Digital Interview with Brianna Jentz Conducted by English Faculty, April 2013

1.) What did you study at UW-Platteville?

When I first entered UW-Platteville, I was solely an English literature major, but I then quickly added a second major in history, which was followed by a certificate in writing and a minor in international studies.

2.) How did it feel/what was it like to be named valedictorian?

For me, as it is for many graduates, graduation was a blend between excitement and uncertainty. I’m not sure if I felt any differently about graduation as the valedictorian, but it was an honor to be one of the first ones to enter the gym on graduation day and to have lunch with the Chancellor, my family, and other honorees before the ceremony. I was also very humbled by so many kind words (and the potluck that the Writing Center organized) after all three LAE Valedictorians were formally announced.

3.)  What did you get out of working at the writing center?

  

I started working at the Writing Center right about the time that I feel like I found my niche in college. While my freshman and sophomore years were important in further developing my work ethic and establishing my own sense of what I wanted to accomplish, I feel that it was not until after I studied abroad in Scotland and then returned to UW-Platteville and delved deeper in the realm of research that I finally felt that I was working with all of the professors and doing all of the work that I was eager to do. Working at the Writing Center added the opportunities that I had to interact with fellow writers and scholars as well as helped me solidify my own practice of the writing process. Once of my favorite elements of the Writing Center as a tutor was seeing how a paper is developed from a mere brainstorming sessions to a fully developed submission.

4. A) Were you involved with any organizations/groups on campus?

Yes. Throughout my time at UW-Platteville, I was in a variety of groups, including, though not limited to, History Club, French Club, Students for Education Abroad, Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Lambda Delta, and Phi Eta Sigma.

B) Where there any activities you were involved with on campus that weren't organization/group related?

Yes! I seized the opportunity to study abroad in Scotland. Plus I had the excellent opportunity to conduct historical research on the 23rd Special Headquarters, an American WWII deceptive task force, at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland through a Pioneer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (PURF) sponsored by the UW-Platteville Office of Sponsored Programming. I am so grateful that Dr. Krugler encouraged me to apply for that fellowship and then later served as my adviser throughout the entirety of my PURF. I was also an intern editor for "Stylus: An Anthology of Freshman Writing," which was a wonderful opportunity to work with a wide variety of students and editors.

5.)  What class did you find the most and least helpful?

I’m sure that at the time I was taking some classes that I complained about one or more elements about various classes, but each class taught me something; whether it’s about my own learning style or organization, I did learn something.

6.)  Do any faculty and staff stand out in your memory?

In no particular order: Dr. Daniel Dahlquist; Dr. Keith Hale; Dr. Laura Beadling; Dr. David Krugler; Dr. Adam Stanley; Dr. Melissa Gormley; Dr. Amanda Tucker; Dr. Amy Parsons; Dr. Stormy Stipe; Dr. Kory Wein; Evelyn Martens; Dr. Russ Brickey; Tami Boebel; Barb Weinbrenner; Professor Rebecca Gottlieb; Dr. Laura Anderson; Jenni Krahn; Dr. Scott Nikolai; Dr. Ciesielski; and many others.

7)  What do you hope to do now that you've graduated? What are you doing currently?

Well, I hope to do what most college graduates hope to accomplish; I want to be happy. Currently, I am a program assistant for the UW-Platteville Writing and Tutoring Resource Center where I assist with the activities of the Peer Assisted Learning program, "Stylus," and the Writing Center.

8.) What advice would you give to students who are working their way towards graduation?

As a writer, don’t discredit general education courses. We all need topics, and you would be surprised where inspiration may lurk.

Digital Interview with Jessica Weber Conducted by English Faculty, March 2013

1.)  What did you study at UW-Platteville?

I studied Spanish Education and English Education.

2.)  Tell us about your experience from freshman year to senior year.

I actually transferred to UW-Platteville second semester of my freshman year.  It was an excellent decision.  When I transferred, I declared my majors in Spanish and English Ed.  I had so many awesome experiences at UW-Platteville.  I grew into the person I am today and learned so many valuable life skills.  I really came out of my shell during my time at Platteville.  I loved the atmosphere there and that I was truly able to make some great connections with my professors and peers.  Today, I am a teacher and am using all of the tools I gained at UW-Platteville each and every day.  I still know I have a support system which I gained while obtaining my degree at UW-Platteville.

3.)  Tell us about your time studying abroad.

