- What drew you to the major?
I got into the major because I was wildly indecisive coming into college, took a slew of miscellaneous courses, and quickly realized there was little I wanted to do for the rest of my life more than reading and writing about the art and literature that I love. Studying English here at Case has genuinely transformed the way I think: discovering how to put the potent but abstract ideas in my head into clear, succinct, and persuasive words on the page felt like discovering myself — no longer was I passively reacting to symbols around me, but actively putting my own thoughts back into the world.
- How has your English major prepared you for life after graduation?
The biggest gift of choosing the English major is just how versatile you can be—there are so many roles that you become qualified to fill. There’s essentially no position in the world that’s completely divorced from written or spoken communications, whether that’s reports, grants, presentations, announcements, emails, counseling, networking, any public-facing responsibility, hospitality, etc. Learning how to use language carefully and credibly is an infinitely applicable skill.
- What is it like being an English major at Case in particular, with its perceived focus on the sciences?
As a prospective Computer Science major freshman year, I’ll never forget the absolutely transformative experience of writing a very rough (but passionate!) paper for my first-year seminar and receiving enthusiastic and insightful feedback that spurred within me a desire to write and think more about my arguments. My experience with academics here at Case has been totally unique in that the faculty and coursework are superbly capable of facilitating deep engagement with a subject that stems from a place of pure intellectual curiosity rather than from concerns of grade-based evaluation and correctness. The palpable passion for both rigorous scholarship and attentive mentorship that I’ve encountered in each and every member of Case’s English faculty will stay with me for the rest of my life.
- Why would you encourage a prospective English major to sign on?
I think you should choose the major if you’re sitting in your English class and you realize you truly love doing the work of reading and discussing and arguing about whatever the topic of the day is, whether it’s a stone-cold classic of the Western literary canon or an esoteric art film that feels like its lifetime viewership is primarily made up of your film class. I switched into the major when I realized that my other coursework was what I would get through to reward myself with English readings. The work of an English major is so generative—new ideas, new analytical connections, new ways of synthesizing and communicating—it seems like it’d be impossible to do if you weren’t carrying an enduring love (or sometimes, fervor) for it.