Kelly Coutsoubos has truly experienced Alaska from end to end. Born in Kotzebue, raised in Seward, educated in Fairbanks, and now living in Anchorage, her life reflects the state’s wide- ranging landscapes. This summer, she became part of APU’s first-ever graduating cohort of the Master of Fine Arts program, an achievement shaped by creativity, perseverance, and deep personal growth.

Kelly moved to Anchorage with her husband and two children, where she worked in early childhood education, running and teaching at a preschool. When the pandemic arrived, everything shifted. She joined Zoom critique groups for children’s books and began stepping into the professional writing world. Kelly gave herself one year to find an agent, an ambitious but motivating goal.

Her path to the MFA program began as journeys sometimes do, with an advertisement. “My decision wasn’t even super career-driven,” Kelly recalls. “I knew I had this desire to write more and express myself. I wanted to learn more about myself and the process.” She hoped to sharpen her skills in writing picture book manuscripts, but her larger goal was personal—using writing as a tool to process life and understand herself more fully.

Life brought major changes during her time in the program, including the end of her marriage. Through it all, her two children were her biggest supporters. “It’s important to me that my kids are able to see that I’m going after dreams of mine,” she says. “That’s probably the biggest reason I’m even walking in December.”

Writing remains Kelly’s biggest passion, but she also enjoys playing outside, photography, running (sometimes, she laughs), playing music, and participating in community theater. Years of songwriting across several bands eventually led her to poetry, which became the heart of her MFA work. Though she originally planned to focus on nonfiction, life steered her toward poetry and she discovered just how much truth poetry can hold. She now writes under the pen name Kelly Aurora Beltane, a name readers around Anchorage may soon recognize.

Her thesis, Breaking, explores transitions and shifting identities, experiences that are both deeply personal and universally understood. She examines the liminal moments between what has ended and what has not yet begun, drawing on the emotional landscape of her divorce. Through heartbreak and the loss of what she once imagined her life would be, she found herself breaking open, making space for a new sense of self to emerge. Influenced by feminist writers, Kelly’s work investigates how women access power within a patriarchal system and how identity is shaped by both inner strength and external forces.

Connection runs throughout her writing. “Feeling connected to other people’s stories, and sharing my own so others can find connection, has been so important,” she says. “I loved weaving different threads throughout my manuscript.”

One memory from APU stands out clearly: her first public reading. Initially intimidated, Kelly found that once she stepped onto the stage and shared her work, she felt a deeper sense of belonging within the writing community. Hearing others read reminded her that every voice in unique and that standing out is something to embrace.

Since graduating, Kelly has returned to writing children’s books while continuing her search for an agent. She’s taking some intentional rest before fully diving into her next chapter, focusing on home repairs after significant flooding last year.

Kelly appreciated how the MFA program was both accessible and community-centered. As one of the most affordable programs in the state, and entirely asynchronous during the academic year, it supported students balancing work, family, and creative pursuits. The two-week summer intensives were a highlight for her. “I appreciated being all together,” she says. “Getting critiques from perspectives outside the poetry track was incredibly helpful.”

Her advice to current students is simple but essential: build a solid weekly schedule and stick to it. She also encourages students to stay connected to their cohort; community becomes especially powerful during the final semester, when deadlines approach and encouragement matters most. Kelly Coutsoubos’ journey through the MFA program is one of resilience, discovery, and creative courage. With her pen name Kelly Aurora Beltane and a growing body of work, she’s stepping confidently into her next chapter and inviting others to find connection through the stories she tells.