Alumni Spotlight: Danette DiMarco, B.A. 1986, English Literature; M.A. 1986, English Literature; Ph.D. 1995, English Literature.
Written By: John Rose, Undergrad, English, FA23
Danette DiMarco is currently a professor of English at Slippery Rock University and has served as the Faculty Coordinator for the Center for Teaching and Learning. Her undergraduate World Literature course (ENGL 402) successfully completed the national Quality Matters review for online instruction, making her the first Slippery Rock University professor to receive national recognition for an online course. She has co-edited Inhabited by Stories: Critical Essays on Tales Retold and has lately released a co-publication Teaching Literature in the Online Classroom. Her essay “Navigating the Mysteries of Intersectional Injustices in Karen McManus’ Teen Crime Novels” has also been featured in Children’s Literature in Education.
In May 2022, Dr. DiMarco, along with co-editor Dr. Tim Ruppert, organized a release party that coincided with the publication of Avian Aesthetics in Literature and Culture: Birds and Humans in the Popular Imagination. Her co-publication seeks to help bridge the gap between ornithological understandings and the humanities in ways that extend beyond conservation literature. Dr. DiMarco chose to edit this collection about bird-centered topics as a way to move past the environmental humanities’ focus on mammals and towards the frequently overlooked group of avian animals. She is using this research to work towards valuing human-non-human literary entanglements by incorporating environmental literature into her world literature courses. See below for the full transcript.
You recently co-authored a chapter in MLA’s Teaching Literature in the Online Classroom. What inspired you to write about this topic?
In 2015 I put my undergraduate World Literature (ENGL 402) through the national Quality Matters review for online instruction. In doing this, I was the first professor on the Slippery Rock University campus to receive a nationally recognized status for an online course. I decided to do that because World Literature—while a popular course with majors—was also part of the University’s Online Degree Completion program, which meant that returning non-traditional students who are working professionals could take the class and use it toward their degree. In preparing the course for external QM review, I worked with our campus instructional designer, Dr. Brian Danielson. The work that we co-published in Teaching Literature in the Online Classroom originated with our work on the World Literature QM review. Also, I served as the Faculty Coordinator for our Center for Teaching and Learning, which Brian directs, for five years. It was a natural fit to be talking about strong online pedagogy in the changing 21st-century landscape.
How do you feel online teaching will change literature – if at all?
Good question. Now that so many people have “had” to teaching online, thanks to the pandemic, I think there is a greater awareness of how people need to think about classroom pedagogy. Before the pandemic there was too frequently an overall sense—at least in my opinion—that instructors could just “migrate” their online classrooms (focused on content) into a course management system. But many have come to learn that online spaces demand particular pedagogical approaches. Brian and I both believe that hybrid or blended learning is optimal and that uses of asynchronous online strategies can be effectively used to flip the classroom and then use the f2f space for deeper levels of discussion and thinking. I’m seeing more faculty put lectures and quizzes online and use f2f sessions for further exploration and problem solving, including hands-on work. I hope that’s a trend.
Would you view online teaching as enabling individual voices to be heard by a greater audience?
I’m not sure. I suppose online learning expands the scope of education to those who have not historically been able to get to a physical campus easily (for a host of reasons—economic, physical, etc.). In that way, learning online can open doors. And, I suppose, it offers the teacher the chance to work with communities that they might not historically have worked with.
Regarding Avian Aestherics, why did you choose to edit a collection about bird-centered topics?
The environmental humanities have long focused on mammals. As mammals, I think we tend toward mammal-centric topics. Of course, plants (and roots) seem to have been included in the corpus, too. But birds have frequently been overlooked even though we are fully entangled with them and their worlds. There was a gap in the research for sure.
How important do you feel ornithological ecology is to the humanities?
I have been heavily influenced by Thom van Dooren and his Flight Ways and In The Wake of Crows. His theory of “entanglement” pushes readers to consider how all diverse life forms (and their agencies) aren’t “subjects” but living beings who shape our “shared worlds” in important ways. I have a chapter included in MLA’s forthcoming Teaching the Works of Margaret Atwood (ed. Lauren Rule Maxwell) where I use van Dooren as a lens for teaching environmental literature in world literature courses. Human-non-human literary entanglements are frequently reserved for environmental literature courses, and I propose that separating them is an unfortunate and residual occurrence of our discipline (subfield! subfield!). Incorporating environmental literature into world literature courses provides students with a rhetorical means for learning to better articulate, as Karen R. Smith says, “the nature of the world crisis in which we find ourselves today.”
When was the release part at the Aviary? How did everything go?
