I’d wished I’d known that it is okay to want to be a writer. It is a valid career choice, and can be even more so when it is paired with other concrete skillsets that one can gain at BYU.
When did you graduate from BYU?
BA English 2012
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
I am a teacher, editor, and writer. Everything I do is some combination of those three things and the importance of stories.
Describe the path that you took from your BYU English degree to your current career, highlighting the important realizations and turning points that paved the path for you.
My path at BYU, studying English and anthropology, was essential to what came later in my life—though I didn't know that would be at the time. The things I proactively took advantage of as an undergrad helped me land a job with Teach For America right after graduation. With Teach For America, I got an M.Ed in teaching from Boston University. This gave me concrete skills—like lesson planning, leadership, and curriculum design—to support the rest of the creative work I do.
Since then, I’ve worked inside the classroom and outside the classroom. I’ve written textbooks as a Global English Curriculum Directory at an international education company. I’ve also narrowed in on teaching writing at the university level and in volunteer settings.
But even more concretely, the critical thinking, research, interview skills, and international experiences I cultivated at BYU directly helped me write my first book, EAST WINDS, a coming-of-age memoir published in 2022. (https://rachelrueckert.com/eastwinds)
EAST WINDS was my graduating thesis for my MFA at Columbia University I just completed (which, by the way, was paid for because I got a selective scholarship to teach BECAUSE of my teaching background).
I now have an agent and a second book, a novel, going on submission to publishers too. I'm the Editor in Chief of a feminist magazine and the co-founder of a family history writing company called KLEIO. But it took me a while after my BYU graduation to embrace the fact that I could be a “real” writer. Having a concrete skillset, like teaching and later editing, helped round out my work experience so that I can both write and contribute to the larger community.
What are the specific skills that you cultivated as an English major that you now use in your professional life? And how do you use those skills in ways that set you apart from your colleagues?
When I first started college, I was in the bad habit of going though the motions, sitting in the back of the classroom, and getting As like check marks. At BYU, I learned to read and think for myself—not just bob my head and say what the teacher wants me to say. I participated in the honors program, creative writing courses, and perhaps most importantly, invested in research opportunities that led to leadership development. As an undergrad, I had two field studies I attended (one in India, one in Ghana) that were affordable for my budget that gave me practice crafting IRBs, crafting project proposals, and working and learning independently. I can’t underscore how much these impacted my life and what later came. The leadership experience set me apart to get the job at Teach For America, and the research experience and practice of making proposals set me up for a life of writing. They were directly responsible for giving me the courage and the needed skills to write EAST WINDS.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your English degree helped you in your life?
Learning to write clearly and craft a solid work proposal early in life has set me up for being more deliberate in so many ways in my life—personally and professionally. I also find myself writing book reviews all the time for other writers, which makes me feel like I never really even left the BYU classroom in some ways—it’s a good feeling!
One other surprise: I've stayed good friends with the professors who I sought out. They have been supportive of my work and vice versa ever since.
What do you wish you had known as an English major? Is there any advice you’d like to share with current students?
I’d wished I’d known that it is okay to want to be a writer. It is a valid career choice, and can be even more so when it is paired with other concrete skillsets that one can gain at BYU. One thing I regret is that it took me so long to come across editing as something I love almost as much as writing. Taking some entry-level editing classes without having to commit to a minor in it would have also been great for me at the time.
I also wished I'd known that it is okay to not know exactly what comes next. Just take advantage of the opportunities available, do the next right thing, and it is incredibly how much it all makes sense in hindsight.
Contact
rachel.rueckert@columbia.edu