Posts filed under Teaching

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.

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.

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.

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!

You can follow Albert Flynn DeSilver on Facebook here and LinkedIn here.

Nagisa Toyooka: Supplemental Instruction Leader

Name: Nagisa Toyooka

Age: 29

College & Majors/Minors: BA in English, University of Southern California

Current Location: Los Angeles, CA

Current Form of Employment: Supplemental Instruction Leader at El Camino College

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I currently work as a Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader for mathematics courses at El Camino College. Every academic semester, I get assigned to a different course where I attend class with my students, discuss with the professor what class material I should review during “SI sessions,” and promote and facilitate review sessions that are tailored to the specific class I’ve been assigned to. It’s an interesting position and maybe a little confusing to the students who sometimes think I’m a tutor (which I’m not because I don’t work with students one-on-one) or if they ask me about their grades (which I don’t know about because I’m not a TA). I would describe it as a combination between being a teacher, TA and a tutor. Many colleges and universities around the country use the SI program as an academic program to help students succeed in stereotypically difficult courses.

I know that as English majors many of us get asked if we would ever teach. I was one of the skeptical ones, but being in my current position, it’s definitely the most rewarding position I’ve ever been in and it makes me rethink what I want and what I value in my long-term career goals.

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

Long story short, between my junior and senior year in college I realized that although I love writing and being immersed in artistic creativity, as I career I wanted to do pursue something that would continue to intellectually challenge me and be math-biology oriented. I wanted to pursue a research career in public health.

But, instead of switching majors or staying in school for a few extra years, I decided it was better for me to graduate on time and figure out if what I thought I wanted to do was what I wanted to do with my life. Some of my first few jobs outside of college were working as a cashier at a ramen restaurant, working as an editorial intern at Tokyopop, and organizing specimens as an Implant Retrieval Lab volunteer at the Orthopaedic Institute for Children. I feel like the volunteer experience was what convinced me to follow that inkling I felt during my last years in college.

After a few years in the workforce, I decided to go back to school to complete prerequisite courses that would help me to apply to graduate programs that interested me. I decided to complete lower-division requirements at El Camino College where I started working as a tutor at their math study center. While I worked as a tutor, I heard that the SI program was looking for new SI leaders and I applied. I’ve been a student in an SI session myself when I was a student at USC and I remember thinking that if I had the opportunity to be an SI leader, I’d want to do it, so I’m really glad I’ve been able to do this!

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

In addition to working as a SI leader, I also write for Hubpages, which is a user-generated-content website. When I was an intern at Tokyopop, I wrote an article every week on their “Learning Japanese” blog. Before that position, I wasn’t really interested in writing online or blogging because I had an image that blogging was like a diary except you write online. But the Learning Japanese blog showed me that blogs aren’t necessarily about personal stuff, but it could something informative and educational.

This is kind of a tangent, but having an English background and being a math tutor I feel like it makes me a different kind of instructor than say, an instructor with a science-math background. I try to be mindful of how I communicate with my students, especially if they make mistakes. I’ve noticed many students have “math anxiety” which I think comes from feeling discouraged about their mathematical abilities so when I talk to my students, I make it a priority to sound encouraging even though they may totally be approaching the problem wrong! I believe I’m able to do that kind of “thoughtful” communication because of the verbal and written communication training that comes from being an English major.

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

I wish I could say that I worked several internships, networked like crazy and landed a prestigious position after college, but that wasn’t the case.

I think networking is for real, but I also don’t think it’s the end of the world either even if we don’t have a large professional network. I feel like networking increases the chance that our resumes get looked at and bypasses some red tape, but the probability that we actually get hired for the position is the same whether we got an interview because we know someone at the company or submitted an application online.