Dr. Tim Ruppert, also a three-degree-graduate of Duquesne University, was my co-editor on the volume. We organized the release party for last May 2022, which aligned with the release of Avian Aesthetics. We hosted about 60 people. It was so FUN!! We managed to have the oldest bird from the National Aviary, Stan, a 25-year-old penguin grace us with our presence; we also visited with Red, a large and talkative parrot. The thing is: it seemed that providing funds to the National Aviary by hosting an event there only made sense. The work that people do in rehabilitating avian life is hard, and it is also true that some people would never be able to interact with birds if a place like this didn’t exist.
You also edited Inhabited by Stories: Critical Essays on Tales Retold. How does retelling stories allow us to understand more about our past and future?
I think, as old as the theory may be, I will always be someone who pushes for people to be, as Linda Hutcheon says, “knowing readers.” When I started my doctoral work at Duquesne a million years ago, I was wedded to investigations of intertextuality. While my work has evolved, my belief in the value of retelling stories is firm. Storytelling is a way for communities to communicate with one another as a means for incorporating their own socio-cultural, lived experiences. When we pick up the spur of a past story, and then reinvent it, we connect ourselves to the past, make a statement about the present, and provide future authors and readers opportunities for their own creative revision. I’ve taught a class here at SRU call Literary Pirates: Adaptation and Appropriation, and students in there reflect on the very question that you’ve asked for 15 weeks.
Does viewing stories as existing beyond derivation and appropriation help us learn more about the present?
I think so. I am not a believer in fidelity studies. I don’t think we have to “stay true” to a story if we look to retell it. I also agree, as your question seems to suggest, that appropriation can take on a negative connotation. But, since the world cannot be devoid of power, the appropriative aspect still matters as the act itself can reveal power dynamics at work.
What is next for your research plans?
Well, I mentioned the MLA volume and the chapter I’m finishing up above. I released an essay called “Navigating the Mysteries of Intersectional Injustices in Karen McManus’ Teen-Crime Novels” in Children’s Literature in Education. Right now, I’m imagining either an edited collection or maybe a monograph on McManus’ work. I have had the chance to teach Young Adult Literature here at SRU and this future research would tie in directly with classroom instruction, which is important to me that it does. Also, I’m working with my colleague Dr. Mark O’Connor on an essay on using the university archives (primary sources) in writing classes.
Alumni Interview: Liz Giglia, B.A. FA20, English with a Women and Gender Studies concentration; M.A. SP22, English with a Women and Gender Studies concentration
Written By: Bridget Abbott, Undergrad, English and Integrated Marketing Communications, SP24
Liz Giglia is an Assistant Program Manager at DTCare, a Pittsburgh global humanitarian nonprofit that provides distribution aid and program development to communities in need across six countries. In her role, she helps out with outreach and grant writing, as well as other smaller projects, showing her dedication to helping others and her willingness to take on new roles.
Liz graduated from Duquesne in December of 2020 with an English degree focused in Women & Gender Studies, and later graduated with an M.A. in English with a Women & Gender Studies concentration. She originally chose Duquesne to be part of the Women’s Rowing Team and to study Business, but later switched to the English Department in order to major in something she was passionate about. Liz believes that English degrees are incredibly versatile for many career paths, and studying English at Duquesne taught her to think differently about problems and their situations, and about the arts in general. If you want to learn more about Liz and her time at Duquesne, check out the full alumni interview below!
Bridget: What is your name, major/minor, and graduation year?
Liz: Liz Giglia; both B.A. and M.A. English Major with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies; graduated B.A. Dec 2020 and M.A. graduated May 2022.
Bridget: Why did you choose Duquesne University?
Liz: I got recruited for the rowing team and I really loved the different atmosphere than the other schools I applied to.
Bridget: What led you to choose the English program?
Liz: I wanted to major in something I was passionate about. I started in the business school for my first semester, but quickly decided that it wasn’t for me. I love reading and discussing books and know the power in good literature. I talked with a few professors in the English department and found a liking for the classes.
Bridget: How did Duquesne help in preparing you for your career?
Liz: The biggest way that Duquesne helped me, especially in the English Department, was teaching me how to think differently about problems, situations, and about the arts in general. English degrees are extremely versatile for many careers. It helps teach you how to attack a problem, how to professionally address a problem or situation, and how to research.
Bridget: What was most memorable about your experience in the English department at Duquesne?
Liz: What was most memorable was the interesting, sometimes very specific, classes I took. I got to take a class solely on works about exile and learn about the exiled author. Another class I took was LGBTQ+ plays and musicals. There was a wide range of classes that most, if not all, I found very interesting.
