Rhonda Watts: Podcaster & Blogger

Name: Rhonda Watts

Age: 32

College & Majors/Minors: Central Washington University: English Language and Literature, Writing Specialization

Current Location: Tacoma, WA

Current Form of Employment: Full-time, contract, and freelance

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I am the creator as well as a writer, producer, and co-host of Pop DNA Podcast. We explore the connections between classic literature and current popular movies and TV shows, as well as the traces of historical and cultural influences in said media.

I am also a blogger on my own blog, Rhonda Blogs About Books, and I do some freelance and contract writing. I have a full-time "day job" at the moment, but I am hoping to be able to go down to part time, or even leave it altogether eventually, as I build my clientele through freelance, as well as my audience and relationships with sponsors and advertisers for my blog and podcast.

(My "day job," or how I pay the bills, is working in Vocational Rehabilitation, as a sort of translator or liaison between a worker who has been injured on the job, their doctors, employer, physical therapist, sometimes attorney, and any other party involved in their case. This involves a lot of research, textual analysis, and writing, so the skills I gained with my English degree are crucial to this job, as well.)

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different).

My first job after graduation was a temporary internship with an entertainment news website that I found through a typical job posting, applied, and interviewed for in the standard way.

Following the internship, I took on the role of Media and Community Relations Coordinator for a local history museum; this position included a lot of collaboration with museum education, which inspired me to pursue work in the education field for several years. I ended up teaching preschool and earning an Early Childhood Education credential in the process. Unfortunately, teaching turned out to be a very demanding and draining field, especially for an introvert, and I left teaching to get back in to the field of writing, communications, and media that I had originally wanted to pursue.

I had been writing on my blog for several years at that point, but only intermittently. I decided to treat my blog like a part-time job and create a posting schedule for myself, as well as work on defining my voice and focus for my posts, and create more of a presence on social media. After several months of consistency in these areas, I recently sold a sponsored post, had a piece from my blog featured on Medium, and I've been approached by two publishers to review their books. Using my blog as a portfolio, I also began to seek out sponsorship and freelance writing work.

Around the time I left teaching, I also decided to pursue the podcast idea I'd been ruminating on for about a year, and recruited a like-minded friend to partner with me. We learned as we went, picking up whatever technical knowledge we needed along the way. We've now been making the show for nearly a year, we've done one live show and are booked for another, we've been asked to speak on a panel for a fan convention, and we just signed with a podcast distribution network.

While I am in the process of creating this new job for myself, I do still need a way to pay the bills, so to speak. In my search for my current day job, I was looking for something in office administration or data entry, something that I felt I could do competently but that would leave me enough mental energy to pursue my creative projects off-hours. I found my current position in Voc Rehab again through a typical job posting, and was pleasantly surprised to find something that met my "9 to 5" requirement, but is also providing a useful service for people and uses my writing skills.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

Surprisingly, teaching involved a lot of writing: lesson plans, curriculum, newsletters for parents, documentation of students' work and learning, and even the stories I made up to tell the kids at circle time! So much of preschool curriculum is focused on pre-literacy and language, which are an English major's forte. Thinking about literacy and this language I know so well, thanks to my degree, in terms of a three- or four-year-old child who is just learning how to express themself with language and recognize written words really gave me a new understanding of and appreciation for language and literacy.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

I read literature and wrote analytical essays and poetry and fiction for class, but I also read and wrote what I wanted. I read popular and YA novels (The Hunger Games books were huge when I was in college!) and I wrote crappy fan fiction and silly blog posts about pop culture. At the time, I had a vague idea that I might want to be an entertainment journalist, so I watched a lot of movies, I watched way too much TV, and I read the kind of material I wanted to write, as well.

While in college, I was also fortunate enough to land a work-study position with my school's Campus Life department, writing and editing for the Publicity Center's publications. This experience was key in helping me hone my skills in all kinds of media writing, as I wrote press releases and other marketing pieces, interviewed speakers and artists that visited campus, and had the opportunity to publish articles in the city newspaper.

I also listened to a lot of podcasts, which at the time were a brand new form of media, and that's really when the seeds were planted that I might want to do a podcast at some point, some day.

““Don’t be afraid to pursue what you love, but be open to the possibility that it might not look exactly the way you expect at first.””

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

Don't be afraid to pursue what you love, but be open to the possibility that it might not look exactly the way you expect at first. In order to do what you really want, and build it into something that can sustain you, you may have to take on those "day jobs" for a little while, and that is OK! And also, don't be afraid of not knowing exactly what you want to do, and just exploring the possibilities. If you keep following your passions and interests, you'll find your place. And if you possibly can, write some crappy fan fiction, just to get it out of your system.

