Alexus Williams is a PhD student in English and Lulu “Merle” Johnson Fellow at the University of Iowa. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, Outdoor Conservation, and English from Mount Mercy University and a Master of Arts in English from University of Northern Iowa. She is studying contemporary children’s and young adult literature, focusing on the concepts of fantasy, dystopia, and ecocriticism.

 She previously worked as a graduate assistant in The Culture and Intensive English Program (CIEP) where she tutored students in the program. In Spring 2022, she worked as a teaching assistant for University of Northern Iowa’s English department, where she taught a writer’s composition course called College Writing and Research. Prior to attending the University of Iowa, she was a member of University of Northern Iowa’s branch of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. Her previous work focused on ecocritical readings of contemporary dystopian young adult novels.