Bridget: What classes, if any, have helped you the most in your career journey so far?
Liz: Philosophical ethics. Because I work at a nonprofit, this class really gave me a first glance at what problems are out there in the world. I learned about a lot of current world crises and what were some solutions to them. You learned a lot about sad and horrible situations but it was very informative.
Bridget: What do you know now, in regards to the program and your career, that you wish you had known earlier?
Liz: I wish I had built more skills on top of the English department, possibly like double majoring in both English and Psychology, or English and Communications because English, for a least in my field, is a foundational asset where it would have been helpful to have additional skills in other majors.
Bridget: Do you have any advice for current Duquesne students or those considering applying for the program?
Liz: I would say to definitely do the English degree but also partner with another program to diversify your skills. Either Women and Gender Studies, History, Communications, Philosophy, etc. A lot of what you learn in the English path is also learned in the other degrees, so you can make a lot of knowledgeable connections and see your studies in multiple different lights.
Bridget: What is your current career and what do you do?
Liz: I work for a Pittsburgh nonprofit called DTCare. We are a global humanitarian nonprofit that works in 6 different countries to help provide distribution aid and program development. I am an assistant program manager so I help a lot with outreach and grant writing, along with smaller projects.
Bridget: What inspired you to choose your current career path?
Liz: I really want to help people and I wanted to find a job where I could learn a lot and be able to make a difference.
Bridget: What skills have you found helpful during your career that you developed during your time at Duquesne?
Liz:
– Knowing how to research
– Learning how to communicate with people to develop a program
– Learning how to follow through with different projects to help them come together
– How to be my own person and to communicate my thoughts on a situation
Bridget: How are you utilizing your English degree since graduating?
Liz: I am utilizing my degree every day by constantly having to do research on grants and grant applications, applying for funding; even when writing emails, capability briefs, and pamphlets, I am using my degree.
Bridget: Are there any ways that your English degree has surprised you during your career experience?
Liz: It has helped me to better connect with people. A lot of people respect the passion of an English degree.
Bridget: Are you reading anything interesting right now?
Liz: Yes! It is called “Chain of Thorns”, it is a Cassandra Claire novel. I am also reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” which is a book about how to be financially literate. Both are very interesting.
Alumni Interview: Bailey Sims, Undergrad, Digital Media Arts and English, SP21
Written By: John Rose, Undergrad, English, FA23
Bailey Sims is a graduate student in Chatham University’s Creative Writing MFA program. She is currently the Special Projects Fellow and works as Head Copy Editor of The Fourth River literary journal. Bailey also runs her own business, Lena Creative Solutions, where she edits novels for self-published authors. She values the workshop experiences that she gained through her undergraduate career and credits them for improving her writing ability and helping her build a writing portfolio.
Bailey graduated Duquesne in May 2021 as a double major in Digital Media Arts and English with a concentration in writing. She chose Duquesne because she grew up in Pittsburgh and had family members who previously attended the university. Bailey cites her undergraduate experience as helping to prepare her for her work in Chatham’s MFA program. She encourages current Duquesne students to explore every possible opportunity that will set them apart from others. Bailey is currently set to graduate from Chatham in 2024. See below for the full transcript.
What is your name, major/minor, and graduation year(s)?
Bailey Sims, double major English (writing) and Digital Media Arts, May 2021 (I graduate Chatham in 24)
Why did you choose Duquesne University?
I grew up in Pittsburgh and my mom and grandma both went to Duquesne!
How did Duquesne prepare you for your career?
My workshop classes at Duquesne definitely prepared me for my MFA.
What was most memorable about your experience in the [English] Department at Duquesne?
The most memorable part of my experience in the English department was my fiction workshops. I got better at writing short stories and ended up with a portfolio of writing I was proud of.
What classes, if any, have helped you the most in your career?
The most useful classes I took at Duquesne were my fiction workshops with John Fried. I really had a “click” moment in his class where my writing improved and I could see a real future in it.
What do you know now that you wish you knew earlier?
Literary journals aren’t as intimidating as they feel. (If you’re submitting stories, try Duotrope!)
Do you have any advice for current Duquesne Students?
Take any experience you can get – anything you do above and beyond will make you stand out as a candidate more than a degree alone!
What is your current career?
Directly after graduating, I spent a year working as a Technical Writer for an HR and payroll software company. I decided to leave my position, and I’m now a student in Chatham University’s Creative Writing MFA program, where I am the Special Projects Fellow (I’m in charge of @chatham_mfacw) and Head Copy Editor of The Fourth River literary journal. Next semester, I will be teaching ENG105, our first-year writing course. I also run my own business, Lena Creative Solutions (lenacreativesolutions.com), through which I edit novels for self-published authors.
