Recent Program Features

EDUCATION:

Creative Writing
Class of 2026

ABOUT ME:

I’m from Cokato, Minnesota. My hobbies are drawing and listening to music!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE MANKATO:

The scenery and artwork around campus.

FUN FACTS:

A fun fact about me is that I am red-green colorblind. One thing I love about my job is how friendly and welcoming everyone is!

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:

Annual Giving Engagement Center and Chi Alpha Campus Ministry.

You CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

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More about Ethan's story:

I entered college unsure of whether I wanted to pursue art or psychology, but I ultimately found my place in creative writing. When it comes down to it, I am a storyteller. In high school, I wasn’t known as a writer—if anything, I was known as an artist. I expressed creativity through visual storytelling. In high school I became more intrigued with the human psyche in psychology classes. Over time, I realized writing fiction allowed me to combine both passions by building worlds and exploring the minds of characters within them. This makes sense when I think about my childhood.

I’ve always been drawn to fantastical stories centered on emotional characters. From Harry Potter to Spider-Man to Doctor Who, I was fascinated by complex relationships and moral struggle. As early as second grade, I was immersed in mythology and folklore, and gothic horror like Dracula and Frankenstein. I didn’t just consume stories—I created my own. By middle school, I was confident that I wanted to be a comic book writer, illustrator, or filmmaker. I was known as an artist, not a writer, and saw storytelling mainly as visual. Later, I began writing prose fiction for the first time, learning how to describe scenes and emotions clearly enough for others to imagine and feel them.

When I chose creative writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato, it was partly influenced by music. In high school, I created emotional landscapes through lyrics, but I never pursued it as a career—it felt too public, and I’ve always preferred working behind the scenes. As a freshman, I considered screenwriting, but I soon realized how difficult breaking into that industry from Minnesota would be. After stepping away from both music and screenwriting as career goals, I felt uncertain about my direction.

That changed after I took Introduction to Creative Writing here at MSU during my first semester in the fall of 2022. Through short fiction and peer feedback, I discovered how much I enjoyed writing itself. In high school, I took a creative writing class I loved but didn’t really have passion for at the time. Ironically, that teacher—Mrs. Busse, a former student of MSU, Mankato—recommended the Minnesota State University, Mankato to me. That moment became the starting point of my path as both a Maverick and a writer. Even more significantly, the short story I wrote in her class has since become the novel I am now working on. I came to understand that writing is the foundation of every medium I care about—from comics to film to music. At MSU, I’ve learned from professors, collaborated with peers, and grown within a supportive creative writing community.

Now, as I approach graduation, I am working on several projects, including a post-apocalyptic novel about trauma and survival, a graphic novel adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and a card game developed in a graphic design course. Writing has challenged me in ways visual art never did; it requires more revision and patience, but that process has made it so much more rewarding.

After graduation, I hope to find a writing position—locally or remotely—while continuing to develop my creative work toward publication. Looking back, I can see how pivotal my time at MSU has been. What began as uncertainty has become direction, and I am committed to continuing forward as a storyteller.

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