English alumna Jerri Green (ʼ99) sits down with Meghan Pinkston (Class of 2027) to discuss how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to navigate her career as a lawyer, Chief Public Defender, Memphis City Councilwoman, and, now, gubernatorial candidate. Meghan Pinkston: Why did you originally decide to major in English? Jerri Green: From an early age, I […]
English alumna Taylor Phipps (ʼ09) sits down with Meghan Pinkston (Class of 2027) to discuss how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to build her career in nonprofit work and serve as the Executive Director of A Step Ahead Foundation of East Tennessee. Meghan Pinkston: When you chose to major in English, did you know you […]
English alumna Courtney Bergmeier (ʼ10) sits down with Meghan Pinkston (Class of 2027) to discuss how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to build her career in entertainment and, eventually, become the Executive Director of the Bijou Theater. Meghan Pinkston: Why did you choose to major in English? Courtney Bergmeier: English was not my first […]
English alumna Karyn Adams (ʼ94) sits down with Meghan Pinkston (Class of 2027) to discuss how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to build a career in business, politics, and more. Meghan Pinkston: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue a degree in English? What informed that decision? Karyn Adams: Writing is what I have always […]
English alumna Ellie Holcomb (’05) is an award-winning singer and songwriter who has performed and toured solo as well as with her husband and their band, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. She is also the author of multiple books. She recently talked to Professor Stan Garner about her experiences as an English major at UT […]
English alumna Elizabeth Nother (ʼ02) sits down with Meghan Pinkston (Class of 2027) to discuss her career in business, and how her time at UT taught her the skills she needs to serve as President and CEO of Goodwill Industries – Knoxville, Inc Meghan Pinkston: As you were beginning your time at the University of […]
English alumna Mal Alder (’13) sits down with Erin Cantrell (’25) to discuss her business, Alderwood Creative, and how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to own and found her own business. Erin Cantrell: What inspired you to start Alderwood Creative, and how did you take the first step? Mal Alder: […]
University of Tennessee English alumni Amanda Henneghan, Mal Alder, and Kara Orellana joined Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith for a roundtable discussion on how their English degrees helped them in their future careers in business. This online discussion took take place on Wednesday, March 5th from 5:00-6:00 PM EST on Zoom. Amanda Henneghan is a native […]
University of Tennessee English alumni Karyn Adams, John Luke Bell, and Skikila Arniece Smith joined Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith for a roundtable discussion on how their English degrees helped them in their future careers in education, including in areas of teaching, curriculum development, and higher ed strategies and consulting. This online discussion took place on […]
English alumna Sierra Swanson (’20) sits down with Erin Cantrell (’25) to discuss her work in publishing in NYC and how her time at UT taught her the skills she needed to thrive. Erin Cantrell: How was the transition from an undergraduate student in Knoxville to someone working their way up in the publishing world? […]
English Alum Amien Essif discusses how English prepared him for a career in journalism through telling human stories. Erin Cantrell: What was your career path from an undergraduate student in Knoxville to becoming Special Correspondent with Deutsche Welle? Amien Essif: After I graduated from UTK, I spent the summer of 2012 writing a cover story […]
When recently appointed University of Tennessee Press Director Katie Hannah first switched to English Literature as a major during her sophomore year at the University of Mississippi, she had no idea her decision would lead her into the publishing industry. “I was majoring in Broadcast Journalism, and I was learning to write shorter, and shorter […]
Two English alumni discuss how poetry and rhetoric set them up for comedic success and how inspiration often comes from the most unlikely of places. Z Eihausen: What drew you to creative writing initially? Clinton Ricks: I’m still figuring this one out, honestly. But I know it has to do with LeVar Burton and Reading […]
“Attorneys are storytellers”: Smith shares four ways English is an advantageous precursor to law and education Jason Smith (’04) is Director of Legal Writing and Assistant Professor of Law at Lincoln Memorial University in Knoxville. After majoring in English (Literature), he graduated from UT’s College of Law in 2009. He spoke with Prof. Hilary Havens […]
From Capitol Hill to the skies, English helped Houston Holdren soar. English alumna Houston Holdren (’19) is a Senior Executive Assistant for Government Operations (Defense, Space & Security) at Boeing in Arlington, Va. Before that, she served as Director of Operations for the House Republican Conference, U.S. House of Representatives, chaired by Rep. Elise Stefanik […]
Former English Major Flourishes as Section Head for Operations at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility Ashley Barker (’96) is the Section Head for Operations at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) located at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL). After graduating from UT English with a literature concentration, she went on to receive a Master […]