My podcast, Pop DNA, is available on all major podcast platforms, and on our website, ThePopDNA.blog.

Read my blog, Rhonda Blogs About Books, at RhondaBlogsAboutBooks.com.

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Gary Reddin: Magazine Editor & Arts/Religion Journalist

Name: Gary Reddin

Age: 32

College & Majors/Minors: Cameron University, B.A. English 

Current Location: Oklahoma

Current Form of Employment: Magazine Editor and Arts/Religion Journalist 

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I work for Oklahoma’s third largest newspaper as the editor of their features magazine and I also serve as the senior arts, entertainment, and religion reporter for the paper. 

And, though I don’t get paid for it, I am also the co-founder of Reading Down the Plains, which is a nonprofit literary group here in southwest Oklahoma whose mission is to bring creative writing classes, featured readers, and open mic events to rural Oklahoma.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different). 

I’m going to skip past my first few jobs in high school and immediately afterward and get right to my first “English-y” job—working as a writing tutor for my university. I had friends who worked in the school’s writing center, so I applied hoping to get in. As it turns out, they were looking for a writing tutor on the satellite campus about 45 minutes away—which is where I was living at the time. I accepted the position and worked as a writing tutor for my last two years of undergrad. 

I actually applied for a part-time job at the newspaper when I was still a student. It was my last semester and I had been on the hunt for jobs when a friend suggested I apply for an open position at the paper. I remember being nervous during the interview, which is unusual for me because I’m typically pretty calm talking to people I don’t know. I think my biggest fear was that they wouldn’t want to hire someone who hadn’t graduate yet. But they did. Things just sort of snowballed from there. I was promoted to full-time after I graduated. Then, when the company that owns the paper decided to launch a magazine, they chose me as the editor. A year after I started I was tasked with building a brand new publication from scratch—which has been a trip. 

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

When I was in college, I worked as the editor for the school’s literary magazines, The Gold Mine, which is the student lit journal, and The Oklahoma Review, which is the professional lit journal. My experience with those journals is part of the reason I was chosen for the editor’s position when we launched the magazine. 

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life? 

I had a pretty unique college experience. I took a few classes right out of high school but couldn’t really afford the tuition, so I dropped out and started working. I took a class here, a class there, whatever I could afford. By my mid-20s, a college degree had begun to feel unobtainable. I was working in IT pretty far removed from what I had always dreamt of doing, which was professional writing. 

Then the oil and gas industry tanked and the equipment manufacturer I was working for laid me off. This turned out to be transformative for me. Thanks to a government program that is too complex to explain in this interview, I was given a full scholarship for two years. It was a serendipitous stroke of luck. Even though I had a handful of college credits under my belt, it was going to be a struggle to get a four-year degree in two years. I took 18 hours every semester for six semesters straight, but I did it. 

I accepted every opportunity. Applied for every scholarship. Submitted to every writing competition. I was a first-generation college student; I had no one telling me what to invest my time in so I went the kitchen sink route and just did everything. It was crazy, hectic and a little overwhelming at times. But honestly, if I had it all to do again, I’d want to do it the same way. 

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

Don’t shoehorn yourself. Get outside of your comfort zone. Too many English majors find the one type of writing they’re good at (academic, creative, technical etc.) and just stick with it. Don’t. You might not think you can write a short story to save your life, but don’t let that stop you from trying. 

I used to feel like my weakest writing was my poetry. I didn’t “get it” and I felt like my fiction and nonfiction were a lot stronger. But I didn’t let that stop me from submitting to the university’s poetry contest. I ended up winning. This year, my first poetry chapbook was published through Rose Rock Press. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can only be good at one kind of writing. 

You can check out the magazine that Gary edits here, view his fiction here and here, view his poetry here, and connect with him on LinkedIn here.

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Debra Scala Giokas: Marketing Director at a Law Firm

Name: Debra Scala Giokas

Age: 54

College & Majors/Minors: Stony Brook University / BA / English, Dowling College / MBA / Management

Current Location: Long Island, New York

Current Form of Employment: Marketing Director at a Law Firm

Where do you work and what is your current position? 

I am the Marketing Director at Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP. We are a full-service law firm on Long Island with 80 attorneys and 15 areas of practice. My position encompasses public relations, media relations, community and charitable relations, external and internal communications, marketing planning and strategy, building brand awareness, networking, advertising, graphic design, social media, web site revision and maintenance, and special events. No two days are ever the same, but I write every day. 

