Amanda Taylor

Class of 2006

Dumbledore tells Harry Potter in The Chamber of Secrets that “it is our choices [. . .] that show what we truly are, more than our abilities.” I find many things of value in J.K. Rowling’s books, but the emphasis upon our choices really resonates with me, particularly given that my choice to attend Carroll College and major in English was something that I made with time. I chose Carroll primarily because of the speech and debate team, and I was originally a chemistry major. I loved chemistry, but after writing sonnets in organic chemistry lab, I realized that I truly belonged in English. I chose to change my chemistry major to a minor and focus on English, and I’ve never regretted it. I’ve spent the years since graduating completing a Master’s at the University of Chicago, and I am currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota in the English department, studying early modern and medieval literature, rhetoric, and critical theory.

My choice to call the English department home showed that I was meant to spend my time reading and writing about the medieval and early modern periods and critical theory. The faculty both supported and nurtured my interests. Dr. Stottlemyer helped me find a way to spend a summer studying at Cambridge University in the UK, and this time allowed me to begin researching what would become my undergraduate thesis. I was able to help organize the second Carroll Literary Festival, tutor writing, and guest lecture in some of my classes. All of these activities prepared me to excel in graduate school, and I was also employed as an editor at the end of my senior year because of the superior writing and review skills I acquired as an English major. I have presented at numerous conferences, recently had my MA thesis published, and won several fellowships both in my MA and Ph.D. programs, and I credit my education in English at Carroll with helping me achieve these accomplishments.

Dr. Matthew Kaiser, a Harvard professor, writes, “Study literature. Study it like your life depends upon it—because, in this wordy young century, it does,” and my advice would be similar to current or prospective English majors. Choose English, because you won’t regret this choice. Language animates our reality, and studying language and literature will give you power to shape your world. Don’t be cowed by scoffing from people who fail to see the value of studying English, and don’t quell in the face of incredulous naysayers who warn that studying English will only lead to unemployment. Long-term employment statistics for English majors actually reveal that English majors have very low rates of unemployment. Make the choice to study literature and language and you won’t regret it; I certainly don’t!

Bishop George Leo Thomas

Class of 1972

During the past thirty five years, I have served the Church as priest and bishop.

The path to priesthood requires many years of graduate study. After ordination, a priest's pastoral responsibilities often entail a demanding schedule of writing, study, and public speaking.

As a former English major at Carroll College (Class of '72), I felt particularly well prepared for the demands of seminary, graduate school, and priestly ministry.

The English Department at Carroll introduces students to the rich and expansive world of literature, and provides them with an array of skills in literary criticism, creative and expository writing, research methods and critical thinking.

A major in English gives the student a capacity to communicate well in a complex and demanding workplace. English majors who are considering careers in law, teaching, religious life, public relations, journalism, technical writing, or other graduate programs will stand on a firm intellectual foundation.

Carroll College students are the beneficiaries of a highly gifted faculty, ready and willing to assist their student in academic formation and professional development. I will be ever grateful to those English Department professors who taught me and my fellow students yesteryear - Professors Hank Burgess, Jack Semmens, Joseph Ward, Mary Frances Jeske, Robert Heywood, and Sister Miriam Clare Roesler.

As a Carroll College graduate, I encourage those students majoring in English to persevere in their studies, and to those still discerning a major to consider the English program at Carroll College. You will be well prepared to meet the future with skill, acumen, and confidence.

Blessings, Most Reverend George Leo Thomas, Ph.D. Bishop of Helena

Virginia Reeves

Class of 2000

I am currently a James A. Michener fellow at the University of Texas-Austin. In my three years here, I’ve been fortunate to study with Elizabeth McCracken, Christina Garcia, Margot Livesey, Jim Magnuson, Steven Dietz, and Michael Adams, among others. My colleagues here are extraordinary, and I intend to know them (and exchange work with them) for the rest of my life. To say this program is a gift is an understatement.

In addition to my coursework and writing, I work with an organization in Austin called Badgerdog. Its mission is one of reading and writing, and I am part of its writers in the schools program. This year, I’m teaching in two east side, economically disadvantaged schools. I have never known such rewarding work.

Though primarily a fiction writer, I teach poetry and playwriting as well. There is one poem that I always teach to students of pretty much any age: Gary Gildner's "Dogtoothed Violets". Wherever did I hear of Gildner? How did I come across this book of his poems, Bunker in the Parsley Field? I know exactly when and how. He came to Carroll during my senior year. I am still struck by that moment: meeting a professional writer. He was very modest and humble. I loved his work then. I still love it now. I was already an English writing major at that point, but his visit helped me believe in the path I'd chosen. We do not need huge universities and national book tours to show us that writers exist in the world. Carroll did a wonderful job of showing me this career, of making it real and tangible. It may be a small Catholic college in the middle of Montana, but Carroll is not isolated. I grew up there. I grew into a writer there. I wrote my very first piece of [real] fiction there. I would not be where I am now, had I not been to Carroll first.

I still have relationships with my professors (a decade-plus later). I have relationships (great ones) with professors I never formally had, with professors who came after my graduation and took it upon themselves to mentor me, though they had no obligation. These teachers have never failed to write yet another letter of recommendation for me, or to offer their tireless support and encouragement. I believe that professors come to Carroll to be part of a community. Students do as well.

My advice: If you are drawn to be a writer, you must pursue it. I have tried many other jobs. I’ve taught middle school; I’ve designed curriculum; I’ve designed newspapers. But I have always returned to writing, and Carroll, high on its Helena hill, is a great place to do just that.

Emily Stueven

Class of 2010

After finishing up my student-teaching semester and graduating from Carroll in 2010, I was hired to teach English at Helena High School in Helena, Montana. That's where I am now: teaching sophomores and juniors at Helena High and facing, daily, the difficult challenges and little triumphs that make up the life of a new educator. It's hard work, but there's something indescribably special about sharing great words and stories with young people, introducing them to, among so many other literary delights, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the poetry of Whitman and Dickinson, Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, the funny-yet-serious novels of Sherman Alexie, and The Maltese Falcon-Dashiell Hammett's noir masterpiece.

The Languages and Literature Department at Carroll was both the training ground for my future profession and the support network I needed to get there. My professors taught and encouraged me to write, speak, and express myself thoughtfully and powerfully. I was able, during my time at Carroll, to participate in an internship with the Helena Festival of the Book, to work with student colleagues to organize the Carroll Literary Festival, and to visit numerous secondary English classrooms in Helena. I got a real taste of the work an educator can and must do, both in the classroom and in the wider community. I feel the experiences I had as an English Education major at Carroll filled me with a confidence to take on the "real world" as well as the sometimes scary microcosm of society that is the American high school.

There's a terrible and stinging cliché often thrown at English majors: "Majoring in English is like majoring in unemployment." The advice I wish all timid English majors had is to ignore the naysayers and follow your passion. Trying to understand language and how to use it is never a pointless endeavor. Humanity is bound by language, and language informs all other professions, content areas, and parts of life.