"My English degree opened my eyes to new ways of engaging with the world, helped me find value in a wide variety of texts including books, movies, songs, and more."
When did you graduate from BYU?
BA English 2016
MA English 2019
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
PhD Student, Graduate Instructor, and Writing Center Tutor at the University of Iowa. I teach classes in Rhetoric, similar to BYU’s WRTG 150 course, and I work as a tutor at the Writing Center. In my tutoring, I work with undergraduates and graduate students on a wide variety of assignments and from a broad range of disciplines.
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.
As I finished my MA program, I worked for about a year at Boostability as part of the Onsite Copy Team, writing and editing online copy for a variety of small businesses clients. I applied to PhD programs and considered my future options; at Boostability, I used elements of clear and concise writing learned during my BYU English experience, but I found the work unsatisfying, so decided to pursue higher education. I love teaching and working with student writing and hope that I can find ways to continue to do so once I finish my PhD.
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?
I use a variety of writing and reading skills on a daily basis. Specifically, thinking closely and carefully about written texts and their effects—but applied to a wider range of texts than I usually close read in my English courses. I use this approach in working with my students to highlight what their writing is doing and to draw out the intricacies of what their specific language does for the reader. Most of my colleagues are also people with English or other humanities backgrounds, but I think my particular use of close reading as a tutor is fairly unique.
How else has your English degree helped you in your life?
Opened my eyes to new ways of engaging with the world, helped me find value in a wide variety of texts including books, movies, songs, and more. I’ve also connected with great people including faculty and other alumni.
As an alumnus of the BYU English department, what advice would you give to current students?
Talk to professors! Find other mentors in areas that you are interested in, including alumni or other folks doing stuff that you want to do. Take advantage of as many opportunities as you can without overextending yourself.