What inspired you to choose your current career?
My ultimate goal is to be a fiction writer, editor, and writing professor, and my MFA program has helped me make a lot of progress on all these things. I started my business in 2021 because I love helping other writers make their novels better!
What skills have you found useful during your career?
The most important skill you can have is to be a self-starter and create opportunities for yourself. Don’t say no to anything that will give you more experience!
How else are you utilizing your English degree since graduating?
Editing, writing, and teaching writing.
Are there any ways that your English degree has surprised you during your career experience?
I was surprised to find that right out of college, I was able to make a much higher salary than I expected working as a technical writer (with no technical writing experience).
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the books I have edited. Seeing my name in the acknowledgements of real books is a really great feeling.
What other updates would you like to share?
One of my poems was recently accepted for publication in Last Leaves Magazine.
Are you reading anything interesting right now?
It’s been hard to find time to read recently, but I’m (slowly) reading the latest issue of the Paris Review. I’ve been leaning toward short stories as I try to find readings for my first-year writing syllabus.
Alumni Interview: Megan Zimmerman, B.A., English with Pre-Med and Psychology minors, SP14; M.A., English Literature & Writing, SP20
Written By: Bridget Abbott, Undergrad, English and Integrated Marketing Communications, SP24
Megan Zimmerman is an Executive Assistant and Vice President at Passport Companies, a commercial real estate conglomerate, where she assists various professionals in executing day-to-day tasks, such as reading through and drafting leases, sales agreements, amendments, and addendums.
Megan graduated from Duquesne in 2014 with an English degree focused in creative writing with minors in Pre-Med and Psychology, and later graduated with an M.A. in Literature & Writing in 2020. She originally chose Duquesne to study pre-med with hopes of attending medical school, but later switched to the English Department for the professors and her passion for writing and linguistics. Megan was also on the Women’s Rowing Team during her four years of undergrad at Duquesne. She later became a Graduate Assistant Coach while completing her M.A., during which time she furthered her dedication to the sport and her passion for coaching. To learn more about Megan and her time at Duquesne, check out the full alumni interview below!
Bridget: What is your name, major/minor, and graduation year(s)?
Megan: I’m Megan Zimmerman, my undergrad degree was English, focused in creative writing, and I also got minors in pre-med and psychology, and I graduated in 2014. Then, my grad school degree was English with a track in Literature & Writing, and I graduated in 2020.
Bridget: Why did you choose Duquesne University?
Megan: That’s a tough question, it’s been so long. So for undergraduate, I picked Duquesne initially because I was going to go into pre med and go to medical school, and then determined that I liked English much better. The English Department was great as an undergrad. I enjoyed all of my professors, they were kind of like a perfect fit. And then for graduate school, I picked it because at the time I was working for Duquesne as a coach, so I went to graduate school for the convenience of it at that point.
My first year in undergrad, I was a science major. I had gone in as a Biology major and it was basically filter class after filter class, and it felt like they just didn’t care. It was in my freshman year writing classes that I was just like, I’m going to English. It is easier to do one on one, and as long as you’re putting effort in, they put effort into you, so the English department was way better and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Bridget: What made you choose the English program?
Megan: The professors. It was just a better fit for me with the one on one. I felt like if I didn’t do well on something, I was more likely to get approached by an English professor to see what was going on and figure out how they could help me. They were just more available for their students than the other departments were.
Bridget: How did Duquesne prepare you for your career?
Megan: I think I benefited a lot once I started taking advantage of the professors in my graduate years. They have a great graduate program, and there’s a class that basically just teaches you how to be a grad student and prepares you for your career. Between Dr. St. Hilaire and Dr. Sarah Wright, who pushed me to expand on the projects that I was doing, they helped me break out of my comfort zone and have confidence in going out of my circle for things like interviews. Also, in pushing me to present my research and writing mock CVs and résumés in class, they made it easier for me to go into the real world.
Bridget: What was most memorable about your experience in the English department at Duquesne?
Megan: I would say presenting my project at Colloquium. It was the one that Dr. Wright pushed me to do. I had started it for her English Linguistics class, and then she thought it was a good project to expand on, so I combined it with another project I made for her other class, and I presented it at Colloquium. It was about syntax in fiction novels.
Bridget: What classes, if any, have helped you the most in your career journey so far?
Megan: I don’t know if there was a specific class so much as a combination of everything I had to do. I took a Communications class and I think that was a big help since it was a Professional Communications class. Honestly, between Dr. St. Hilaire and Dr. Wright, the graduate classes they taught about preparing you for real life helped me a lot.
