When Faith Monesteri arrived at Montclair State, her plan was simple: stay under the radar, keep her GPA up, and graduate early. Two out of three goals stuck\u2014she\u2019s graduating ahead of schedule with a 4.0\u2014but staying quiet? That didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI began to get more involved in the Montclair community and eventually fell in love with the student body,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Switching her major to English during her first year opened the door to new opportunities and connections. A class called Great Books and Ideas (HONP 100<\/a>) made her feel confident and inspired, and a memorable trip through the Literary London<\/a> class helped her form lifelong friendships.<\/p>\n Faith quickly became a powerhouse presence in the English department: vice president of the English Club, producer of its Playne English<\/a> podcast, and co-creator of the Hawk+ show English Breakfast<\/a>. She also served as secretary for The Normal Review<\/a> creative arts magazine and was the first recipient of the Dr. Edwin Fulcomer Internship Award in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s Montclair Unraveled<\/a>\u2014the knitting, crocheting, and fiber arts club she founded\u2014that\u2019s closest to her heart. \u201cIt\u2019s flourished in such an amazing way,\u201d she says. \u201cThe most rewarding part is meeting lots of people.\u201d In 2025, the club was named Special Interest Club of the Year.<\/p>\n Behind her accomplishments are mentors who made a lasting impact: Dr. Lee Behlman, Dr. Jeffrey Miller, Dr. Jeffrey Gonzalez, and Dr. Laura Nicosia. \u201cEach of them helped me in a different way\u2014whether it was building confidence, opening doors, or guiding me into the Combined BA\/MA program<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Faith\u2019s journey has changed how she defines success. \u201cIt\u2019s not about a bulleted list of achievements\u2014it\u2019s about meeting people and improving their lives,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n With her English BA complete and studies for her English MA underway, Faith\u2019s not done yet – she\u2019s ready to deepen her study of literature and its power to connect, inspire, and make change. Her advice to new students? \u201cTalk to people and go for it. Whatever \u2018it\u2019 is, don\u2019t let college pass you by.\u201d<\/p>\n And as for that old myth that English is an \u201ceasy\u201d major? Faith says: \u201cIt\u2019s not easy\u2014at least not if you care. English teaches you to understand the messages behind what you read. And in today\u2019s world, that\u2019s more important than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Prospective Students and Parents:<\/strong> Learn more about Montclair admissions<\/a>, our English major<\/a> and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Graduate Spotlight: English major Faith Monesteri spun a quiet start at Montclair into a campus legacy of creativity, connection, and leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":212733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,23,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-57_english-department","category-7_homepage-news-and-events","category-student-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212732"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212753,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212732\/revisions\/212753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Ready to Start Your Montclair Journey?<\/strong><\/h2>\n