Faculty Spotlight, Nov. 18th

The 2026 Faculty Spotlight event is sponsored by the School of Language Arts and Education, will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 from 6pm-8pm in Forum 102 on MJC’s east campus. The event will have four MJC faculty speakers presenting their work. This is a free event and is open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Faculty Spotlight Speakers Include

Stella Beratlis is the author of Dust Bowl Venus and Alkali Sink. Her poems have appeared in journals such as California Quarterly, Harbor Review, In Posse Review, Song of the San Joaquin, and Penumbra, among others, and in anthologies such as The Place That Inhabits Us: Poems of the San Francisco Bay Watershed, and California Fire & Water: A Climate Crisis Anthology. Beratlis served as Modesto’s poet laureate from 2016-2020, coordinates the Stanislaus County Youth Poet Laureate program, and works as a librarian at Modesto Junior College. She is on sabbatical this academic year, learning archiving and digital preservation with the goal of starting an online archive of local poetry readings.

Danni Brar is a new faculty member in the English department, and an alumna of MJC. She earned her Ph.D. in English Literature and Media Studies from Texas Tech University. Her research and teaching interests include contemporary multiethnic American literature, Chicanx and Latine studies, ethnic studies, feminist studies, and queer theory. A first-generation college graduate born and raised in Northern California, Danni has taught for eleven years and is grateful to return to the Central Valley to serve the community that helped shape her own educational journey.

Bethany Kirk is the author of Blue Star Bound, a compelling memoir about taking bold chances and creating a life of impact and purpose in Costa Rica. Originally from California, Bethany founded and operated a language school in Costa Rica for twelve years. During that time, she also spearheaded a non-profit educational program for underprivileged children. She hopes that her memoir about those years inspires others to follow their dreams, no matter how daunting they may be. Bethany has been a teacher since 1999 and holds an M.A. in English from CSU Stanislaus. She taught English composition courses at MJC prior to moving to Costa Rica. Currently she teaches full-time high school Spanish and an English Language Learner course at Columbia College.

DW Schmidt is a writer, a teacher, a scholar, and, most importantly, a grandpa.  He has returned to his teaching duties in the English Department at Modesto Junior College after taking a sabbatical during the Spring 2026 semester to complete a multi-genre collection called The Saddest Miracle, which explores his experiences with Deafness, tinnitus, and Cochlear implants.