I always worked throughout college and I’m sure subconsciously it has helped me develop the kind of work ethic we need to be successful after college. I feel like with me it’s the opposite—being in the real-world helped me realize things I could have done better as a student. When I went back to school, I realized the power of having relevant experience on my resume, but it’s hard for me to do internships during the academic year (because I work and go to school), but every summer I made sure I did something research-y oriented because that’s what I would ultimately like to do.

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

I feel like the best thing about being an English major is that it doesn’t prepare you for only one type of job or one type of career. If I met someone with say, an engineering degree, I kind of have an idea of what kind of company they would want to work for or what type of career path they might lead. But having said that, I also feel like the best thing about being an English major is also what makes it the hardest thing—there’s so much you can do with it that it can be really overwhelming! If there’s any advice that I could give, I would suggest that if a student is interested in becoming an English major, I would ask them to ask themselves why they want to study it and how it fits in with the rest of their life goals.

This is another tangent, but I read somewhere online once (and I agree with this statement) that when employers are hiring nowdays, they look for really specific skills that we may or may not learn during school, so I would also suggest that along with getting an English degree to get marketable experiences and skills which they could pad their resumes with.

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Posted on February 16, 2018 by Alyssa W. Christensen and filed under Teaching, Interview, Interviews and tagged Teaching.

Hannah Benefield: Academic Success Coordinator

Name: Hannah Benefield

Age: 24

College & Majors/Minors: BA Interdisciplinary Studies (Minor in English), MA English and Creative Writing

Current Location: Lakeland, FL

Current Form of Employment: Full-time Academic Success Coordinator at Southeastern University

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I work at Southeastern University as an Academic Success Coordinator for ACE, the learning center. In my role, I wear many hats: I hire, train, and manage the tutors for the learning center, create learning resources for our students, teach success workshops, tutor writing sessions, and function as the success coach for the wrestling team. I love every part of it!

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

When I was a few months away from graduation, I began searching for open positions at my university. I knew I loved academia and wanted to stay at Southeastern. I applied to be the Administrative Coordinator for the dean of Behavioral and Social Sciences and I got the job! I started less than a month after graduation. Even though I worked in a totally different department than my background, I learned so much about what the role of “professor” really looks like and developed administrative skills that made it possible for me to take on my current position.

I actually worked at ACE as a writing tutor in my undergrad! I still had a relationship with the Academic Success Coordinator who came before me (my former boss), so when she decided to move on, she suggested that I apply to replace her. I did and waited a few grueling months for an interview. I got the job only a few weeks before the school year began. One crazy year later, I am in love with my constantly changing and expanding job. My coworkers are dedicated, hardworking, and committed to our student’s success, which makes what I do that much more fun.

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

As I mentioned, I worked as a writing tutor when I was finishing my BA which really set me up for where I am now and where I am heading. Not only did I develop my proofreading and editing skills but I also learned how to teach those skills to the students that I worked with. These skills have been invaluable as I’ve grown in my career.

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

“Think of your long-term goal and then find ways to start developing the skills you need in order to get there. Even if you’re in a job that isn’t necessarily “in the field,” practice your skills where you’re at and learn how to market them!”

I got involved in as many skill-building and career related activities as a possible! I worked as a tutor, joined a poetry group, served as an editor for the university’s literary journal, participated in open mics and other poetry reading events, freelanced as an editor, and developed relationships with my English professors. College is the best time to get involved and start to make connections and develop skills.

For me, so many good opportunities and relationships continue to come out of those experiences.

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

Think of your long-term goal and then find ways to start developing the skills you need in order to get there. Even if you’re in a job that isn’t necessarily “in the field,” practice your skills where you’re at and learn how to market them!

Become a perpetual student and always be looking for new resources and new ways to get better at your craft. Be strategic with your hobbies, activities, and opportunities. Just as importantly, say yes to opportunities when they arise. Then write a killer resume or CV to highlight all of the skills that your English degree and extracurriculars equipped you with!

You can follow Hannah on Pinterest and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Ashley Hawley and filed under Teaching, Teacher, English Major Stories, Interviews, Interview and tagged Teaching.

