Career Opportunities for ENGLISH graduates

In scanning a partial list of RWC English graduates, the following professional titles were found:

• College professor
  
• ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher
  
• Technical writer
  
• Librarian
  
• Corporate management
  
• Public Relations
  
• Lawyer
  
• College administration (recruitment officer, fund-raising, dean of students, registrar, upper-level management, etc.)
  
• Pastor
  
• Public school administration (principal, superintendent of schools)
  
• Missionary
  
• Magazine editor
  
• Guidance counselor
  
• Career placement director
  
• Human resource director
  
• Marketing/sales
  
• Broadcast and print journalism
  
• Administrative assistant/secretary
  
• High school or elementary teacher
  
• Preschool director
  
• Proofreader
  
• Private business owner
  
• Speech pathologist
  
• Learning center director
  
• Reading specialist
  
• Vocational rehabilitation specialist
  
• Litigation consultant
  
• Publishing
  
• Office manager
  
• Customer service representative
  
• The list goes on….
  
• The possibilities are endless!

Graduate schools attended by RWC English graduates include:

• American University
  
• Asbury Theological Seminary
  
• Boston University
  
• Bowling Green State University
  
• Case Western Reserve
  
• Columbia University
  
• Cornell University
  
• Drew University
  
• Indiana University
  
• Lehigh University
  
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  
• Northwestern University
  
• Syracuse University
  
• University of Buffalo
  
• University of Kentucky
  
• University of Michigan
  
• University of Toledo
  
• University of Toronto
  
• University of Washington
  
• William and Mary

Comments from ALUMNI

After completing my undergraduate work in English at RWC, I felt like I had a solid, broadly based perspective in literature. Having taken courses designed to cover major authors and major works in major literary genres, I left Roberts with a sense of the relationship of literature to its historical timeframe. Perhaps, most importantly, I came to realize that literature and poetry is (in Wordsworth's terms) "a man speaking to men." Literature continues to speak to me, telling me about man's struggle with who he is and his place in this world.
It is hard for me to believe that I have been in the classroom almost twenty years. Even harder to believe--my love of literature and enthusiasm has diminished very little. I try to see each student who enters my classroom as a child of infinite worth who has great potential. It is my prayer that, armed with great literature and lots of patience, I can somehow touch each life in some small way.

Denise Vallese Almgren '79
Teacher of Advanced Placement Literature & Composition
Forest High School, Ocala, Florida

The years I spent at Roberts were some of the most profitable of my life. The professors of the English department taught me the all-important skills of close reading and critical thinking. They enhanced my passion for literature and honed my writing skills. When I went on to graduate school, the tools they gave me were essential to my success. That I completed my Ph.D. program in record time and am now awaiting the publication of my dissertation as a scholarly book is due in some measure to their encouragement, their wisdom, and the work ethic they fostered.

Heather Armstrong, Ph.D. '93

I have thought often about my "dream team" of professors from RWC and what they gave me:
Dr. Berry: How incredible to be able to TEACH critical thinking & analysis and to dare students to ask questions. Wow.
Prof. Decker: He not only role modeled but taught us, in his genteel, unassuming way, that EVERY person and his/her related thoughts, opinions, beliefs, writings, is to be RESPECTED. I have never felt so valued as a person. What an accomplishment for a professor in a classroom. Awesome.
Dr. Hurley: The answer, the 'truth' to the literature, is in there if we're willing to dig a little deeper. I tend to be very subjective and have come to appreciate his plumb line for authenticity/objectivity.
The small, intimate classes were a treasure to experience.
I feel like a case study for the value of a liberal arts education. I remember a poster that listed ALL the things one could do with an English degree! My professional life is a perfect example of that variety: part PR, part counseling, part teaching, part administration all on the higher ed level.

Kathy Crosby '83
Director of Marketing and
Interim Manager of College Programs
College Center of the Finger Lakes
Corning, NY

Roberts Wesleyan College helped to prepare me for life. I learned many lessons about how to work with people and how to truly put others before myself.
Being challenged to think deeper than the text was a strong point of the Roberts English program. The professors encourage students to look beyond the obvious in literature and to really grasp the meaning of what the author is trying to say.
My professors really cared about me as an individual. I was not just another number in the class. Because of this care, my life was changed for the better. I took comfort in sitting in a classroom where my professor knew my name and really cared about my life.
Materials came alive in class, and as a result they began to come alive outside of the classroom. It's not unusual to hear discussions carry on from class well into the day and into the dorms.
Roberts Wesleyan College provided strong friendships that I will have for the rest of my life. The campus is small enough to recognize familiar faces, yet large enough to meet new people daily.
Roberts has a strong interest in missions. It is because of one of the missions trips that the option of my current job grabbed my attention. I am not sure what I would be doing if it wasn't for the care and encouragement of Roberts' faculty and staff.

Angie Jacobs '00
English Teacher/Missionary in Hungary, Europe
Free Methodist World Missions

Roberts Wesleyan College's English program was beneficial to me as a student because it trained me to think broadly. Literature is important in developing character and in understanding people. We were exposed to a wide range of literary genres during college, and I have been able to access a number of those pieces to be effective in my work. I also became a better writer at Roberts Wesleyan. This skill has helped me to coach students as they write. I taught Chinese people English in Taiwan for three years. Because I knew how to guide them to good literature and was able to teach them proper writing techniques, I was valued in my language school. Roberts helped to prepare me with tools that were beneficial in keeping my teaching fresh for the students and for myself.

Valerie Kettinger '97
Teacher of English as a Second Language/
Secondary English Teacher

My major in English from Roberts Wesleyan nurtured critical thinking skills and provided a solid foundation for graduate study. The commitment to excellence from professors like Decker and Updyke left a lasting legacy in my life and has molded my approach to education.
John Nemecek, Ph.D., '73
Assistant Dean and Associate Professor
School of Adult Studies
Spring Arbor College

Over the years I have had several reasons to reflect on my English degree and education. I am convinced that my ability to relate to scripture with creativity and yet allegiance to the textual material is directly related to skills I gained in explicating poetry and analyzing works of literature. Beyond these skills, I also gained a love for the written word that came through profs Decker, Hurley and Vincent (note the alphabetical order!).
I also am convinced that my ability to communicate energetically and carefully was a result of my years at Roberts. Energetically - because I learned to pursue truth and love the exchange of ideas. Carefully - because my natural enthusiasm was tempered by numerous papers returned to me with red ink mapping a route to more disciplined writing.
After 21 years in pastoral ministry, and now five years in Christian publishing, I still believe that my best preparation for ministry came through the exemplary lives of my profs and the lessons I learned while studying language and literature.

Doug Newton '75
Senior Editor
Light and Life magazine
Director of the Integrated Media Group
Free Methodist Church of North America

The value system endorsed by RWC is probably the most differentiating from other schools. While many RWC students arrive with their values well defined, the school does a very good job of affirming those values and providing guidance in learning to exhibit those values in everyday interpersonal interactions. I have repeatedly heard from other managers at Kodak that the RWC grads seem to be "really good people."
The English program is good preparation for careers other than teaching at the high school level. Solid communication skills are a must for succeeding in any area. My college experience has served me well in my positions at Eastman Kodak Company as a writer, technical instructor, documentation team leader, and now as a software support manager.

Chuck Rudd '77
Current Products Manager
Eastman Kodak Company
chuck.rudd@Kodak.com