About Us
The Searcher is an undergraduate humanities research journal at the University of Texas at Austin, sponsored by the Department of English.
We aim to provide an outlet and resource for undergraduate students interested in the humanities to publish scholarly work and familiarize themselves with the peer-review journal process. By offering a broad platform for multiple disciplines, we hope to highlight how meaningful themes emerge and span across the humanities. Considering the lack of opportunities for publishing works examining English literature, we particularly encourage submissions of literary research.
Students have the opportunity to submit work under 2,500 words to the e-journal or work over 2,500 words to the print journal. Submission is free. Journals are accessible through the website and print journals are free for contributors. We believe in making research an accessible space for everyone, especially for our readers.
Contact us at thesearcherjournal@gmail.com.
The Board
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bassam Sidiki
Minza Mirza, Co-Founder & Former Editor-In-Chief
Minza Mirza graduated in 2025 with her BA in English and minors in Journalism/Media and History. She co-founded The Searcher in 2024 and resides in Washington, DC.
Photographed by Chomtale Chitsakul
Layla Pholsiri, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Layla Pholsiri is a fourth-year English major with a minor in Communication Studies. In her research, she is drawn to contemporary representations of kinship and memory. You can find her reading speculative fiction about humanity, taking a dance class, or journaling.
Photographed by Chomtale Chitsakul
Irene Sibi, Co-Founder & Co-Creative Director
Irene Sibi is a fourth-year Informatics major concentrating in User Experience Design/Social Justice Informatics. She seeks to center and amplify silenced stories in design, art, and every facet of life. She enjoys walks, dinners, and doodling.
Photographed by Chomtale Chitsakul
Amani Ahmad, Co-Creative Director
Amani Ahmad is a fourth-year Sociology and Advertising (Art Direction) major with a minor in Cultural Anthropology. She also works for the Texas Tribune and conducts research at the Computational Media Lab at UT. Her interests lie in the intersections between media, communication systems, and our cultural realities. In her free time, she loves to create visual art.
Founder
Trinity Ngo, Managing Editor
Trinity Ngo is a fourth-year English, Rhetoric & Writing, and Asian American Studies major interested in researching Asian American women's fiction and cultural memory. Outside of her never-ending reading list, she enjoys bouldering, cooking, and checking off books on an endless list of romance novels.
Peer Reviewers
Janie Bickerton is a fourth-year English and Classical Languages major with a minor in Media and Entertainment Industries. While she loves to read anything and everything (except fantasy novels), her primary interest is the crossroads between music and poetry. You can often find her translating Latin, updating her Letterboxd, or listening to new music releases.
Bindi Kaplan is a fourth-year Sociology major with certificates in Creative Writing and Children & Society. She is interested in child development, the arts, and literacy. In her spare time, she likes reading queer fiction and making art.
Joy Wang is a fourth-year English and Sociology major with a minor in Fiction Writing. As a writer and editor, she focuses primarily on post-colonial and Marxist theory. In her free time, she adores reading weird fiction, thrifting, and exploring local restaurants.
Farah Breacher is a second-year English major with a Business Foundations minor student. She was born in Houston, but Saudi Arabia is her home. When she’s not studying at the Union or PCL, she enjoys reading, attempting to learn a new language, or writing on Substack.
Mia Dumadag is a third-year English major with a minor in History. They love to read any and all kinds of literature, and aims to publish a novel one day.
Devin Nguyen is a third-year English and Rhetoric Major with a dual minor in Italian Studies and Women and Gender Studies. In his research of romantic era poetics, he’s interested in how poets of the time made even the glum and dreary into resounding poetry. In his free time he loves to try cooking new recipes and reading a variety of food diaries.
Sena Oguzman is a third-year Rhetoric and Writing major with a double minor in Philosophy and Law, Justice, and Society. Outside of UT, she loves finding new parks, going on long drives, and spending all day at Half Price Books.
