Current MFA Students

Third Years

Photograph of Jack Bylund Jack Bylund (he/him) is a student, teacher, and writer. He is a Writers of the Future Award finalist. He loves Chinese food, bad movies, and writing stories about the end of the world. His writing is published in Eleventh Hour, Sink Hollow, The Queer Sun, and Turning Leaf, among other literary magazines. (bylund@nmsu.edu) 
Photograph of Jay Paine Jay Paine is a poet interested in collage, projective verse, and ecopoetics. When he’s not drafting poetry, you can catch him exploring the town or taking a sunset walk. His poetry appears in Boudin, Gyroscope Review, Roadrunner Review, Deep Wild Journal, among others.  (jpaine@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Joshua Ball Joshua Ball (he/him) is an ambient musician, writer, and MFA candidate at New Mexico State University. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in History. (jaball@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Jayden Presley Jayden Presley is a fiction writer interested in everything in the universe. She has a bachelor's degree in mass communication and a creative writing minor from the University of Montevallo in Alabama. She likes to write across all genres, but her favorite setting to write about is the American South. (jpresle2@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Tia Credle

Tia Credle (she/her) is from Salisbury, Maryland, born and raised in Aberdeen. She received an AA in English from Harford Community College and a BA from Salisbury University with a bachelor's in creative writing. Her greatest inspirations are Audre Lorde, Mary Oliver, Bernando Wade, Ellen Hopskin, and Zora Neale Hurston. 
Photograph of Marilyn Crawford
Marilyn Crawford (she/her) is a native New Mexican originally from Deming and has lived in Las Cruces for the past 25 years. She holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Education with secondary licensure from NMSU. Her literary influences include S.E. Hinton, V.C. Andrews, Joyce Carol Oates, Denis Johnson, William S. Burroughs, Donald Ray Pollock, and Don Waters. Writing in the gritty Desert Gothic tradition, she explores themes of trauma and isolation in the often-overlooked lives of people on the margins. She is currently working on a thesis collection of interconnected short stories. Drawing inspiration from people she has known and encountered throughout her life, her fiction follows damaged characters navigating the bleak and unforgiving landscapes of southern New Mexico. (majacobs@nmsu.edu) 

Yooko Peters (yooko78@nmsu.edu)

Lauren Lee (leel4@nmsu.edu)

 

Second Years

Photograph of Isabelle Rojas Isabelle Rojas is from Alamogordo New Mexico. She enjoys writing fiction in the gothic genre, exploring and exposing the things we as people want to keep hidden. (ibrojas@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Faith Castillo Faith Castillo is attending NMSU for her Creative Writing MFA, with a focus on fiction. She enjoys writing horror, specifically considering the Southwestern gothic and legends surrounding New Mexico. She is always reading books on folklore to further her interest. Faith graduated from NMSU with majors in English and Justice, Political Philosophy, and Law.  (fcastill@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of a cat dangling from a cat tree Sarah Bank (she/her) is from Tucson, Arizona and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona. In 2017, she and her husband moved to Northern California where they had a vegetable farm before moving to New Mexico in 2022.  (sbank@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Sole Hall Hamilton Solé Hall-Hamilton (so-lay haul-ham-uhl-ten) (they/she) is an MFA Poetry Candidate at New Mexico State University. They attended Baldwin Wallace University as an undergraduate student, focusing on English & Education. She is originally from Northern Virginia but, considers home to be spread across the Americas in Panama, the midwest, and the South. They are often inspired by writers and poets such as Natalie Diaz, Dantiel W. Moniz, Octavia Butler, Danez Smith, Audre Lorde, and many more. She currently resides in Las Cruces, NM with her cat, Pickles. (shallham@nmsu.edu)

Carol Wise (carowise@nmsu.edu)

 

First Years

Photograph of Talia Servin Talia Servin (she/her) is a fiction writer from Eastern Iowa who graduated with her BA from the University of Houston in 2024. She is strongly influenced by landscapes and family narratives, but her greatest inspirations are my friends, who have been unwavering in their support. They are the north star of her creativity.(taservin@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Elizabeth Glogowski Elizabeth Glogowski (she/her) is from Omaha, NE, and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with her Bachelor of Arts in 2025. Her love for poetry has lasted her whole life. She has a particular interest in feminist and eco poetics. (elleeglo@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Naomi Tercero Naomi Tercero is a poet and writer from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Media Studies with an emphasis in Strategic Communication, along with minors in Creative Writing and Social Media Management from New Mexico State University. Her work explores identity, place, memory, and the everyday experiences that shape how we understand ourselves and one another. She is currently an MFA student in Poetry at New Mexico State University, where she is continuing to develop her voice and artistic practice. (naomiet@nmsu.edu) 
Photograph of Mari Prieto

Mari Prieto is a Hispanic writer and literary scholar based in the Southwest. Her prose and poetry predominantly focus on social issues told from the perspective of women and children. 

Her short story “Silver Mints” was featured in Lunch Ticket and her flash fiction piece “Ashes of the Big Man” appeared in the Beyond Words anthology, Father Stories: Narratives of Fatherhood. Mari’s writing portfolio also includes observational pieces for Her Campus at NMSU, photography narratives featured by NMSU Shooters, and two self-published books: a young adult novel (2012) and a children’s book (2011), which she self-illustrated. 

She holds a B.A. in Digital Filmmaking from New Mexico State University, where she is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Prior to returning to NMSU, Mari was an online graduate student at Our Lady of the Lake University. 

Before finding her footing in the world of acadamia, Mari worked as a licensed cosmotologist for roughly five years, a career that sharpened her eye for design as a production designer, creative director, and photographer for hair and art photoshoots. Additionally, Mari worked as a middle school video production instructor which initially inspired her to pursue her M.F.A. 

Outside of writing, Mari is a reality TV junkie, regularly quotes The Sopranos, and has an unhealthy obsession with sharks and whales. She draws and paints in her free time, is an avid reader, and enjoys being a couch potato with her dog, Benny. (mkprieto@nmsu.edu)
Photograph of Tommy Dominguez Tommy Dominguez (he/him) is a fiction writer from El Paso, Texas who did his bachelors in University of Texas at El Paso and received an M.A. from the University of North Texas. His genre specialties are fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. His biggest inspirations are Hirohiko Araki and Terry Pratchet. (thomastd@nmsu.edu)  
Photograph of Niurka Gonzalez Niurka Gabriela Roman Gonzalez (she/her) grew up in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah, surrounded by the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. She attended the University of Utah, where she was encouraged by great poets to lean into her creative writing interests, and in 2025, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English. Her greatest inspiration comes from the love and gratitude she feels for her courageous, loving Mexican parents, who nurtured a deep sense of culture and community in her from a young age. She also draws inspiration from her little brother, whom she calls her best friend and biggest supporter. (niurka@nmsu.edu)