"Choosing to major in English was an overwhelming decision. There are so many career paths that branch off from the study of literature, it’s difficult to choose just one. During my first year at UP, I had no clue what I would do with my English degree, but through the next few years of exploring the English Department and all that campus had to offer, I found a space for myself as a writer and grew more confident in my skills. The English Department supported me in so many avenues – working as a writing assistant, a contributor and editor for the English newsletter, and as a reporter and editor for our student newspaper, The Beacon. Without guidance from faculty and staff within the English Department, I would have never been able to explore all these interests.
I found myself immersed in the field of journalism and was given countless opportunities to develop my voice and decide how I wanted to use it. I’m now working as a reporter for The Oregonian covering faith, religion, and cultural connections through the Advance Local Media Fellowship. Through the program, I’m also pursuing a master's degree at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a focus on journalism innovation. I’m so grateful for my time and connections at UP, since they became the foundation for my career as a journalist."
"I’ve been a reader ever since I stumbled upon Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby books in elementary school. A decade or so later, choosing to study English at UP (in Ramona’s own hometown!) was one of the easiest decisions I’ve made. My English major granted me tons of opportunities — working as NUCL intern, writing and editing for The Beacon, becoming a Writing Assistant, and more — but working as an editor on Writers Lit Mag was by far my favorite thing. Envisioning each mag, choosing a theme, marketing the mag, reading submissions, editing, formatting… I loved all of it, and I was proud of the work we produced. After graduating in 2022, I found myself at Jesuit High School, working as their new Marketing and Communications Specialist. It wasn’t a path I expected to take, but my experiences from my classes and working on Writers, and the skills I gained as a critical thinker, editor, and writer have been instrumental to my work now. As I manage their social media, take photographs at events, edit the website, create and send newsletters, write articles for the site and the magazine, and more, I find myself learning a new skill every day. So, more than anything, being an English major made me a quick and flexible learner — someone who isn’t afraid to say “yes” to any opportunity. I’m still an avid reader and writer on my own time, too. I have a weekly writing workshop with a few other recent UP English alumni, and much of the work we share has been published in independent lit mags around the US. I hope to continue reading and writing every day, and eventually pursue an MFA in the next couple of years!"
"Although I have had a lifelong passion for literature and languages, it was ultimately my preparation in the English department at the University of Portland that catalyzed my decision to transform these bookish interests into a career in academia. Thanks to the dedication of the department’s excellent professors, throughout my coursework I learned invaluable analytical and writing skills that helped prepare me for the intensive work of graduate school. Outside of its engaging classes, the department routinely demonstrates its investment in students’ academic, professional, and personal enrichment. Across my four years, I had multiple opportunities that empowered me to truly envision myself as an academic, including such varied experiences as planning and facilitating a literary
conference through a NUCL internship, conducting intensive critical research with Dr. Swidzinski, and even getting to experience, as an undergraduate, the complex process of academic publication. It was ultimately this rich preparation at UP that led to my current work as a PhD student in Comparative Literature, and I am so grateful to have spent four years in such a rigorous, supportive, and student-centered environment."
"I've always loved writing, but UP was the first place where I felt like it was something I could actually pursue. Not only did my time in the English department make me a better and more confident writer and communicator, but it helped me to understand what makes excellent literature and the myriad ways that a good story can be told, two lessons that carried me through to an MFA program in Fiction at the University of Montana. Having the opportunity to serve as an editor for Writers magazine at UP got me interested in the technical aspects of writing and connected me to the world of publishing and the opportunity to publish the writing of my fellow students as a freelancer and editor, and I have since gone on to edit and write for projects like CutBank, Joyland, and the Rumpus. More than anything, I'm grateful to the English Department at UP for encouraging my growth as a person and providing me with a strong and empathetic community to guide me through the college journey."
"I transferred to UP as a junior, and I was so worried that I’d feel inadequate in comparison to my peers who had already found their footing. However, I quickly learned that the entire English Department, students and professors alike, were willing and excited to welcome me into their close-knit community. I wasn’t sure of the direction I wanted to go into for my career, but after getting the opportunity to intern for the Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature and read through hundreds of student submissions, I quickly found a love for editorial work. The following year, I was lucky to join the editors of Writers magazine to hone in on the editorial process.
What I loved most about my time in UP’s English Department was getting to experience how the people in the department took care of each other. I spent countless hours in thesis revision with my peers and often vented out my ideas to my professors during office hours. Every professor I had encouraged creative freedom, and they consistently pushed each student to get out of their comfort zones, both with their thought process and their writing. The courses offered were so different from each other and often tackled a wide range of concepts/topics, yet each course was engaging; I had never felt so fulfilled as a learner or lover of literature as I did at UP. I am currently working as an editor in Chicago, IL, but I know that even if I were to switch careers, my education would have prepared me for whatever I wanted to accomplish. I will forever be grateful for my time on The Bluff, and most of that gratitude is for the incredible English Department."
“After graduating from UP in 2018, I immediately put my English degree to use at William & Mary Law School. Now, I work as a felony prosecutor in Colorado, and I still use the skills that I honed during my time with the UP English Department every day. As a lawyer, I am constantly writing—whether it be a simple email or a complex legal motion. However, I also find myself heavily relying on my English major in my role as a litigator. In a jury trial, I am tasked with telling (and selling) the story of a particular case to twelve strangers. I have to persuade them to view a set of facts in the same way that I do, and I do this through asking thoughtful questions and making convincing arguments, which are both things I learned to do as an undergrad at UP.”
"When I started as a freshman at the University of Portland I had no idea what I wanted to study. I always loved reading and writing, so when it finally came time to declare my major, English felt like the obvious choice. Studying English at UP not only helped me develop written communication skills that have been invaluable in my career, it also connected me with an amazing group of students and professors who made my college experience incredible!I now work in production management for kids’ animated television. While I didn’t know after graduation that I would end up working for studios like DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon, there’s no doubt in my mind the analytical and writing skills I developed studying English helped me get there. Like most jobs, my position involves a lot of writing - emails, notes, spreadsheets, and more. Understanding how to take a director’s complex ideas about a design or storyboard and communicate them in writing to an artist or animator is extremely helpful in the work I do. Whether I’m helping our team break down a new script or updating a production schedule, I continue to use the skills I learned as an English major at the University of Portland every day."
"My job today requires me to evaluate tech products and features for risk. In other words, to articulate the policies, product requirements, and processes that developers need to adhere to in order to build experiences that comport with our business rules and guidelines. The work I do runs the gamut from defining hot-button cultural issues to thinking about how evolving technology creates novel risks that we need to be mindful of in order to protect users while also, yes, protecting the brand. During a given week, I'm reading technical documents on policy compliance, academic research on AI, and writing our own assessments of potential risk inherent in the products we offer.
To come by this career, I had to first get started in the broader risk management field (aka, the only field that would hire me in 2010's post-crash economy). But very early on it was clear that my degree in English would be crucial in helping me to analyze problems, logically work toward a solution in a structured way, and sell bosses on taking extra pains to prioritize those solutions. Similar to the literary criticism I learned at UP, I have to understand the mechanics of how people engage and interact with an experience (in this case a piece of technology), and reshape the business's plans in order to avoid negative outcomes. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
