Stephanie Jean Strevey, who goes by the preferred name Seraph, graduated with honors from Bryn Mawr College with BAs in English and in German Literature. Their undergraduate thesis, ‘“Dämonendiagnose”: Behinderung, Sexismus und Antisemitismus in der mittelalterlichen Monster-Mythologie Nordeuropas”, which used retroactive diagnosis as an analytical tool through which to re-examine the origins of Dark Age and medieval German monster mythology, received the Hester Ann Corner Prize for Best Thesis in a Foreign Language, and the Berle Memorial Prize in German Literature (2021). As an undergraduate, they worked as a teaching assistant, research assistant, major representative, translator, and peer tutor for the Bryn Mawr Department of German Studies. In their free-time they served and as president of one of the school’s performance dance teams, and as a team captain for the Fine Arts Program Advanced Hip Hop Ensemble. In high school, they participated in the German-American Partnership Program and other student exchanges with the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium in Harburg, Hamburg. They are also a member of the German National Honors Society and a recipient of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) Presidential Honor Roll Award.
Beyond folklore, monster narratives, and Disability Studies, Seraph is deeply interested in the literature of der Romantik (particularly Schwarzliteratur/Nachtliteratur), Cognitive Studies, Medieval Studies, Symbology, Nordic Religions/Paganism, Philhellenism, and the history of Germanic Oral Storytelling. They hope to be able to continue studying these aspects of German culture, history, and media in her graduate work while also pursuing opportunities to engage with new academic concentrations.