Tell us about how you found your first job…

I was hired as a senior in high school at JC Penney because I told the HR Director I was “willing to learn.” I kept that job throughout college and worked my way through school as a sales associate in every department. After graduation, Canon USA saw magical words on my resume: camera department at JC Penney and English degree. Nothing that you ever do is ever lost! My sales experience and communication skills helped me in my marketing career.  

…and how you found your current job (if different)

I did not apply for my current position. By the time the firm was ready to hire its first marketing director, I already had nine years of experience at two other law firms. I was fortunate to get into this new field at the ground level. The job you find yourself in may not even exist yet. 

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career? 

It’s not another job, but rather continuing education. I’ve always taken courses in writing. Recently, I joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. My participation in poetry workshops, in memoir and short story courses, and picture book writing classes at conferences, to name a few, have made me a well-rounded writer. That made me a better business writer. I also taught marketing classes as an adjunct and had to grade marketing research papers. There is no better way to learn your field than to teach it. 

What did you do in college to prepare you for post-grad life? 

““You picked an awesome major. The ability to communicate is essential in any job. If you can read, you can learn. If you can write, you have an advantage. If you can tell your organization’s story, you will have a job.””

My best preparation in college was studying hard and working my way through school. Time management is essential to success. The ability to juggle many projects and deliver them ahead of deadline is crucial. 

What is your advice to students with an English degree? 

You picked an awesome major. The ability to communicate is essential in any job. If you can read, you can learn. If you can write, you have an advantage. If you can tell your organization’s story, you will have a job. 

For me, literature is a life-long love affair. If you have curiosity, determination and discipline, you can enrich your life with reading. You’ll always be able to find your way. If I had to pick a major all over again, I would choose English. 

You can connect with Debra Scala Giokas on LinkedIn here and follow her on Twitter here (where she tweets about literary and historic topics). When Debra’s not working with PR hooks, she works with crochet hooks—you can check out her Etsy shop here.

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Marisa Stickel: Doctoral Student & Graduate Teaching Associate

Name: Marisa Stickel

Age: 26

College & Majors/Minors: BA in English and French from Fairmont State University in WV; an MA in English and Women’s and Gender Studies from UNC-Wilmington in NC; and a(n) (in-progress) Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee in TN.

Current Location: Knoxville, TN

Current Form of Employment: Doctoral student/Graduate Teaching Associate

Where do you work and what is your current position?

As a full-time doctoral student with funding, I serve as a Graduate Teaching Associate, instructing Freshmen Composition for UT’s First-Year Composition program.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different).

Aside from being a dance teacher for a few years, all of my jobs have been in higher education or teaching. Most of my positions have all been in higher education, and I have occupied both realms of the university: Student Affairs and Academia. There is a significant divide between these two sectors, and because I have experience in both, sometimes it is difficult to implement the skills from one area in the other, but I daily work to transgress the boundaries between these two areas. With graduate work, most programs offer funding in the form of a GTA position, offering you experience in instructing composition. While I have this experience and I currently serve in this role, I have also worked in Retention, Orientation, Graduate Studies, and Campus Life. Additionally, I have taught English and college prep at the middle school level. All of these roles have required me to be an excellent writer and speaker, and my background in English has taught me how interdisciplinary the field itself is. You can do a lot with an English degree if you don’t limit yourself in your education and experiences.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

I did grant-writing for a short time, and while this might be a worthwhile job for some people, I far more enjoy teaching in the college atmosphere. While working in Campus Life as an advisor for the student-programming board, writing was intricate to my position when it came to organizing events, marketing and advertising, or writing pieces for the university’s magazine.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

““Embracing English and its link to the humanities and the human experience helps you transfer your knowledge beyond the classroom. You quickly learn empathy, and I think that’s one of the most important things a person can learn in this field.””

Even though I have not left the academy and my life’s work is dedicated to the collegiate atmosphere, the most beneficial thing that I did as a student (and continue to do) is to treat my degree as an interdisciplinary field. Studying English means that while you do spend most of your time reading and writing, you are also learning snippets of other disciplines: psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography, cognitive science, ecology—to name a few. English is a humanities degree, and learning how to understand and value humans and culture is a significant part of the degree experience. Embracing English and its link to the humanities and the human experience helps you transfer your knowledge beyond the classroom. You quickly learn empathy, and I think that’s one of the most important things a person can learn in this field. It can save the world in the work you do post-grad.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

English is an interdisciplinary field and the work you do in the field helps you understand and value humans. Reading and writing cultivates empathy, and I truly think this is intricate and necessary for people who love and study culture and society. The humanities are so vital and our work matters. We understand the human experience far more than most people and we appreciate the vitality and diversity of people’s stories. These are the things that matter, and I really think it is the people who study English that can make a difference in our culture. My advice: read challenging texts; write often—and in genres that you’re unfamiliar with; listen to people’s stories; don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and share your stories.