Susanna Lancaster: English Professor

Name: Susanna Lancaster

Age: 27

College and Majors/Minors: College: The University of Memphis / English major with a concentration in creative writing (2011); Grad School: Lesley University / Creative Writing for Young People (2014)

Current Location: Memphis, TN

Current Form of Employment: English Instructor at Southwest Tennessee Community College, magazine writer, editor, and children’s author

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I’m an English Professor at Southwest Tennessee Community College, and I love it! I teach English Composition 1 and 2 courses, as well as Academic Success Seminars. I’m currently planning material to teach a creative writing course. In addition to teaching, I also write as much as possible. I’ve written for both The Perpetual You magazine and Memphis Health + Fitness Magazine. My first book, The Growing Rock—a YA historical fiction novel—debuts on December 12, 2017.

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

I started my very first job when I was 16. I didn’t have a car yet and wanted to save for one so that I could have enough money to buy one before I finished high school. My dad is the librarian at a Memphis school. Since I came by all the time to do my homework, I would often alphabetize books and do little jobs around the library. When I said I needed to buy a car, he agreed to let me work there part-time. It was the perfect job in high school and college because of the quiet atmosphere. It also helped me maintain my love for reading.

I’m truly blessed to be in the job that I’m in now. However, getting to this point wasn’t easy. For several years after earning my MFA degree, I worked a variety of jobs that didn’t necessarily “use” my degree. I realized while I was in graduate school that I wanted to teach, so in addition to a full-time office job, I taught classes as an adjunct professor at two different colleges.

““All of my writing success has also come with many challenges, and persistence always seems to be more than half the battle.””

All of my writing success has also come with many challenges, and persistence always seems to be more than half the battle. I have gotten magazine opportunities simply by reaching out and asking editors to see my work. If that wasn’t an option, I would just submit my writing and hope for the best. When it comes to getting work published, there are usually more rejections than there are acceptances, but I’ve learned you simply have to keep trying. The Growing Rock manuscript was sent to nearly forty different agents and publishing houses before I got my “yes.”

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

Editing! Over the years, I’ve done plenty of editing jobs for various people—from college level students, to Ph.D. dissertations, to people’s manuscripts, to resumes. This started in high school when my father didn’t have time to edit an essay for someone and suggested the person let me take a look at it. I was young, but I enjoyed grammar and writing, and I was fast at proofreading. Ever since, I’ve edited as a side job and been able to gain both more experience and extra cash. This job was very important to me when I was a graduate student working several part-time jobs and having a hard time living on my own. It seemed like whenever I was low on funds, an editing job would come my way. I think that this job played a significant role when I started teaching as an adjunct a couple of years later. It led me recognize how every student has different strongpoints, helped me with developing how I wanted to grade my students’ essays, and allowed me to see the benefits of pointing out positive and negative aspects in writing.

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

This is a tough one to answer, but it’s something I share with my students sometimes to help them not make the same mistakes. I wish that I had done more in college to prepare myself for after I graduated. I didn’t focus enough on graduating and focused much more on getting to graduation. My senior year was pretty hectic because I had a 4.0 GPA, and I was obsessed with graduating with this level of perfection. I worried and studied all the time, and anxiety got the best of me. I actually battled an eating disorder for many years, and that became consuming. I finished college a year early and with the 4.0, but I remember being exhausted, very sick, and thinking “Now what?”

““This gap year turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. It helped me gain more responsibility and maturity. It also helped me understand what I wanted to do, which was to be a writer—specifically a children’s author.””

I didn’t get into graduate school immediately, and I was extremely hard on myself. I ended up taking the next year off from school and working some part-time jobs, moved out of my parents’ home, and focused on taking care of me. This gap year turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. It helped me gain more responsibility and maturity. It also helped me understand what I wanted to do, which was to be a writer—specifically a children’s author. I hadn’t been out of college for a full year when I was accepted to several of the graduate programs that focus on writing children’s literature. Because I wasn’t in school at the moment, I had less pressure deciding which one was the best for me.

