Alumni Corner
“So you’re going to be a teacher, right? What else can you do with an English major?” For someone who graduated from a liberal arts school, I was on the receiving end of these two questions far more frequently than I anticipated. And in my four years at Fairfield, it was pretty frequent.
I always felt disappointed in the lack of imagination – I was an English major, I could do whatever the heck I wanted! But ten years after graduation, I think I see their point – or perhaps the question they didn’t know they were asking: what skills does your degree get you?
Most people think of an English major with her nose in a book, attempting dreamily to divine the intentions of a long-dead (arguably irrelevant) author. Now, I think of my major as four years of communication immersion: recognizing the different ways we express ideas; distinguishing the tools we can use to share them; and learning to construct a coherent argument or point of view with them.
The similar thread in every job I’ve ever had is a responsibility to communicate, whether to argue a point persuasively or to provide impartial analysis. And it all comes back to what I learned at the Writing Center – what each student taught me. They taught me to pay attention not just to what we say but how we say it. They taught me to recognize that when we communicate we are using tools, and each situation, each job, may call for a different tool.
If you’re trying to drive a nail into a wall, a wrench won’t be much help. Knowing the difference between a hammer and a wrench is helpful. Knowing you need that hammer to get the job done is vital.
Being an English major taught me what the tools are. Being a Writing Center tutor taught me to use them. Something as simple (and frustrating) as the difference between who and whom is a great example. It’s a challenging distinction and not everyone learns it the same way. Over the years I learned two or three different ways of approaching it. (Full disclosure: the he/him substitution trick is what finally worked for me!) At the Writing Center, I learned to pay closer attention to which tool worked, and knew I had options at my fingertips when one didn’t.
I think higher education in general hasn’t marketed English degrees well. Today much emphasis is placed on STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) because those skills are clearer, more concrete. You graduate with measurable, quantifiable skills and knowledge. But what good is knowledge without the ability to transfer it, to share it, with other people?
Every job I’ve had, they’ve told me, “We need someone who can write. We need someone who can talk to people.” They are confident I can write; they are confident that I can communicate successfully – because of my English degree. And they’re right – because of the Writing Center.
