Meet the 2015-16 Staff

Meet the 2015-16 Toyon Staff

Jocelyn Aguilar

From Westminister, CA (a town in Southern California - where palm trees line the streets), she is a senior at Humboldt State University planning to graduate as an English major (creative writing focus) with a minor in Linguistics and has hopes to volunteer and work for publishing companies so that someday she will be published! She recommends reading Juniper Tree Burning by Goldberry Long because tearjerker books are worth reading. Her literary guilty pleasures include books in the mafia genre because she may or may not want to be a part of it. As the Toyon's poetry editor, Jocelyn wanted to be a part of the team in order to know how publishing works.

Jasmin Arnold

An English major from Palm Springs, CA who is fascinated with the diversity found in both nature and the written word. The last book she read was Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins. The word she would invent would be: gnarsty - a combination of gnarly and nasty - which means "highly unpleasant and difficult." As the Toyon's creative non-fiction editor, Jasmin joined the staff in order to learn more about the publishing process and gain experience working for a literary magazine.

Clarissa Call

Taking the writing practices pathway at Humboldt State University, she hopes to eventually work as an editor in book publish and continue with her writing. With a passion for fiction, she is happy to be one of the fiction editors for the 2015 Toyon.

Rose Christy-Cirillo

Originally from the Bay Area, Rose spent a few years at College of the Redwoods doing general education before going to HSU to pursue a degree in writing practices, where she is currently double minoring in Studio Art and Spanish. After graduation, she hopes to move to a sunnier location where she can pursue grant-writing, spoken-word and get more of her writing published. She is passionate about getting up in front of an audience and expressing herself through spoken word or slam poetry and to be a part of social change. In addition, she enjoys writing including creative non-fiction. She would love to fly if that was a superpower. As the spoken word editor of the Toyon, she was captivated by past entries of the Toyon and looks to gain knowledge of the publishing process.

Angela Compton

A sophomore at HSU, she is an aspiring author who has already self-published her first novel! Aside from publishing, she also hopes to someday teach creative writing at the University of Iowa. Her favorite book is The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Her favorite characters are Nico di Angelo from Rick Riordan's Greek & Roman mythology series as well as the Iron Bull from Dragon Age: Inquisition. She joined the team to learn more about the publishing process and to meet fellow English majors and writers.

Marley Coody

A creative writing major from Placerville,CA, her passion has always been books and hopes to continue publishing after her time in Toyon. As the Social Media Manager, Marley has experience interning and managing the social media accounts of a few local businesses. Her favorite book is A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Her passion for writing and her desire to be published in the future has allowed her to be a part of the Toyon team.

Andrea Curtade

A proud Scorpio from Norwalk, CA with roots tracing back to Guatemala, Andrea is a 4th year studying under the Writing Practices pathway. As the Toyon's Translator, she has interned at various production companies with roles that reigned from translating scripts to editing short infomercials. After graduating, she anticipates to be a script supervisor or video editor and work behind-the-scenes on film sets. Andrea is passionate about many things, but most importantly about being able to finish school and have an opportunity to work on a film set and see the magic behind how stories are told through film.

Clayton Ellis

A part-time writer, Clayton worked for the 2014 Toyon with a desire to gain more knowledge about the world of print media. As the Assistant Managing Editor, Clayton found his soft spot in helping artists to bring their work to the forefront. Now in his senior year at HSU and as the Managing Editor, Clayton is excited to continue developing the Toyon as a positive space for up and coming editors and emerging artists.

Marin Hilger

Originally from the San Joaquin Valley (where there are more cows than people), she enjoys living in a unique and beautiful area of the state. A senior both majoring in Writing Practices and minoring in Linguistics, she aspires to pursue a Master's degree in Recreation after graduation. A Girl Scout Gold recipient she hopes to ultimately work with children in an outdoor education setting - teaching them useful skills while increasing their self-esteem. One of her favorite books is Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens, which she believes every aspiring writer should read. As an Events Coordinator she strives to represent Toyon to the HSU community and the surrounding area as a fixture in the literary world. She joined the team in order to apply practical experience to her major and to be a part of HSU tradition.

Elena Kay

Elena originally wanted to be a nurse, but a combination of misfortune and a whole lot of luck made her realize her true passion - the written word. She enjoys all kinds of fictional and fantastical worlds from Tolkien to Doctor Who. In her dearest daydreams, she is a best-selling author who takes tea with the likes of J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, and Patrick Rothfuss. She aspires to accomplish the challenge of capturing on paper the feeling of falling in love.

Bri Lucero

A Writing Practices major from San Diego, she moved to Humboldt County after graduating high school in 2012 to escape the clamor of the city. After graduating HSU, she hopes to travel to Europe and publish her own works of poetry in different parts of the world. Her desired superpowers would be the ability to shape-shift and invisibility. Her astrology sign is Gemini, but only reads horoscopes for fun because she doesn't believe that the stars have any influence on human life. As the Creative Poetry Editor, she joined Toyon to gain experience in publishing and familiarity with the submission process.

