joliet Junior College’s Wordeater Magazine. When not writing, she enjoys acting in theatrical productions, collecting tea, and going on walks while listening to her carefully crafted Spotify playlists

Richmond Outlaw

is a Freshman at AU who enjoys doing art as it allows his mind to relax from anything overwhelming and test his creativity. Since sharing art is one of the things that Elysian is about, he hopes that it’s an organization that he can enjoy

Daniel Chacón

is a Mathematics major and a major nerd. He loves to read speculative fiction and play video games as forms of escapism. His interest in science and magic often bleeds into his creative writing.

Elian G. Perez

is a second-year student at Aurora University. He enjoys drawing and watching movies. His love for film has captivated and inspired him to pick up the camera and start snapping pictures. His photographic vision is heavily influenced by his favorite films and directors

Brooke Dowd

Brooke Dowd’s job is ‘books.’ She is in her final semester as an English and Communication undergrad with plans to pursue a Master’s and Doctorate in English. She loves going to the movies and spending time with the people (and cats) she cares about.

Ximena Torres Ramos

is a Freshman student at Aurora University double majoring in Graphic Design and Communications and minoring in Museum Studies. Her art has been featured in universities such as NIU, University of St. Francis, and Waubonsee Community College. Her work has also won local and national accolades from the Village of Oswego (1st place and Best in Show), Art ConnectED (3rd place), and The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (Gold Key and National Silver Medal).

Dana Drier

is a graduate of AU with a Bachelor’s in English and a minor in Museum Studies. She currently works as a Resident Counselor at IMSA.

Alison Rydell

is a Freshman at Aurora University. She’s been involved with photography for most of her life, and she hopes that one day her photos make other people feel the same joy that she feels while taking them.

Diane Fuentes

is a Sophomore at Aurora University majoring in Health Sciences on the Pre-Medicine track. She hopes to become a physician (either a Cardiologist or a Neurosurgeon) so she can contribute to the medical community, as well as treat her patients with optimal care. She enjoys spending time with her family; she’s a distance runner; and, currently, she is the President-Elect in HOSA—Future Health Professionals—a student-led organization at Aurora University.

Amber Tinney

is a photographer specializing in events and portraiture. She enjoys working with creative individuals to create art that is visually pleasing and eccentric in nature. She began photography at the age of 11 and has continued ever since, constantly developing her personal style

Joseph Guarino

is an amateur photographer who focuses on exploring landscapes and aviation through photographic mediums. Outside of photography, he enjoys spending time outdoors doing physical activities such as kayaking, biking, hiking, and snowboarding.

Eduardo Torres

is a Senior majoring in Psychology. He has always enjoyed writing and this is his first time submitting work. Thank you for taking the time to read it!

Brooke Karas

is an undergraduate student at Aurora University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English and Environmental Studies. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing poetry, Contributer Notes 90 | Elysian and singing. She’s passionate about human and animal rights and plans to do everything she can to raise awareness for environmental issues.

Bridget Tully

is a Senior student at Aurora University. She graduated from the College of DuPage with an Associate’s in Arts in 2022 and is now working toward a Bachelor’s in English. She enjoys dreaming up stories in her free time, but she finds writing poems easier than prose

Marisella Kidd

will graduate in December from Aurora University in December with a degree in English. She plans on attending graduate school and engaging with historical material.

Lashun Williams

an African American writer of fantasy fiction, short stories, and romance novels. Her debut fantasy series, Element Princess, was published in 2013 under the pen name Jenaia Williams. She recently published her short story, Sea Comedies, with DG Sentinel. Lashun’s upcoming works are co-creation projects with Healing Soul Collection, as well as independent projects coming soon

Kimberly Leslie

is a Sophomore English and Spanish major. She’s celebrating finally staying at a school longer than a year and thus, being able to show her work in the Elysian Magazine again. In addition to writing, Kim also loves to read and draw.

Aurora Williams

is from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She attends Aurora University to double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology whilst also playing for the school’s NCAA Division III women’s ice hockey team.

Gonzalo Magana

born and raised on the east side of Aurora, is a Senior at Aurora University. He is an English Secondary Education Major. He also wrestles for the University’s Team.