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Getting Some Direction with the English Department

ng2Hey guys!

This past week, the English department has been busy with an Alumni Panel and with an alumni author visiting campus.

One of the struggles of college is realizing that pretty soon I’ve got to know what I’m doing with my life. I have a very divided personality–I want to do something Political Science related or something English related, but I’m not sure which direction I want to take yet. I’ve been confident, thanks to MSL and various simulations, that if I go PoliSci I’ll go into public policy. And in this past week, I’ve solidified my thoughts for if I go English.

wishingthreadIf I focus my career on English, I want to work in the publishing industry. I love to read and I love to edit and I am one of the very few people who has fun finding grammar mistakes and making things look pretty. I’ve had this vague notion for a while. Lisa Van Allen, author of The Night Garden and The Wishing Thread, graduated from McDaniel in 2002. She went on to work for a literary agent before getting her masters in Creative Writing and then becoming a published novelist.

Last Monday, I was invited along with other English majors to dinner at the president’s house, where she was the guest of honour. She then gave a reading in the Wahraftig room of the library. The next day, she came in to talk to my Creative Writing class, and then she spoke at the alumni panel, meaning I got a lot of opportunities to quiz her about her career. It’s a lot different actually speaking with someone who was doing what I want to do than reading reports and informational articles online. She was super sweet and willing to answer my thousands of questions, which I really appreciated!

The alumni panel was super interesting in of itself because English is one of those majors that really can be applied to absolutely everything. Ironically, it’s one of the majors that gets questioned often, but it teaches one how to write effectively, how to communicate, and how to analyse. The paths that McDaniel graduates had taken were all interesting to hear about.

Each department has alumni panel dinners, co-sponsored by the Center for Experience and Opportunity, every second year, and I definitely recommend going to them, even if you have a solid idea of how you want your career to look!

Ema

Lisa Van Allen with my Creative Writing class.

Lisa Van Allen with my Creative Writing class.

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