Caden Deshommes '26

BA English, BFA in Creative Writing
Minor in Filmmaking

On Stony Brook:

Applying for college, I had three criteria that I wanted my chosen school to meet. I needed it to be close to home, it had to have a creative writing program, and I needed the tuition to be affordable. All of these components came into synergy during my first visit to campus along with this innate feeling that Stony Brook was a place I could see myself. 

On her major:

Specializing in the humanities, I knew that I’d be a small fish in the STEM pond that makes this campus, but the dedicated faculty for both of my majors have always made me feel assured that I made the right decision. Post-graduation, I want to pursue career opportunities across publishing and television development.

Favorite class:

EGL 308: Single Author: (Un) Banning Toni Morrison, holds a special place in my heart as it was a part of my courseload during my first semester as an English major. The environment that the course’s professor, Dr. Ileana Jimenez, and teaching assistant Felicia Nadel curated were intimate as well as intensive. We dissected Morrison’s seminal work, The Bluest Eye, at the etymological level while also discussing what the work meant in the grander context of our own lives; in terms of race, gender and beauty.

Interests and accomplishments:

Each year at Stony Brook, I’ve increasingly taken on leadership positions, including being a Resident Assistant for Roth Community, and being nominated as Rookie of the Year. I’ve maintained a position on the Dean’s List for eight semesters, applying my own academic success to the pursuit of promoting others’ learning prowess, serving as a Teach for America Ignite Fellow in Fall 2025. Additionally, I was a part of the inaugural class of the College of Arts and Sciences CTRL+ALT+CREATE internship, partnering with the Humanities Institute and facilitating a panel that put English undergraduates and faculty in conversation with each other about the books that informed their studies as well as who they are. Most recently I was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. 

Plans for post-graduation:

I’ve been fortunate enough to explore jobs in a variety of fields while furthering my education, working in publishing and film post-production, and as such, will continue to look for positions in those areas. In the interim, I’m looking toward gaining a master’s degree in English, working on a graduate thesis that encapsulates my knowledge of film, television, and literature.