Congratulations, Spy! How does it feel?
I feel distinctly honored. I can’t imagine there being any other place, anywhere in the world, where one could become the Spy-of-the-Month.

How did you first get involved at 826CHI?
It is perhaps testimony to the mysterious power of 826 that, when I was first told of its existence, it didn’t seem real. This happened a few years back, at a career and internship fair. These fairs, for artists, are a sad business, reminding us that we too have to get real jobs, join the real world. So 826CHI’s table, when I found it on the far side of the fair, seemed out of place. But not because the real was abandoned. Rather, it was held onto, but so it could be introduced to fantasy and to make-believe – to the unreal. Not only that, but they were allowed to mingle, to mix freely and joyfully. I think I’m right when I say that 826 is the only place this happens. There’s really nothing like it. Needless to say, I started my internship the following fall.

What has been your favorite 826 experience so far?
My favorite experience isn’t a singular event, but something I encounter every time I work with students. It’s their relationship with art. Since my work as a volunteer consists largely of illustrating student writing, I get to experience this firsthand. To be clear, these illustrations I do, they aren’t great. They’re produced quickly, with cheap materials. But the students aren’t concerned with quality the way an adult critic might be. When they see my drawings, the students react, without fail, like they’re witnessing a magic trick. They can’t believe it, they look on with stars-in-the-eyes awe. They ask me, with an almost pained curiosity, “You drew that?” Let me repeat: these illustrations are by no means masterpieces. What impresses them, I think, isn’t me or even the drawing per se, but the act itself, the creative act, the seemingly impossible and yet possible feat of creating a new and different world.The point to take away here is not that that the students don’t know any better. On the contrary, they see art for what it really is – magic. They understand intuitively that art is creative in the literal sense: it creates, conjuring something that didn’t previously exist, something that might not have existed otherwise. This is undeniably a magical act. Adults forget this basic fact. I’ve more or less dedicated my life to art, and I still forget this. Only the students at 826 have been able to remind me.

What do you do when you aren't working undercover?
I’m an undergraduate at SAIC, studying comics, and in my off time, I’m a homebody. Or, more accurately, a deskbody. I’m always at my desk, either drawing or reading. Recently, a lot of my effort has gone towards Spanish. I’m trying to learn how to speak it.

Do you have a favorite comic?
“Building Stories” by Chris Ware is hard to beat, for formal invention, for breadth and scale, and for vividly human characters. Another comic I’m fond of, for obvious reasons, is a strip from the 20’s called “Naughty Pete.”

How far are you into learning Spanish?
Not far! My goal is to be able to read Spanish-language fiction, and I’m a long, long ways off. But I’m getting to some of the fun pronouns now, like reflexive and indirect object, which appeals to the grammar nerd in me.

Our top agents always have the best codenames. What’s yours?
My codename is Dogsled. It seems to confuse students, which I think means that it’s a good codename.

Any words of wisdom for aspiring spies of the month?
More than anything, cultivate silliness. It really is imperative, a fact I began to understand after a number of students walked away from me mid-conversation. I remember a student asked me how I learned to draw. Their eyes glazed over as I tried to get across the importance of persistence. Now, if a student asked, I might tell them I attended the pope’s art school.