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

There’s a Winston Churchill quotation I’ve always admired. When asked to cut the funding of the arts for the war effort, he had answered, “then what are we fighting for?” This saying sums up so much in my own life. Writing and doing what I enjoy has been crucial for my health and happiness. Without this passion, I would definitely have to ask myself what I would be living for, and I don’t think I would be where I am in my eating disorder recovery. Therefore, my first piece of advice is do what you enjoy. An English major may not bring you the wealthiest lifestyle, but no major is guaranteed to do this. English degrees are also incredibly important. Most people don’t realize how necessary English majors are for many different areas outside of teaching and editing—film, television shows, and technical writing are all divisions where we need English majors.

My other piece of advice is to be patient with yourself. Sometimes the dream career doesn’t come around immediately upon graduation, but that’s okay. There’s no harm in working a job outside of the English major and doing smaller jobs, such as teaching, or editing, to help you gain the experience needed for the job you’re working toward. When it comes to writing, I encourage people not to quit. When trying to get my book published, I did face a bit of rejection, and it was easy to feel discouraged. There were times I wanted to quit, but now I can see that my book wouldn’t exist if I had. Publishing is one of those things that may take a long time to work toward, but it only takes one “yes” to make the dream happen. Having friends to critique my work was incredibly important, and putting myself out there and looking for opportunities was crucial. Ultimately, focusing on what made me happy and not losing faith in my goals helped some of my dreams turn into reality.

The Growing Rock debuts December 12th from Harvard Square Editions!

When the summer of 1937 leads to one hardship after another that changes the life she knows forever, fourteen-year-old Caroline struggles not to give into hopelessness as she keeps a promise to her Papa about looking after the women in the family.

You can visit Susanna's website at susannalancaster.com, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram @Susanna_Lancaster_Author.

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Ashley Hawley and filed under Author, Teaching and tagged Teaching.

James M. Van Wyck: Postdoctoral Fellow

Name: James M. Van Wyck

Age: 34

College & Majors/Minors: William Paterson (BA); SUNY Buffalo (MA); Fordham University (PhD)

Current Location: New York, New York

Current Form of Employment: Postdoctoral Fellow

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I'm a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Fordham University. I teach at the Lincoln Center campus in the heart of Manhattan.

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

Every single job I've ever had has been writing-related. And that's not because most of them have been in the academy. I've worked in a corporate environment, and currently serve on several non-profit boards. I'm often called upon to craft the documents that make these institutions what they are (mission statements and the like) and the advancement letters that help bring in money to support these missions.

““At each stage of my professional life I have tried to look ahead at the accomplishments of others, and then figure out the steps they took to get where they are.””

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

At each stage of my professional life I have tried to look ahead at the accomplishments of others, and then figure out the steps they took to get where they are. I mimicked the behaviors of peers/recent graduates whose work I respected. I looked at the CVs and resumes of scholars I looked up to, and reverse engineered the processes that led to their success. Then I broke those steps into manageable tasks and plotted them on my Google calendar. I also became a shameless networker, which has led to a lot of opportunities.

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

Own it. Don't ever apologize for your major. And forget the white noise about employability: the kinds of employers for whom you want to work value humanities education. I had dinner last month with a Raleigh-based CEO in NYC to secure funding for upcoming projects. He told me in no uncertain terms that the college major of an applicant to his company was almost always besides the point. What matters, he said, are communications skills and the ability to learn new processes. He used keywords like flexibility, adaptability, and teachability. His major? Religious studies. (It would have been the perfect anecdote had he been an English major!)

Another key point: make sure you take on an internship or some experience that allows you to acquire and demonstrate that you can work as part of a team, that you can communicate with a wide variety of audiences, and so on.