Dane Manary

A passionate English major, Dane previously served as Visual Art Editor of Forum Literary Magazine at City College of San Francisco. He has been shooting photography for ten years and has had exhibition in San Francisco as well as having his work published in The Newer York. He signed up as the Visual Art Editor of the Toyon to continue to do what he loves. When he is not at work or school, you can catch him at a thrift store or on a road trip.

Anthony McGough

Currently a senior at HSU, A.J.'s pathway is Writing Practices and a back-up plan to pursue a Master's degree in Library Sciences. Originally from San Diego, his biggest dream is to become an author worthy of sitting at the same table as J.K. Rowling and Tolkien. He loves archery, video games, and writing fan-fiction (his guilty pleasure) in his spare time. His dream superpower is to be able to stop and reverse time - without any paradoxes. As Copy Editor and Fiction Editor, A.J. joined the Toyon staff in order to see the publication process.

Jade Mejia

A senior with a focus in Literary Studies, Jade aspires to go to graduate school where she will pursue her love of history and literature by becoming a librarian with a concentration in archive management. She is extremely passionate about self-care and self-love. At the end of the day, she wants everyone to be able to look into the mirror and love what they see, regardless of what society tells them. The last book she read was A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. The Archive Editor of the Toyon, she joined the team as a way to step out of her comfort zone; and to have a space where she could sharpen her editing skills and become more comfortable working in a group.

Gabe Pacana

Originally from Los Angeles, Gabe came to HSU as a History major but switched to English (with a Writing Practices focus) halfway through his education. After graduation, Gabe hopes to travel while doing freelance writing. His publishing experience includes interning as a content writer for the Los Angeles-based magazine/website: Designer Original and TheBossMann.com. The last book he read was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - a book he recommends to anyone (especially if you are interested in the crime/mystery/thriller genre). His dream superpower is to be able to manipulate water. As the Web Manager of Toyon, he hopes to gain additional publishing experience and experience in web publishing and content management.

Nils Rabe

As an English major from Los Angeles, Nils likes wander into the backwoods where he "sucks the wind and sips the dew" like a ragged Daoshi. His post-graduate aspirations include becoming a train conductor and then a pastor who wears a shiny silver vest and sweats profusely as he sings and vigorously shakes his tambourine. His favorite books are Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by William Butler Yeats. Being the Toyon Circulation Manager means he simultaneously juggles Indian daggers while dancing like a Dervish, and the fact that he is a Scorpio born on a Chinese Tiger year.

Michael Robinson

In his second year as an English major, Michael is also minoring in psychology and music. His favorite book is a tie between Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon and A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin. When Michael is not at school he can be found at Blondies, in the forest with friends, the library, a party, Northtown Coffee or on a walk. Currently in his senior year with a focus in Creative Writing, he hopes to learn more about the world of publishing through the Toyon.

Ryan Silva

Specializing in Literature Studies, Ryan plans to pursue an M.A. in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at the University of Lancashire, U.K. where he spent a part of his educational career. He is passionate about deconstruction and the way it dismantles the ways in which we privilege certain ideologies over the other. Ryan joined the Toyon staff to contribute to and expand on the literary criticism aspect of the magazine. His 4-years experience working for HSU Dining Services has allowed him to be one of Toyon's Events Coordinators as event catering is an integral part for the release party. When he’s not doing close readings, he is playing stride piano—echoing the sounds of Eubie Blake and Jelly Roll Morton.

Luke Wages

From Paso Robles, Luke acted as the Special Themes Editor for the Toyon while attending HSU as an undergraduate in Writing Practices. Luke chose to join the Fall 2015 Toyon staff to help further his academic goals, as well as supplement his experience and understanding of the publishing process. He hopes continue working creatively with writing while furthering his education. His favorite book would currently be Chuck Palahniuk’s Rant: An Oral Biography of Casey Buster, and would recommend Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” to aspiring authors.

Amy Whitney

Amy is the Staff Office Manager and an aspiring author and poet. She is double majoring in biology and English with a focus on writing at Humboldt State University, and hopes to someday publish a novel. Originally from Los Alamos, New Mexico, Amy came to northern California in 2012 and fell in love with the beaches and redwood forests. Amy joined Toyon to gain experience in publication and learn more about the process so she can better understand it when she submits my own work for publication. She also loves reading the work of my peers, and helping to provide an opportunity for my fellow students to see their work published has been a wonderful experience. When not attending classes or working in the Toyon Room, she can be found wandering the forest, enjoying a cup of tea and a good book, or writing with the club she leads on campus. Her favorite book is The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. She is undecided whether to have tea with Terry Pratchett or Andrea Gibson.