I studied abroad for 2 months in Buenos Aires, Argentina the summer after my sophomore year.  To be completely honest, I didn't want to go!  It was required for my major so I signed up for a program and told myself I had to do it.  The experiences truly changed my life!  I lived with a host family so I was completely immersed in the language and culture.  I took classes there and spent time meeting new friends and exploring the amazing capital of Argentina.  When I returned from Argentina, I was a different person.  After that experience, I was a Study Abroad Ambassador where I spoke to students interested in studying abroad.  I highly recommend EVERYBODY study abroad, even if you're scared!  It's definitely worth it!

5.)  Tell us about your work experiences related to school.

I worked on campus in the ACES office for 3 1/2 years which allowed me to interact with my peers, faculty, incoming freshman, and parents.

I also had several awesome volunteer experiences that I was able to get through UW-Platteville.  I had several tutoring experiences and also taught Spanish to middle school students at a private school for a semester.

6.)  Were you involved with any organizations/groups on campus?

I was involved in with Students for Study Abroad, the Study Abroad Ambassador Program, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Coro D'Angeli, and The Alliance.

7.) Where there any activities you were involved with on campus that weren't organization/group related?

I'm not sure!  Maybe this would be Coro D'Angeli which is the Women's Choir on campus.

8.)  What class did you find the most helpful? Which one least?

This is a really hard question.  I truly loved all of my classes at UW-Platteville.  Probably the least helpful course I took (and hardest) was before I transferred to UW-Platteville and it was Calculus.  As a Spanish and English Teacher, I really don't need calculus in any way, shape, or form!  Still, I do use math every day!  I never totally trust my grade book and I calculate all of my students' grades by hand at the end of each quarter!  So math is important -- just not calculus!

Hands down, my student teaching experience was most beneficial.  Actually being in the classroom and working with an experienced teacher was the best learning environment.  As for classes on campus, I really had many that were super helpful.  I think every class has a purpose, even if it's just to make our brains work harder! (I tell that to my students sometimes .  As a teacher now, I would have to say my most helpful classes would be my methods courses.  They really got down to the basics of "how" to teach the content.  I use the books from those classes often!

9.)  Do any staff/students/people stand out in your memory?

Really, there are many staff members who stand out in my mind that helped me get to graduation and be the teacher I am today.  So many people from the English Department, Spanish Department, School of Education, and Clinical Experiences helped me with all kinds of questions.  Still, my adviser, professor, and university supervisor as a student teacher, Professor Chris Schulenburg, went above and beyond to help me find success in my undergraduate career.  He definitely helped me discover the job I currently have and he is still a mentor for me today, offering teaching suggestions and answering questions.  Without his guidance, I know I would not be half the teacher I am today.  I can only hope I help as many students as he has in my career in education.


10.)  What do you hope to do now that you've graduated?

Well, I have a job as a Spanish Teacher at Highland Community Schools.

12.) What advice would you give to students who are working their way towards graduation?

Keep doing your best!  Some days are really hard but it is totally worth it when you walk across the stage and get your diploma.  Also, enjoy every moment.  The time really, truly flies by.  I love my job but there is nothing like your time as an undergraduate.  Meet lots of people, connect with your professors, and listen to your advisers.  Learn everything you can!

Interview with Stephen Shepherd Conducted by Tony Bouxa, December 2012

How do you write?  What’s your process?

I think for a long time before I actually write anything.  Other people may outline, have something tangible on paper.  I think about the concept, and where I’d like to go with it.  Once I know what something is about, I’m really close to writing it.  Once I get what I’m really after with a song or a story I’m pretty much ready to say it.  One song I was telling you about took me over 23 years to write and I hadn't figured it out yet, the point to the song.  There was no chorus, no third verse.  I started working on it in 1975 and didn't finish it until 2006 or seven.

Is that pretty common with your more popular or profound works? Does it take longer for those to get from your head to your paper?

Yes, I think that’s true.  I've never woken up in the middle of the night, scribbled something down and said “what a wonderful piece that is.”  McCartney claims for “Yesterday” he woke up in the middle of the night and wrote it all in three minutes.  It was one of his most successful pieces.  That may be true but I've never done that.  I have always had artistic struggle in order to write.

Which do you prefer to write, music or fiction?

At one time it was whatever I could, if I could write a story I’d write a story.  It was kind of refreshing for a while, to be able to shift gears into different genres and say “I can write a story today” and then you struggle for a while and write a piece of music.  It was very refreshing.

