In a few sentences, describe your post-Biola work/life journey.

I went to grad school — got my MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Arizona, which in itself is its own journey. I’m glad I got to go to a really small private school and then a big public university back to back. After that, I moved to Sacramento for a writing job at an architecture/engineering firm. In 2015 I switched to a communications job at an environmental nonprofit for a couple of years, and then I started as a copywriter at my current gig. I’ve been at Bukwild for just about a year now and I’m really thankful to work with fun, creative people who both value their work and take time for their families.

What's your current occupation, and in what ways did getting a degree in English prepare you for the job?

I’m a copywriter at a creative agency, so obviously, an English degree went a long way to prepare me for writing. More importantly, though, my English degree taught me how to really critically think. On the negative side that gave me a high standard — sometimes I wish I could just crank out crap content for more money or be in sales or something, but I care too much about art and meaning and goodness and truth and beauty and all that.

So the plus side is I’ve found work environments where people like to think critically about the things they’re making and what they’re communicating to others. That’s what I loved about being an English major and that’s what I love about the work I do every day.

A side note is that taking world lit classes really prepared me for some more socially active work I’ve done in the nonprofit world — everything from supporting women in the workplace to putting on anti-racism seminars. My English classes gave me the history and context to know why all our stories are important.

What was a favorite class or experience you had while a Biola English major?

I loved the interdisciplinary Vision, Voice, and Practice combination English major / Art major class so much that I think I took it twice. I did have an art minor, but I think even without that I would have loved being able to work with totally different students than were usually in my classes and learn how to wield/view my English abilities in a different way. That also definitely helped set me up for collaborative experiences in my MFA workshop and in working at a creative agency.

What about life after college was most surprising to you?

That it’s lonely. I didn’t realize that small classes, tight-knit dorm environments, sports teams, small groups, and scheduled hours with people all day long were things not to take for granted, things that didn’t commonly exist in the adult world. Or, if they existed, they took more time and effort to find and get to and become a part of.

I also was surprised that sometimes I liked being alone! After years of wrestling with that across various jobs and social settings, I find I’m able to both appreciate other people more than ever and appreciate time to myself more than ever.

What advice would you give to a current Biolan majoring in English? Or what's something you did in college that later helped you professionally?

It sounds kind of woo-woo, but I’d strongly suggest thinking about your energy. I mean this in two ways. First, think about how you get energy from a subject. The cool part about communication is that you can communicate about anything — so you’re applying this skill set to just about any type of content, whether that’s engineering or gene-splicing or candy-making or real estate. I found that I liked learning about new things, but that learning only held my attention for so long. I’m eight years out of Biola and just starting to ask, What kind of subject do I actually want to dedicate my time and communication skills to once the novelty wears off?

Second, think about how the actual act of writing (i.e. sitting at a desk or in front of a computer) affects your energy. I wanted to do my own writing on the side but kept finding myself not wanting to sit in front of my computer for one second more than my writing job 9-5. Dr. Malandra once told us about a poet who worked in warehouses during the day to move his body, then came home to write at night. Maybe you need to just do 30 minutes at the gym every morning, maybe you need to talk to people and be on your feet all day, or maybe you really can sit in a chair all day long — either way, thinking about your energy distribution over a given day/week/month/year and it will help with professional balance a lot.

What are you reading?

I just checked out like 15 graphic novels from my local library. I read The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui last year or the year prior and I’m looking for things of similar depth and caliber when it comes to combining art and writing. First on the list are The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg and Hot Dog Taste Test by Lisa Hanawalt. I’m also spending a lot of time reading all the online journalism going on right now about female celebrities and sexual assault/harassment — some things just came out today about how that “movement” overlaps with the Christian church. It’s weird to feel like your personal character and story are specifically part of this bigger historical moment; I’m interested to see how the era we’re in gets portrayed years down the road in comparison to the things we read in my Biola English classes about big moments past.