Even just reflecting on topics like imposter syndrome in my grad classes, in particular, sometimes it might feel like everybody knows everything and you don’t know everything. You have to remind yourself that we each have our own hub of intelligence. Sometimes it just seems like a lot because there is a lot that you don’t know, but it’s okay because you have a lot that you know that other people don’t.
Bridget: What do you know now, in regards to the program and your career, that you wish you had known earlier?
Megan: I mean other than everything, fake it till you make it. Confidence will take you a long way, and just because you might not know something right in that moment, doesn’t mean you can’t learn it and know it as you go forward.
Believe in yourself. If you know you’re good for the job, be confident in it and just keep going forward. Somebody’s going to find you that needs you, and even if you don’t think you have confidence, pretend you do, and then you will get that confidence.
Bridget: Do you have any advice for current Duquesne students or those considering applying for the M.A. program?
Megan: Some of the teachers can be a little intimidating, but they are all amazing teachers. They’re passionate about what they do, and as long as you put your best foot forth, they will be passionate about you.
If you go into graduate school, you’re probably not necessarily doing it for fun, but because you want to be there. It might not feel like it at first, but it’s wild how suddenly your thought process changes, and how you see projects and read through things differently than you did as an undergrad.
Bridget: What is your current career and what do you do?
Megan: So, I am an executive assistant and vice president of Passport Companies. It is a commercial real estate conglomerate. I’m primarily support staff, so I do the basic day to day administrative things you might find in an office, but I also do a little bit of property management. I read through and draft leases, sales agreements, amendments, and addendums.
To really simplify it down, I basically free up time for agents so that they can actually sell and manage real estate. I can do something from sorting emails, which honestly takes probably three to four hours of my day, and then I move on to getting tour packages prepped, like travel arrangements. Basically, if somebody in the office needs something, that’s what I do.
Bridget: What inspired you to choose your current career path?
Megan: I hadn’t expected to stay as long as I have and I thought it was going to be a stepping stone, but it was just a great fit. It’s a small team, there’s six of us in the office, eight of us total. I’m managed in the way that I want to be managed.
I get a lot of freedom to do what I want to do from day to day, and to do something I want to do. I haven’t experienced any micromanaging, and I basically get a project and get it done. It’s just a place where I can really be myself, do what I want to do and how I want to do it without too much oversight. At the same time, I am always learning and always being challenged, and that’s what’s really important to me.
Bridget: What skills have you found helpful during your career that you developed during your time at Duquesne?
Megan: I got my job that I have right now specifically because of my syntax project. My boss is pretty old school, so he is very much a prescriptivist when it comes to English, but I think I’m getting him to be a little bit more of a descriptivist, so I think my flexibility as the way I view English is the biggest skill. It’s fun challenging my boss when he says something one way, and I’m like, “that works, but if you want it to make sense to a lot more people, it’s better to do it this way.” So having that kind of banter with them debating about the best way to structure a sentence is a great skill.
Bridget: How else are you utilizing your English degree since graduating?
Megan: I write. That’s probably my biggest hobby. I’ve been accepted to little magazines here and there. It’s just something I like keeping up on so that I can look back and see how I’ve developed, and it’s a fun little thing to talk about when I’m meeting new people.
Bridget: Are there any ways your English degree has surprised you during your career experience?
Megan: I guess maybe the most surprising thing to me, and it shouldn’t have been surprising but it was, is that our professors also have impostor syndrome. There are days that they feel like their knowledge is lacking, but then they have to recognize why they are there. I remember Dr. St. Hilaire would sometimes get down on herself, and then she finds her stride again and reminds herself that she is awesome.
I think it was just surprising to hear that even professionals and subject matter experts can sometimes have an off day. But just being able to compartmentalize and realize that you are awesome at what you do is really important. Our professors are more like us than we think.
Bridget: Are you reading anything interesting right now?
Megan: I read mostly fiction, so right now I’m reading “All Hallows” by Christopher Golden, which is a horror novel, and I’m also reading on-and-off, “Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing” by Melissa Mohr, which is a fun book.
Alumni Interview: David Barker, Undergrad, Education, SP77
Written By: John Rose, Undergrad, English, FA23
David Barker is a professor of acting and movement at the Arizona State University School of Music, Dance, and Theatre. He has worked as a professional actor and director, choreographed over 180 shows, and is very active in the field of theatre. David has just recently published his new book: Connected Motion: A Common Sense Approach To Movement Training for Actors, where he identifies the advantages of an organic approach to movement training as opposed to a physical approach. Among his many other accomplishments, he values his family above all else and is grateful for his experiences working in an off-Broadway hit, performing in Broadway shows, and embarking on a national tour.