So you write between genres?

I used to years ago and then when I started concentrating on music I wrote fewer and fewer stories it seemed.  That entertained me for quite a while, and it still does, but that entertained me to a point where it was more enjoyable to write music.  At one time when I was younger I was entertained by writing reports.  It got old and I started writing fiction and that went as far as I could take it I think. There might be something left, there might be a novel left somewhere but at that point in time I said “this is where I wanted to go with that.”  For me it’s about pushing the boundaries of my own creative mind, that’s it, if you read one of the stories you’d say “that’s quirky” and that’s how I like to write. A lot of times, when you lose that edge, you can’t push that boundary any further, you arrive and say “that’s what I can do with that.”

So talk about your fiction for us.  Is there an underlying element to your fiction or a style you like to write in?  You've spoken about a Rock and Roll sci-fi, is that a common vein, music and science fiction?

I think there is one that runs through those two pieces but it’s not sci-fi and it’s not fantasy.  It is social commentary.  There is a guy in one of the stories who owns a word dump in Madison.  He has created a landfill for words people no longer want to use.  In the story people come filing in from miles around, they’re bringing trash bins and bags and baskets full of stuff of things they don’t want to say anymore.  Swear words, idiotic things and they are giving them to the dump.  In other words the words become tangible and they are reaching into station wagons taking out words and letters. They are taking them back to the landfill and putting them into categories, with lover’s-lane words over here and swear words over there.  The owner of the word dump has had problems with his own marriage, and his wife brings him some trash bags full of words she’s been gossiping at the local beauty parlor.  He opens the trunk and she has bags full of words she doesn't want to say anymore.  He takes the trash bags out and one of them breaks, and at the top of the pile of letters is the saying “Donald, I love you”.  That’s how this guy finds out; the bag bursts and reads about Donald.  He brings all these words up and asks “who is Donald?”  She explains that he was never around; he was too busy with his dump and etc.  So he takes her over to the dump for the words from lover’s-lane and they piece together their marriage in a conversation from that pile. 

In another story, a guy serves fast food so fast that it’s invisible.  The food doesn't exist, the diner doesn’t exist, but people line up to buy it.  It’s a comment about how America can never get anything fast enough and at this point in time in the story things are so fast they don’t exist, there’s no more actual experience. 

There’s one about nuclear holocaust, about the unaccounted for nuclear weapons in the world.  But the United States and Russia are still negotiating a peace, underground, after a nuclear holocaust.  It’s called The Underground Holiday Inn.  They are negotiating after the world has already been destroyed.  It’s a comment about how diplomats talk and don’t act towards making the world a safe place.  Finally they get discovered by a team of nuclear experts who find them down there negotiating.  This team of experts shows up in their suits, and there is no radiation this far down.  One expert says “don’t you think it’s a little too late for talk?  The world’s been destroyed.”  The Russian asks “Well it didn’t happen did it?” He asks the president of the United States, the president responds “nope, never did and never will” and suggests a cocktail before a swim.

Sounds a little like Vonnegut.

Actually, when it came out, Bookslingers up in Minneapolis, a distributing company, advertised it with Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle so it has, certainly that influence.

So speculative fiction then?

Yes, it’s like Calvino, the Italian writer. It’s creating a reality, and it’s tough to do, creating in the readers mind an atmosphere where you can believe that these things are plausible.  It is a very tough thing to do.  I kind of push that limit with what I do with writing, it’s what I can do.  If anyone asks how creative I can be, there it is, that’s all I can do with that.  You know on the guitar there are parallels there.  The one clip you mentioned the other day about that interview on YouTube from the university here, it’s a finger picking style.  I could have used Paul Simon’s style from way back then, or a folk style, but I chose to make my own instead.  It’s taking something that’s already existing and making that your own through creative possibilities.  So the guitar became another outlet for it, the stories reached a point where I decided I couldn't do anymore with those.  I may be circling back to approach it at another point in time but when I stopped writing stories I had thought I had done what I could do.  Now I don’t know, I am still writing music, but from a creative standpoint I might reach a point where I've taken that where I can and I've decided what I’m doing next, I’m going to paint!  Cheever said writing isn't a competitive sport; it’s an act of self-discovery. 

So back to the music, why did you choose country?

