• Your Statement of Purpose:  single-spaced, no more than one page; introduce yourself and state your goals while in this graduate program.  Upload this form online.

My name is Casey Canright and I am applying for admittance to CSU’s MFA program in Fall 2019. I graduated from The Evergreen State College with a Bachelors of Arts with an emphasis in creative writing, focusing my last two years studying creative nonfiction. I experimented with syntax, played around with my characters, showcased my writing, and tried out different specialties within the creative writing community until I crafted an individual style.

    I love connecting with people, and memoirs have always been a way for me to do that. I connect with authors, and find friendships within characters. I found a home amongst the pages, and I want to turn my words into a home: relatable, understanding, and emotion provoking. With this in mind, during undergrad, with the mentorship of Sandy Yannone, the director of Evergreen’s Writing Center, I began the process of writing a memoir about my childhood, showcasing the ups and downs that come with parents who are addicts. While at CSU, with the guidance of faculty such as Harrison Candelaria Fletcher and EJ Levy, I want to turn my experiences into a full-length memoir while learning about the process from Stephanie G’Schwind.

I’ve always wanted to teach in some capacity. While at Evergreen, I worked at The Writing Center on campus for two years, and tutored for a yearlong freshman only program. Program tutoring taught me how much I love helping others with their writing in a constructive way, and how tutoring inspires my own writing.

        CSU is the right place to continue to tutor and teach because of our shared values. When I read about ‘The CSU Effect,’ I felt a kinship in our shared need for making a difference in the world for others, and ourselves. CSU put’s it’s values on people in an inviting, accepting, and supportive way that aligns with my own personal philosophy towards others.

        While at CSU, I want to bring those shared values into a teaching assistantship, enriching my life, while influencing others.