The Department of Languages and Literatures wishes its graduating seniors the best as they apply for jobs and begin the exciting transition to the next chapter of their lives! This post is the second and final installment in a series to spotlight these seniors, who generously shared their favorite memory of being a major in the department and their post-graduation plans.
Caleb Crowley
I switched majors quite often, eventually landing on an English major after choosing to forego an education degree. The department head Dr. Donatini was wonderfully helpful in my major transition, especially since my class requirements meant a lot of help in a few substitutions and scheduling properly.
My best memories in the department have been my classes with my advisor Dr. Waterman along with Dr. Grady, Dr. Sundberg, and Dr. Mondal. Specifically, Dr. Grady’s Film and Literature class helped me recognize how film techniques could translate concepts from literature onto the screen. This gave the books we read a greater life when I could experience them in two separate mediums. Further, Dr. Mondal and Dr. Waterman’s abilities to implement historical context to the literature we read greatly improved the class experience. Their expertise and background knowledge gave a much deeper understanding and comprehension of the pieces, thus assisting
me and my classmates in developing more in-depth and unique thesis statements to argue.
I want to highlight my work with Dr. Sundberg especially. When I joined the department, I dreaded the concept of creative writing, believing that I could never write anything worthwhile. In only two classes with Dr. Sundberg, my perspective entirely shifted, and I have learned thoroughly to love the creative writing process. Her feedback always pulled the best out of my
work and influenced my process in every paper after her classes, whether creative or research-oriented.
After graduation, I will be working in social media marketing for a video game marketing agency. The skills I have developed in creativity and grammatical strengths have benefited my future tremendously in this position, helping to curate valuable content and marketing strategies.
Kyle Russell
My favorite memories as a Creative Writing Major were my Capstone for my final senior project as well as all the other workshop classes I've taken throughout my time here at Ashland. I deeply enjoyed being able to create my own thing and bring my own slice of creativity to the table. I loved being able to write out my ideas and having them critiqued so that I could improve them and mold them into something much better. Going through these classes has allowed me to develop my love for fantasy and creating fantastical worlds even more. Even in my poem workshop class, I still managed to create moments of fantasy within the stanzas that I wrote. In my non fiction workshop I managed to create a slideshow of memories through my writing that could allow the reader to experience a bit of my life through my words. Overall, my time as a Creative Writing Major has been absolutely positive and I don't regret picking it in the slightest.