It was easy!   My mother was a music teacher and she played classical music and Broadway show tunes.  My dad was a worked for a factory for 42 years and all of his relatives where from the south, so you get a lot of country from there too.  He played guitar too and my uncle Ray would come in with his fiddle and his friends from the factory would come in with their guitars and there would always be country music in the background with classical music coming from the radio, and there is some crossover there.

What advice would you have for artists, writers, creative types?  What is your stereotypical answer for advice?

As trite as it might sound, imitating other people is not the way to go.  Having people influence you is almost necessary, everybody gets influence by some artist, but to imitate a sound or some formulaic route is probably a waste of time.  It’s not very fulfilling creatively that way.  You can listen to the radio and say “oh I like that sound, I’m going to put these two sounds together and I’m gonna get that” I’m sure people do that. But the most satisfying way to do this is to do your own creative thinking, and not to imitate what is the latest and greatest but to test yourself to see if you have any talent for making your own work.  If there is anything that defines what really is “artistic” it’s when the artist can say “okay I have influences but those influences did not influence me to the point where it lapsed into some kind of imitated result.  I never did imitate, I have never imitated.  If you read my work you can see influences but you’ll never see anything quite like it.  That’s because I can genuinely say as an artist that I own it, it is who I am, and I am it.  

Digital Interview with April Schmidt Conducted by English Faculty, December 2012

What year did you graduate and what was your area of emphasis?

B.S. English-Professional Writing, 2002

B.S. Geography, 2002

M.S.E. Adult Education, 2007

How did you wind up working at UW-Platteville after graduation? (And/or) What is it like teaching in the program you attended as a student?

In 1997 at age 19 with a family of my own, I enrolled as a nontraditional student at UW-Platteville. Because I needed to support my family, I worked on campus almost the entire time I was a student. Initially, I served as caretaker for the Biology Department’s indoor greenhouse and later as administrative support for the Humanities Department. When I graduated in 2002, I was six months pregnant with my second son Owen, and my oldest son Kelvin was six years old. So, I was settled into the community pretty well by that point.

As an undergraduate, my ultimate goal was to become a freelance writer and editor for academic publishers. After graduating, I worked in-house as a project coordinator for a small publishing company. About 18 months later, I became a freelance editor for various academic publishers, including Taylor and Francis, IGI Global, Sage, and Ansmar Publishers. From 2004 to 2008, I edited over 100 published books and journals.

In 2004, as a graduate student at UW-Platteville, I became the graduate assistant for the Teaching Excellence Center and for the Early Childhood Education program of the School of Education. From 2006 to 2008, I also worked part-time for Public Relations, Alumni Services, and the Registrar’s Office. Additionally, I initiated and directed an internship program and some conferences. Knowing my work, the current chair of the Humanities Department hired me to teach Freshman Composition in Fall 2006, which I am still teaching today despite several semesters off, during which I explored other career options.

Honestly, I don’t feel like I teach in the same program I attended as a student because I only teach Freshman Composition, a low-level, required course. Aside from helping me identify my gifts with language (research writing, specifically), the comp courses I took as an undergraduate were a miniscule part of my program. Moreover, most of the English program faculty/staff I worked with as an undergraduate have retired, so the program has changed with the addition of new faculty. Thus, I’ve observed the program grow and evolve over the years.

Could you tell us a little about the paths you’ve traveled since you graduated?

In 2009, I chose to move to Illinois. I picked up a K-12 substitute teaching gig in Ogle and Lee Counties where I worked for about 20 different schools. Anyone with a degree can become a substitute teacher, and I just needed a job to pay the bills while searching for a teaching job at one of the local community colleges or universities. However, I enjoyed the variety substituting offered and learned that teaching kindergarten and first grade is the most difficult job on the planet.

In 2010, I enrolled in a Doctorate of Business Administration program in Social Impact Management at Walden University. My choice of programs is an extension of my interest in rhetoric and business ethics, which was the topic of my master’s thesis (on the shelf in Karrmann Library). Presently, I am three weeks away from completing my last course in the program. I will spend the next year writing my dissertation.

Also in 2010, I started working part-time at MotherHouse Crisis Nursery (MH), an off-site program of Children’s Home + Aid in Rockford, IL. MH is a small non-profit organization that cares for children of families in crisis, and it runs like an emergency room, not a daycare. Initially, I was hired as a fill-in lead teacher and later as a database manager and volunteer coordinator. Currently, I fill all three roles in one to two days per week and almost full-time during summers. It’s not a great-paying job, but I love it and the people I work with. All of my coworkers live extremely challenging lives, and they inspire me to persist and prevail every day despite adversity.