You can learn more about Marisa Stickel on her website here, and follow her on Twitter here.

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Katie Ragsdale: English Language Arts Teacher

Name: Katie Ragsdale

Age: 31

College & Majors/Minors: 

• Troy University – Bachelor’s of Science in English & Minor in Business

• The University of West Alabama – Master’s of Education in Instructional Leadership

• The University of West Alabama – Educational Specialist in Instructional Leadership

Current Location: New Brockton, Alabama

Current Form of Employment: Teacher

Where do you work and what is your current position? 

New Brockton High School in New Brockton, AL – English Language Arts teacher

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different). 

I am blessed to say that my first job and my current job are the same. There was not some long, arduous job hunt. I took the Praxis exam (the exam required for all prospective teachers in Alabama) in my field of study - on a whim - my last semester of college. I had heard horror stories about this exam and felt a little irresponsible taking it so nonchalantly. However, all of my coursework in the English field paid off and I passed it on the first attempt with very little preparation.

In the state of Alabama, a person with a degree in a content area (rather than a traditional, teaching degree) can pursue an alternative route to a professional teaching certificate. With my English degree and a successful attempt at the Praxis exam under my belt, I went to work putting together resume and application packets which included a grainy headshot of myself that my college roommate took of me with an old Sony digital camera, an incredibly long and wordy resume fraught with useless information, and a cover letter that all but begged for a job. I sent off those packets to local school districts two weeks before graduating with my Bachelor’s in English.

By the summer, my superintendent from back home had offered me a job teaching high school English Language Arts. Armed with a pretentious amount of knowledge in my content area, I faced a room full of eighth graders without ever even completing a teaching internship. I was required to complete four education courses within three years of being hired. Once completing that requirement I earned my full teaching certificate. My first year on the job was a true baptism by fire experience. I have never had a year since that was more difficult. My one true strength that school year, though, was all of my English knowledge. I may not have been able to express it or teach it well, but I definitely have been a content expert since the beginning of my career, and I used that as the only weapon in my arsenal my first year teaching.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

I haven’t had any other writing-related job. In my career, it’s more of a when-am-I-not-writing question. As a teacher of English Language Arts to upper secondary students, I write much more than perhaps anyone would imagine. If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about the craft of effective writing, whether it be fiction or research papers or resumes. On a daily basis, I am looking at student writing every hour, on the hour. I cater many of my lessons to the state writing standards so that students must write often and, eventually, write well.

If I’m not instructing on effective writing, grading writing, or creating writing rubrics, I am writing myself. Just last week, I wrote a fictional passage which I included on a grammar quiz. In the passage, I purposefully incorporated some commonly confused homophones which I asked students to identify and correct. Next week, I will be writing a sample, Anglo-Saxon boast (as a part of our unit on Beowulf) that I will perform for my seniors as a model of the same type of boast that they will write about themselves. I also stay busy writing lesson plans, curriculum, and teaching materials. All of this is on top of the piles of letters of recommendation I have written throughout the years as well as the papers that former students often send me to proofread. 

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

““...Be honest with yourself. Know yourself enough to enter the career field which suits you best. As an English major, you are incredibly versatile and valuable and hirable. You just have to know yourself enough to pursue a career which will nurture your needs and personality.””

In college, I truly relished my classes and coursework. I found something to enjoy about every class I took. I found deep satisfaction in completing each of my English classes. I was purposefully reflective and introspective, especially in my last few semesters. I knew what I liked. I knew what I was good at. I knew that I wanted to keep the trajectory of passion for English moving forward. So, knowing myself and being honest with myself was the biggest piece of preparation. Also, I fostered a healthy rapport with my professors. I truly respected each of them, and I believe they knew that, too. These relationships led to some very complimentary letters of recommendation for my overzealous packets that I sent out to school districts.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

As I mentioned before, my advice is to be honest with yourself. Know yourself enough to enter the career field which suits you best. As an English major, you are incredibly versatile and valuable and hirable. You just have to know yourself enough to pursue a career which will nurture your needs and personality. Not only have I always been good at and enjoyed English, but I have also always been a natural leader. I have always desired to be in charge. So, the classroom suits me. Find what suits you.