David graduated Duquesne University in 1977 as a B.S. in Education. He chose Duquesne because of its high reputation for scholastics and was awarded the CSSp Relations Scholarship. David was an avid member of the Red Masquers and was involved in ten productions during his four years. He held a wide variety of roles within the theatre and fondly remembers being cast as Troilus in Troilus and Cressida during his sophomore year. Even if he was not casted in a show, David would still pursue his interest in theatre and would work as a lighting technician, stage crew member, and stage manager. As an Education major, he also worked as a student teacher at Mt. Lebanon High School and credits that experience for helping to ignite his passion in teaching theatre.
After his experience at Duquesne, David pursued an advanced degree at Rutgers University and graduated with an M.F.A in Theatre Arts in 1980. He continued to pursue his passion in teaching and was awarded a graduate teaching assistantship – an experience that he encourages future graduate students to consider. During his career, David has found that organization and discipline have been two of his greatest characteristics and have helped him to thrive in his field. He also urges present and future college students to treat frustration as an indicator that they need to move forward, to be proactive in their pursuits, and to seek a variety of experiences during their lives. As of now, David is currently planning to retire after the end of the spring 2023 semester and is looking forward to spending time at his home in Arizona with his family. Click here for the full interview.
Alumni Interview: Brianna McDonagh, Undergrad, English with a Global Health minor, SP22.
Written By: Bridget Abbott, Undergrad, English and Integrated Marketing Communications, SP24
Brianna McDonagh is a coach for Three Rivers Rowing Association in Pittsburgh, PA, and is currently studying for the DAT and applying to dental schools across the country. She has a drive to help others and her community and feels that the skills learned through her coursework at Duquesne have prepared her for a future working in the medical field.
Brianna graduated from Duquesne in May of 2022 as an English major with a minor in Global Health. She chose to attend Duquesne because of the sense of community she experienced when first touring the campus and because of her desire to be a part of the Women’s Rowing team. Brianna believes that the skills she learned in her undergraduate career and many of the classes she took while at Duquesne helped her find her true passion, which she is currently pursuing as she applies to various dental programs. Read the full interview below to learn more about Brianna and her experience at Duquesne.
Bridget: What is your name, major/minor, and graduation year(s)?
Brianna: My name is Brianna McDonagh, and I majored in English with a minor in Global Health. I graduated in the Spring of 2022.
Bridget: Why did you choose Duquesne University?
Brianna: I chose Duquesne University because of the community that was on campus. It’s very tight-knit, and everybody looks after one another, which I thought was great. I also met many people who pushed me to be a better student and person.
Bridget: What made you choose the English program?
Brianna: I was undecided in my first year at Duquesne, and I took a writing-intensive class with Dr. Erin Speese, and she told me I should look into the English department. After I did, I talked to Dr. Wright, and almost immediately after that, I wanted to join the department.
Bridget: How did Duquesne prepare you for your career?
Brianna: My time at Duquesne has taught me to think ethically about things, rather than just seeing what’s on the surface, and to look to find deeper meanings and understand different perspectives than my own. Many people question the value of an English major, but you can do so much with it. It has helped me develop my critical thinking, grammar and analysis, and interpersonal communication skills and allowed me to collaborate effectively with those I’m working with. I learned a lot about teamwork since there is so much collaboration in the English classes at Duquesne and from being part of the rowing team during my four years of undergrad. Since I am currently applying to dental schools, having these skills is what is going to set me apart from others in the field and also help me to achieve these career goals since I will be able to communicate things to my patients in a way in which they will understand me and feel seen.
Bridget: What was most memorable about your experience in the English department at Duquesne?
Brianna: I would have to say my senior year was the most memorable. I liked it because I did so many different things that I typically would have never done. The English capstone course that I took senior year helped me see how flexible an English major can be since I researched potential careers and worked as a marketing and communications intern for the English Department. I also took poetry, which was something very new to me. Taking these courses helped me step out of my comfort zone and brought out a creative side that I didn’t know I had, so Dr. Kinnahan helped me with that one.
Bridget: What classes, if any, have helped you the most in your career journey so far?
Brianna: Health Care and Literature, taught by Professor Maata, helped prepare me for the medical field. We read various texts that made us think about patient care and how sometimes patients can feel helpless in the healthcare system. Reading and analyzing the articles and scholarship in this course helped me to understand what patients go through and how I can interact with them in the future to be on their side instead of the side of medicine.
