Alumni Profile
Aaron Moe, M.A. 2009

Aaron Moe Aaron Moe’s decision to return to college to earn his master’s degree was easy. The more difficult task was choosing what to study. With the help of his wife, who encouraged him to pursue his passion for poetry, and his professors at Union who showed him how to combine that passion with his background in ecology, Aaron create a unique master’s program for himself. The Colorado-based school teacher earned his master’s in literature and writing 18 months after enrolling in Union’s Master of Arts Online program. And, now he has been invited by the American Literary Association in San Francisco to present a paper based on his studies.

A skilled mountaineer and rock climber who works as an arborist in the summer months, Aaron explored ecological themes in the poetry of E.E. Cummings* for his final document, the culminating research project in the M.A. program. Since graduating in 2009, his research on Cummings has been presented at national conferences and in literary publications.

“I cannot say enough about the education I received at Union,” said Aaron. “My advisors and my correspondence with the faculty were excellent.”

As a teacher in a traditional classroom, Aaron at first was skeptical about taking graduate-level courses via an online platform. But his skepticism didn’t last long once his classes began.

“Because every student participates in a threaded discussion and has to write responses, it makes it more formal. Everyone has to participate, and I think we all gave a lot of thought to our answers before we posted them. I really appreciated that.”

Enrolled full-time in a master’s program while working full-time was at times challenging for Aaron, who found himself writing parts of his final document in his head while he was driving or on his lunch hour. “It seeped into everything I did,” said Aaron. “At one point, I set aside three to four hours a day and a good bit of time on the weekends to complete the work.”

His hard work has certainly paid off. In many ways, Union’s M.A. Online program was just the beginning for Aaron. Since graduating, in addition to becoming a published writer, he has also designed high school curricula based on the merger of ecology and poetry. He is looking forward to May when he addresses the American Literary Association in San Francisco, and he even has plans to someday write a book.

“The M.A. Online program enabled me to connect with so many others and to submit my work to competitive venues. This isn’t just a testament to my abilities,” said Aaron. “It is a testament to the rigor of the program.”

*According to Moe and other Cummings scholars, the poet’s initials should not be printed in lowercase. Cummings scholar Norman Friedman provides the history of this in an online essay "Not 'e. e. cummings'" (http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/caps.htm).