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Nicole Yurcaba: English Instructor

Name: Nicole Yurcaba

Age: 32

College & Majors/Minors: BA—Business Administration, Bridgewater College; BA—English, Bridgewater College, Masters of Humanities—Writing, Tiffin University; MFA—Writing, Lindenwood University

Current Location: West Virginia and Virginia, USA

Current Form of Employment: English Instructor

Where do you work and what is your current position? 

Currently, I teach poetry, Ukrainian literature, effective writing, Publishing and Marketing, and a variety of other courses at Bridgewater College in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different).

Wow! My first job. I worked as a bank teller through high school and college, and through graduate school I worked as a substitute teacher, a bank teller, an adjunct professor, and a farm hand. All of those jobs I acquired through networking, which then set the trend for the rest of my career journeys. As my first full-time job, I worked as a Developmental Education Coordinator for a small community college in rural West Virginia where I had originally worked as an adjunct. My job duties consisted of reshaping developmental educational courses and documenting assessment data. In 2015, however, the chair of the English department at Bridgewater College, who during my undergraduate career had been one of my professors, called me and invited me to an interview, because the department was interested in adding an instructor with experience in developmental education. I was offered a non-tenure track instructor’s position shortly thereafter, and I am now entering my fifth year teaching at Bridgewater College.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career? 

Another writing-related job that was important in my career was working as Reading Interventionist for K-3 and then 8th grade. Basically, I worked with students of varying academic capabilities on reading and writing skills both during and outside their regular Language Arts lessons. Working with younger students of varying abilities allowed me to develop useful teaching strategies that help me work with college students of varying abilities in all of the classes that I teach.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life? 

I read everything that I could that was not related to class, and I attended every conference, every open mic event, etc. that I could possibly attend. I also spent a great deal of time with my professors outside of class, discussing literature and writing and publishing. Lastly, I dedicated at least an hour every day to my own personal writing, and I never typed a draft until the final draft—I wrote everything longhand in my journals.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree? 

Don’t give up! If I had quit at the first rejection letter, I would not be in a field that I absolutely love. Also, take advantage of every possible work and educational opportunity, because the more experience that a person has, the better, because employers often deem writers as invaluable. Even when I worked as a bank teller, I learned quickly that none of my co-workers wanted to write overdraft and business letters, so, because I was the English major, my manager often gave me that task. Even when I worked as a farm hand, I often proofread and edited my boss’s professional correspondences. Therefore, by proving that I was an asset—no matter the job—and that my talent had a place, I affirmed my position as a writer even when I worked at a job that others wouldn’t associate with writing.

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Beth Zeanah: Technical Writer

Name: Beth Zeanah

Age: 24

College & Majors/Minors: Major - English: Professional and Public Writing; Minor - English: Creative Writing

Current Location: Huntsville, AL

Current Form of Employment: Full-time Technical Writer

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I currently work as a technical writer at a telecommunications network and hardware company located in Huntsville, AL. In this position, I research, develop, and write the documentation that eventually goes out to internet service providers and their customers. My content typically comes from the different engineering teams who developed the hardware and software, which I then analyze and reorganize into the customer-facing user guides.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different).

My first writing job was a student technical writing position supporting Auburn University's Campus Web Solutions team, which a senior in my major recommended to me before she graduated. When I started looking for jobs after my graduation, I narrowed down the area I wanted to be in and started exploring various job sites for jobs in my target area. If I recall correctly, I found my current position on Indeed.com.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

My first technical writing job on campus was crucial to me getting valuable experience working in a professional environment, as well as getting experience in useful software programs and tools that I wasn't exposed to in my classes. This job experience as a student set me up for a lot of opportunities and the connections I made there were very helpful post-graduation.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

The track for my major was fairly flexible in that I could pick and choose the classes I wanted to take as my core major related courses. As such, I was able to tailor my major track to focus on classes that developed important skills I would need if I was going to pursue writing as a career. A lot of my classes, for example, were focused toward professional and business writing, so I gained a lot experience in practical every-day writing that I still use today. A perk to these classes was that they typically included a resume and cover letter portion, which really helped me in those first few months after graduation when I was applying for jobs in earnest, because I already had developed a living resume and cover letter template. I also was able to take an editing class which, although it was one of my harder classes, was essential in fine-tuning writing skills I took for granted, such as grammar, spelling, punctuation etc. Carefully selecting my courses to strike that balance between practical classes and the more fun literature courses was key. I was able to develop useful skills I still use every day post-college, while still managing to get rich experiences in the other areas that first drew me to major in English.