Bridget: What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier?
Brianna: Do not stress out about so many small things. There are many difficult things that happen and obstacles that you have to face, but everything you are studying will make you unique and help you in your future endeavors. Just because you are majoring in English doesn’t mean you can’t attend law school after graduation or enter the medical field. That’s why we take so many diverse classes in the Liberal Arts program to prepare for where our career journeys take us.
Bridget: Do you have any advice for current Duquesne students?
Brianna: Don’t take no for an answer. There were many times when I was told no in my academic pursuits, but it changed everything for me when I found what truly made me happy. Also, don’t limit yourself to what you’re comfortable with! When I was starting my freshman year, I felt like I disappointed myself and others, so even if something might seem scary, take the leap and do the things you may be uncertain of because they will make you happy in the long run. You are spending four or more years here, so you have to make it worth your while because they go by fast.
Bridget: What is your current career?
Brianna: I’m coaching rowing right now, but I am in the process of applying to dental school. I’m taking my standardized tests and gathering my letters of recommendation, so once that’s done, I will find out if I get interviewed in June, and hopefully, I will get accepted.
Bridget: What inspired you to choose your current career path?
Brianna: I’d have to say my minor in Global Health. My first class was Introduction to Global Health with Dr. Gerald Boodoo in the fall semester of 2019. He had so much passion for helping others, especially in countries that are still developing, so he inspired me to do the same with my career. I also feel like everybody I still talk to from that class is devoting their career to serving their communities. Overall, this class changed my mind about what I wanted to do with my career. At first, I was tossing between being a dentist and going to law school like my father, but after taking this class, I knew that I wanted to be a dentist to help others and put their needs before mine.
Bridget: What skills have you found helpful during your career?
Brianna: Critical thinking has been super helpful, especially in terms of shadowing and studying for dental school. Much of what I’ve been learning deals with patient care and problem-solving, so my English background has helped me decipher the material I’m working with. Many dentists must make tough decisions daily, such as addressing a problem immediately or waiting it out. My critical thinking and analytical skills have helped me understand this process in the medical field.
Bridget: How else are you utilizing your English degree since graduating?
Brianna: Over the summer, I worked with Americorps at Three Rivers Rowing, so I had the opportunity to incorporate what I learned in the capstone into this experience. Not only was I working with kids and coaching them, but when I wasn’t coaching, I got to reach out to people in the community to sell weight equipment or to use the equipment at our boathouse, which put my marketing and communications skills, which I learned in my capstone experience, into great use.
Bridget: Are there any ways your English degree has surprised you during your career experience thus far?
Brianna: I’d say just surprising people. I get surprised at how much it surprises other people how valuable an English major can be, especially when it comes to applications and resumes since we are often those non-traditional students who stand out or get overlooked because of our major. When English majors enter law schools or other fields that typically aren’t associated with English, it naturally comes as a surprise how capable we are since we aren’t from those business or pre-law backgrounds. So being able to impress other people this way is cool.
Bridget: Are you reading anything interesting right now?
Brianna: I just read The Firm by John Grisham. I found many of his books while shopping at thrift stores, so I’m starting to read them over again.
Alumni Interview: Jamie Crow, Undergrad, Multiplatform Journalism and English, SP19.
Written By: John Rose, Undergrad, English, FA23
Jamie Crow is a writer and communications specialist for the central communications office at Johns Hopkins University. Her role is to write stories for the university news website, The Hub, which includes student profiles, faculty research highlights, and Q+As with university experts. Jamie also works as a freelance writer with Pittsburgh Magazine. She values the empathy and understanding that she gained through her university career and enjoys working with students, faculty, and campus partners from a variety of backgrounds.
Jamie graduated Duquesne in May 2019 as a double major in multiplatform journalism and English with a writing concentration. She chose Duquesne because it offered the opportunity to major in both English and journalism. Jamie credits her undergrad experience as fostering a greater sense of empathy and providing a setting where she could connect with people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. As a first-generation college graduate, Jamie is proud to be writing full time and is grateful to have the chance to tell the stories of people who want to make the world a better place. See below for the full interview.
What is your name, major/minor, and graduation year(s)?
My name is Jamie Crow, and I was a double major in multiplatform journalism and English with a writing concentration. I graduated in May 2019.
Why did you choose Duquesne University?
I actually transferred to Duquesne at the beginning of my sophomore year, after spending a year at a smaller liberal arts school in my hometown. When I decided to transfer, I looked for schools where I could major in both English and journalism—to hone my writing and critical thinking skills while also learning valuable tools of the trade on the media side. I also loved the “traditional” campus feel Duquesne has while still having the proximity to the city and the opportunities there.
