“Just the faculty at this school, 10 out of 10 diamonds,” Imogen Jenkins said.

Yet after meeting Reece Guida and Imogen Jenkins, it is quite clear that the English Department has two 10 out of 10 diamonds in their program. Not only did the English Department nominate them both, they even refer to themselves as “the dynamic duo.”

“I wonder if we are the only two-person nomination thing,” Jenkins said. “It’s probably because we are dating.”

They both won the English department’s most prestigious award:  The Excellence in the major.

“If they  only chose one of us it would have caused a lot of domestic disputes,” Guida said in a joking manner. “We kind of have the English Department hostage, because they care about our love.”

Both Guida and Jenkins were uncertain about coming to Wake Forest and living in Winston-Salem.

“I am originally born in Australia, but then I moved to New York,” Jenkins said. “I am a pretty liberal person so I was quite concerned because I am a queer woman, I am going to get my butt beat. But after engaging with people in Winston-Salem, just, wow, most of them are super nice.”

Guida felt similarly.

“I really did not want to come to Wake Forest,” Guida said. “I am from south Florida which is super gay, wacky and weird and thought Winston-Salem was just a literal cancerous city. But I just love it and the small pockets of culture. I love Winston-Salem.”

While they were reluctant to come to Winston-Salem and Wake Forest, they both fell in love with the university and the English major.

“I think that being with [Jenkins] and the English Department, is just a beautiful relationship,” Guida said. “I think my time at college would have been more of a bummer if I didn’t get into the English major.”

“The dynamic duo” both loved the fantastic nature of the English Department and about the characters there.

“The professors are all so extrinsic and have booming voices,” Jenkins said. “And honestly the conversations are really fun. In English classes I feel like I am in the late-night show, the conversations are so funny.”

Guida echoed the same love for the English professors.

“I love all my professors so much, and I feel really indebted to them,” Guida said. “But I have to say professor Hans really encourage me to be a better writer. I am going to miss being in classes every day and having chances to talk to people who I wouldn’t usually get. And in talking to someone who is an expert in the field, the English education has been incredible.”

Both said they have had an incredible time, and while Guida knew from the start that she was going to be an English major, Jenkins wasn’t so sure.

But that all changed after she took her English divisional.

“Darn it, I love it, I can’t not major in English,” Jenkins said.

“The major makes you so much more critical of the world around you,” Guida said. “What’s good about the major is you read things you hate and I learned a lot. It teaches you open-mindedness.”