“English is making you a better writer and making you a better person in the world that thinks critically about things.” English alum P. Claire Dodson (‘15) has published stories in, among others, The New York Times, InStyle, O The Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, and Fast Company, where she worked for several years before becoming an entertainment editor at Teen Vogue. Claire’s father, […]
Dr. Leigh Ball uses her English degree to improve patient care. Dr. Leigh (Schlactus) Ball (’12) is an internal medicine physician with a specialty in sleep medicine. After an MD at East Tennessee State University and a residency at UT, she now practices in St. Louis, Missouri where she lives with her husband, a fellow […]
Jasmine Johnson (2016) is an attorney in Atlanta, GA, where she practices corporate law. She spoke with Professor Katy Chiles about the value of learning to write well and how much she misses being in English classes. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Katy Chiles: It’s so good to see you! I was just thinking this […]
Sarah Rainey uses skills she learned in her English courses to thrive in different business sectors. It was a chance meeting in her Technical and Professional Writing class that set Sarah Rainey (’22) on her path. She was a sophomore, concentrating in Technical Communications, and the student who sat next to her was a senior. […]
A background in English has been a key to this CEO’s competitive edge. Camille Renshaw, UT English ’94, is CEO of B+E Real Estate, the first brokerage firm to offer an online trading platform for 1031 exchanges and net lease real estate. B+E has offices in 7 cities – NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, Charlotte, […]
How Literary Reading and Expository Writing Helped Corts become a Successful Entrepreneur David Corts loves to hire English majors. Corts is the COO of Fresh Technology, a software company that tries to make technology seamless for restaurants so they can focus on food and customers. Corts explains, “I‘ve spent most of my career in software […]
English classes, Hall believes, “teach you how to think” rather than “what to think.” For attorney Christopher A. Hall, practicing law is often a matter of character analysis. “There’s an adversary. Someone who wants to best me. I’m looking at his or her clients, I’m trying to find out what motivates them—pressure points, areas of […]
Dr. Daniel Wallace spoke with two alumni about how studying English impacted their medical careers. University of Tennessee English alumni Carolyn Thompson and Nicole Matis joined Daniel Wallace for a roundtable discussion on how their English degrees helped them in their future careers in medicine. Carolyn C. Thompson, MD, is a Board-certified OB/Gyn with over […]
Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith sat down with University of Tennessee English alumni Claire Dodson, Daniel Dassow, and Christopher Moyer for a roundtable discussion on how their English degrees helped them in their future careers in journalism. This online discussion took place on Thursday, April 4th from 5:00-5:30 PM EST on Zoom. Please see the video below. […]
“A freelancing career thus looks like a continuous process of strategic discomfort. You have to be willing to do things you’re not good at because being not good for a while is the only path to getting better.” Austin L. Church (MA ’08) is a writer, marketing consultant, and business coach. He started freelancing in […]
University of Tennessee English alumni Jasmine Johnson and J. Scott Rose joined Director of Career Development Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith for a roundtable discussion on how their English degrees helped them in their future careers in law. Jasmine Johnson was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She earned a B.A. in English, summa cum laude, […]
Rodney Thompson’s love of storytelling brought him to English and now game rooms everywhere. English alumnus Rodney Thompson (Creative Writing ’04) is a multi-award-winning video and tabletop game designer. In addition to being the creator of Spectaculars and Dusk City Outlaws—and co-creator of Lords of Waterdeep—he was one of the creative minds behind Dungeons and […]
Dickey says the ability to communicate well leads to success, and it’s a skill he says he got from his time spent as an English major at The University of Tennessee. R. A. Dickey gives his pitch on why English is the path to success, in any endeavor. As a student he played baseball for […]
Monica Brashears’ debut novel, House of Cotton, comes out this April. Monica Brashears (’19) double-majored in English (Creative Writing) and Africana Studies. Afterward, she enrolled in the creative writing program at Syracuse University, receiving her MFA in 2022. She grew up in Luttrell, TN, about 20 miles outside Knoxville. Her debut novel House of Cotton is set for publication […]
What can you do with an English major? Whatever you want, says Vol Alumna Dr. Carolyn Thompson (’88), who graduated with a BA in English, attended medical school, and established a successful practice as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Her path from English to an MD is not unusual. Though English and other humanities majors constitute less than […]