How did Duquesne prepare you for your career?
Duquesne gave me a lot of practical skills, including a better understanding of my writing style and multiplatform content creation and editing experience from the JMA department, but I think that above all, my experience there allowed me to gain a greater sense of empathy. My love of writing comes from a desire to connect with people, so it was really rewarding to take a variety of classes with people of different backgrounds and with varying perspectives, and to learn how to communicate across divides.
What was most memorable about your experience in the English department at Duquesne?
The most memorable experience I had because of the English department was my study abroad experience in summer 2018. Dr. Anna Gibson, a former professor in the English department, arranged a ten-day trip to London and Winchester, England, as part of a summer course focusing on nineteenth-century literature. It was my first time out of the country, and it was incredible to travel to a place I’d always dreamed about while also learning about it through a literary lens.
In terms of the most memorable aspect of my time in the English department, I’d say the support of the faculty. I had several professors I knew I could count on to provide support, guidance, and insight, both on an educational and professional level, but also on a personal level.
What classes, if any, have helped you the most in your career?
I took four fiction workshop courses and a multi-genre workshop course, all with John Fried, and I think those were the most helpful for my career. Those classes were some of the most valuable experiences for gaining a greater sense of empathy—working in a community of writers with varying backgrounds in writing, critiquing each other’s work, and seeing each other grow. John was a great professor, and he really guided us to navigate that experience with grace and understanding.
I’d also add a course I took with Dr. Jim Purdy on intellectual property and digital writing. It was a class that really asked us to think critically about ownership of content in the wild west landscape that is the Internet, and it sparked an interest in copyright issues, media law, and fair use that I still have today.
What do you know now that you wish you knew earlier?
As a first-generation college student, I think I was sometimes afraid to ask questions that I thought I should have known the answer to. College, and life in general, can be daunting and filled with imposter syndrome, and it’s not always easy to put yourself out there by saying, “I don’t know.” But as people, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing—learning, pushing ourselves to a greater point of understanding, and growing. It’s totally okay to not have everything figured out and to ask questions.
Do you have any advice for current Duquesne students?
This answer is kind of an extension of the last answer, but I would say to take the experience for what it is: a learning and growing opportunity. Build relationships with your professors, take advantage of all the on-and off-campus opportunities you can, and just take your time. Focus on the current journey and know that it’s okay to not have all the answers yet, including the often-dreaded question of what you’ll do after graduation. You have plenty of time to figure things out.
What is your current career?
I work as a writer and communications specialist for the central communications office at Johns Hopkins University, which is essentially in charge of telling the university’s story in a way that advances its brand and mission. My role is to write stories for the university news website, The Hub, including student profiles, faculty research highlights, and Q+As with university experts. In short: I write about smart people doing cool things.
What inspired you to choose your current career?
I’ve always wanted to write professionally, and I was open to doing that in whatever way presented itself, whether it was straight journalism, working for a nonprofit, or, in the case that stuck, working in higher education. While the American higher education system is not without its flaws, I love the advancement of knowledge and I’m grateful to have the chance to tell the stories of people who want to make the world a better place.
What skills have you found useful during your career?
Definitely the empathy and understanding I gained through my undergraduate career. I’m working with students and faculty now from a variety of backgrounds and working with campus partners who have varying perspectives and goals. Communicating with them effectively means coming from a place of understanding, which is something I honed at Duquesne.
How else are you utilizing your English degree since graduating?
I’ve been a freelance writer for Pittsburgh Magazine since I interned with them in fall 2017, and I also was a freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for about a year after graduating. But outside of the professional experience, I use my English degree every day in the way that I connect with and seek to understand people and the world around me.
Are there any ways your English degree has surprised you during your career experience?
I think I’ve been surprised by how many people I’ve worked with who also have English degrees. It really is a very applicable field to study, and, to quote Dr. Emad Mirmotahari who grilled this into us on a daily basis, the value of an English degree is immeasurable and there’s no shortage of organizations that need great writers.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
In addition to being a first-gen college graduate, I’m really proud that I’m getting to write full time. It’s been a dream of mine since I was little, and while my career may evolve over time, I’m really grateful that I currently get to write for a living.
What other updates would you like to share?
I don’t think there’s really anything to add here, but I appreciate the question.
Are you reading anything interesting right now?
My TBR is growing by the day because I’ve been in a reading slump, but I recently finished The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, which was fantastic. It beautifully tells the story of how we think about language and who determines what words hold the greatest power through the lens of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Highly recommend.
Building Bridges 