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| Finding A Satisfying Life and Career with a Degree in English from Millsaps |
What
can your English degree do for your career? Read
what recent graduates have to say...
"Having
a background in English from Millsaps has helped
me on so many levels in law school. I found that
at the very least, I was accustomed to the lengthy
essay exams that are so intimidating to so many
first-year law students. Walking into a classroom
to write for four hours was not as intimidating
having had the exposure to these types of exams
in comps and over my four years in English classes,
and I was able to communicate what I DID know effectively--which
made up for the things I didn't know or had forgotten!
I also found that from my English classes I was
used to playing with concepts and ideas, posing
hypothetical situations, thinking of issues from
a variety of viewpoints--all of which are a vital
part of law school classes, exams and clerkships."
Jennifer Rogers
Louisiana State University Law School
GRADUATE
SCHOOL IN ENGLISH
"Being
an English major at Millsaps is both a challenging
and rewarding endeavor. When I finished my degree
in English at Millsaps, I entered graduate school.
Not only did my course work at Millsaps prepare
me for the workload of graduate school, but it also
prepared me for the stress. The English major is
required to read numerous texts in each class; thus,
unlike many of my peers at graduate school, I was
not daunted by the number of texts I was required
to read. Additionally, the emphasis placed on writing
about new and innovative ideas in my undergraduate
degree served me well in graduate school. As a graduate
student, you are forced to write on topics that
are cutting edge in your field of study. My Millsaps
degree had thankfully already forced me to think
outside of the box, to stretch my imagination, and
most of all to have confidence in not only my ideas
but my writing abilities; therefore, I was not threatened
when my graduate professors required something new
and innovative; in fact, I relished the challenge.
Now that I am in a full time job, I use the skills
I honed through my major every day. My major has
given me the ability to communicate well. Each day
in my job, I must interact with people of varied
ages and education levels. My degree has given me
the ability not only to explain my ideas but also
to understand what others are trying to tell me.
Often people ask me, "are you glad you majored in
English?" I tell them that majoring in English was
the best choice I ever made. Being able to write
one's thoughts down coherently, being able to verbalize
one's feelings, and learning to read between the
lines and think outside of the expected is the greatest
gift anyone could be given."
Nicole Donald
M.A. student in English, Louisiana State University
"I
feel my English major from Millsaps prepared me
well for the challenges of doctoral work in English.
Classes such as British Literature I and II provided
an invaluable overview of major periods, while individual
author classes offered crucial training in exploring
specific literary issues deeply. Even more than
the classes, the English Comprehensive exams give
Millsaps majors the rare opportunity to synthesize
and solidify their insights before graduation, by
holding them accountable for a large body of knowledge
on the "Long List" section of the exam and allowing
them to identify a potential area of study on the
"Short List" section. That process was so helpful
for me as I prepared for graduate school. The "Short
List" became a way to focus my interests for graduate
school applications, and the oral examination on
that list was excellent practice for oral masters
exams. Finally, and most importantly, the excellent
English faculty at Millsaps gave me the confidence
and encouragement I needed when applying to graduate
school. Because of the department's size, professors
knew me well enough to write detailed recommendations
and were generous with their time and help."
Holly Crawford
Ph.D. program in English, the University of California
at Los Angeles
"As
a first year medical student in the earliest stages
of mastering the art of doctoring, I have found
many uses for the skills that were developed through
my study of English at Millsaps. From the most practical
viewpoint, the ability to use language both verbally
and in writing and also to interpret the language
of others has proven to be invaluable both in and
out of the classroom. In medical school this skill
is truly tested in having to learn an unfamiliar
language, that of medicine, with enough proficiency
to be able to communicate ideas within the medical
community. On another level, it is becoming clear
that in order to be a good physician one has to
be able to understand patients, and this is where
I am finding my education at Millsaps to be the
most useful. In my first patient interviews, I quickly
realized that a patient's description of their illness
might be as complicated and intricate as a novel.
Patients are storytellers, analogous to authors,
and trying to understand their illness and its causes
is much like doing a critical reading of a text.
One has to make sense of the information that patients
provide through their use of language and the context
of their words and through their silence just as
one would analyze the language and literary techniques
used by an author. Most importantly, one has to
ask the right questions to ultimately develop a
differential diagnosis as one would in literature
to formulate a central meaning. Being able to understand
ideas and communicate with others, skills that are
integral in the study of literature, will be crucial
in my transition from a medical student to a physician."
Kyla Lokitz
University of North Carolina Medical School
"My
English major has enhanced my career by enabling
me to write clearly, concisely, and correctly. Written
communication is a huge part of my job as a public
relations officer; a large portion of what I write
is intended to be directly printed in a newspaper
or other publication. When my writing is intelligent,
correct, and compelling, the organization I work
for is represented positively. If my writing is
less than stellar, my employer suffers from that
distinction. Additionally, my English major has
given me a broad knowledge of literature, which
aids me in relating to reporters who often have
a similar educational background and also contributes
to my knowledge of popular culture."
Nicole Bradshaw
Associate Director of Public Relations
GRADUATE
SCHOOL IN CREATIVE WRITING
"While
at Millsaps, the English major provided me with
great opportunities, from internships at the University
Press of Mississippi and the Oxford American magazine,
to working closely with acclaimed writers such as
Clyde Edgerton and Beth Henley. But what I cherish
most is the breadth and depth of the major: reading
great works of literature and using them to reconsider
our world, themes and ideas and issues that really
matter. This priceless way of thinking is what the
English major has given me, and is what I continue
to use, from the way I live daily to the things
I try to tackle in my own fiction writing. I feel
that there is no other course of study that could
have challenged me so greatly and given so much
to take with me for the rest of my days."
Baker Lawley
University of Alabama
"All
those nights I spent slugging down lukewarm coffee, crossing
my eyes as I read and re-read texts, getting dull headaches
from the computer monitor as I tried to hammer out one more
late-night paper... believe it or not, I loved it all, and found
it all to be very useful. Whether I'm listening to a favorite
song, quietly watching a great movie, or poring over the details
of a publishing contract or manuscript, the skills I learned
and honed as an English major have proven essential and much-loved
in my life. The critical thinking, the ability to see things
from more than one perspective at once, and the ability to express
myself clearly in words are all things that I can't imagine,
now, living without. Even (and maybe ESPECIALLY) if you're not
planning on being a teacher or a lawyer, the English major is
a route with many twists, many turns, and limitless amounts
of joy and inspiration."
Walter Biggins
Editorial assistant, University Press of Mississippi
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