““If you can, try to pick up a part-time job related to your career goals or pursue an internship. The connections and skills you develop in college can make a huge impact on your success post-graduation.””

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

As a student, take advantage of the resources your university offers you. Most public universities have career centers and writing centers, both of which can be great resources for developing those practical skills that will help when starting your career. I also highly recommend taking advantage of your professors' office hours. They may seem daunting, but having those one-on-one discussions with your professor can be a great chance to further sharpen your skills, as well as a chance to make a connection that could spark inspiration, whether that be in your course-work or for your career goals. If you can, try to pick up a part-time job related to your career goals or pursue an internship. The connections and skills you develop in college can make a huge impact on your success post-graduation. Upon graduating, don't stop learning! Always be looking for opportunities to learn a new skill or topic that can help further shape your career. Don't discount the value of creating a robust LinkedIn profile either. Spending time creating a professional space to show-off all of the wonderful things being an English Major taught you can make a big difference in landing that first (or second) job!

You can connect with Beth on LinkedIn here.

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Albert Flynn DeSilver: Poet, Author, Workshop Leader and Founder of Brilliant Writer, LLC

Name: Albert Flynn DeSilver

Age: 50

College & Majors/Minors: University of Colorado, Boulder, Bachelors of Fine Arts-Photography, Minor in English

Current Location: School for International Training, Kenya East Africa

Current Form of Employment: San Francisco Art Institute, MFA-New Genres (writing, photography, mixed media)

Where do you work and what is your current position?

Currently work is as an entrepreneur, founder and CEO at Brilliant Writer, LLC. I teach writing & mindfulness meditation retreats and workshops internationally, write and publish books, offer online writing and mindfulness experiences, and sell digital courses and programs, all through my website at www.brilliantwriter.com/free-book and www.albertflynndesilver.com

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different).

My first job out of college was as a house painter, I then moved to California for grad school, and worked at a bookstore, being a runner at a landscaper architecture firm, guided backpacking trips for kids, and then eventually found the California Poets in the Schools program, which placed professional practicing poets in classrooms throughout California in order to teach kids about the art of writing. I found them at an art festival in San Francisco and asked how I could participate. At the time I had very little teaching experience and not a whole lot of work published, but I had ENTHUSIASM and determination. After lots of badgering, they let me do their apprenticeship training and then I got to observe numerous seasoned teachers in the classroom and soon wrote up my own curriculum. That summer a friend got me a teaching gig at in a summer program at a private school and I got to teach poetry for the first time. From there it all just blossomed into almost thirteen years of working with thousands of kids from all walks of life all over Northern California.

Writing as a Path to Awakening: A Year to Becoming an Excellent Writer and Living an Awakened Life

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

I think an important writing-related job was working in a bookstore, where I could imagine my book some day gracing their shelves—and a few years later my dream became a reality. Also being around books and READING all the time is so crucial for our writing. This is where we learn how to craft great sentences and get to see how other writers are perpetuating the evolution of language! 

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life? 

The most important thing I did in college to prepare me for post-grad life was travel abroad in East Africa. Wow, did that ever give me perspective on my white male privilege! It really opened up my perspective to the vast diversity of the world and how important it is to take other people’s world views, experiences, and cultural traditions into account—all that we can learn and celebrate in shared humanity from people with very unique and different experiences from our own.

““Never forget the power of writing and literature to change lives! You CAN make a great living as a writer and lover of literature, you just have to stay focused, committed, and determined.””

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

For those of you who have graduated with an English degree, never give up on your love and passion for literature and writing, your big dream—of writing the next great American novel or being the next great transformational teacher of literature, or whatever it is for you. Your English degree can serve you in unexpected ways throughout your life and working career. Never forget the power of writing and literature to change lives! You CAN make a great living as a writer and lover of literature, you just have to stay focused, committed, and determined. Be creative, consider how you can leverage new technologies, and especially how you can serve others in a different way through your unique story and experiences. Cultivate community, join writing and reading groups and communities, or start your own. This is how we stay engaged and connected to our passion for writing and reading. Study the innovators and their habits. It’s amazing the kinds of writing, reading, and literature organizations (and companies) people are creating online these days, all-the-while making a great living, and a great difference doing it!     

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