What are a couple of your favorite student memories of your time at UW-Platteville?

Answering this and the next question, I do not feel that my time was wasted in any way at UW-Platteville, but I regret not becoming more involved in student governance and clubs. My biggest regret is not participating in a study abroad program. My reality at the time consisted of family, work, and classes with no extra time or money to take part in other activities, so my favorite memories are entirely academic.

First, the experience that changed me the most was working as a graduate assistant for Dr. Gwendolyn Coe in the Early Childhood Education program of the School of Education. She had received a grant to implement Elena Bodrova’s Tools of the Mind program in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first-grade classrooms of Southwest Wisconsin. This program is based on renowned Russian researcher Lev Vygotsky’s social development theory, and it basically teaches young children how to self-regulate their behavior and emotions. Among other tasks, I transcribed about 30 hours of Bodrova’s conferences. The task was extremely difficult because of her Russian accent, but I found the content fascinating and useful for managing my 2-year-old and expanding the age range of my communicative repertoire.

The two experiences I characterize as the most beloved of my time as a student are the graduate practicum in Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) and writing my master’s thesis. Patricia Jonas and Wendy Perkins led the TESOL course in which they and the students collaborated to teach an American/Japanese Conversation class. I simply enjoyed the collaboration and camaraderie in that class, specifically in how we worked together to provide our Japanese guests with valuable learning experiences.

Although I’m a bit embarrassed about the quality of writing in my master’s thesis, I’m proud of the message it contains about the importance of rhetorical analysis in collaboratively competitive contexts. Also, I really appreciate the critical feedback I received from my thesis committee, Dr. Dennis Ciesielski (and I suspect his wife Dr. Virginia Crank, an English professor at UW-LaCrosse), Dr. Richard Waugh, and Dr. George Smith. They were open to my idea for a multidisciplinary thesis and worked with me to improve my ideas and writing. The thesis made the most impact on improving my writing skills. I conquered writer’s block so many times during the writing of my thesis that I have not experienced it since. 

Is there a class or classes that you wish now you could have taken, but didn’t?  If so, why?

I wish the Social and Environmental Justice minor had been available when I was a student here because I have been extremely passionate about business human rights for the last 10 years or so.

Can you tell us about one or two high points of your life since you’ve graduated?

In October 2008, I wrote a paper based on my master’s thesis and presented it at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI during a conference called The World and Business: Responsibilities, Obligations, and Profit. It was an amazing opportunity for me to meet other scholars concerned with the changing business landscape in response to global climate change and resource depletion and for me to share my research on collaborative competition as a catalyst for corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage.

In 2008 and 2009, I developed and directed two conferences in partnership with the Humanities Department and Continuing Education. The main objective of the conferences was to familiarize high school English teachers with college writing concepts and requirements that would allow them to better prepare their students for college-level writing. Teachers were able to earn continuing education credits for their participation in the conference, and some teachers developed and implemented new learning activities in their classrooms based on what they had learned at the conference.

 (If you are a writer) Do you still write?  Can we follow up and interview you for our writing blog later on?

My writing consists almost entirely of research and technical papers, and I have only recently begun to develop my creative writing skills in song writing. As a current doctoral student, I write a minimum of 10 pages of research per week. Generally, unless I am reading, I am writing. I believe the English program instilled this discipline in me to write daily and to use that writing for practical as well as cathartic purposes. I would be glad to share my doctoral study with you when it’s finished.

Could you ask yourself another question about something you wished we had asked you about, and answer it?

What benefits did a college education (specifically, a liberal arts education) provide you?

Foremost, my studies in classic and contemporary rhetoric opened me up to a whole world of language I didn’t know existed. They have given me the ability to adapt in all situations and to understand and accept other realities. Combined with my natural inclination for empathy and tolerance, my courses in rhetoric, literature, human geography, education, communication, and ethnic studies gave me the disposition to correspond and get along with people of all ages from street bums to corporate millionaires, worldly and unworldly, local and international. In short, I have learned to live in the moment and adapt as reality unfolds. A college education is not just about getting a lucrative job; it is about creating a fulfilling life with a viable career; it is about learning how to make choices in situations when a clear right or wrong does not exist. Thus, a liberal arts education teaches one how to manage the gray areas of life and accept the outcomes or develop strategies to change or influence the outcomes. It saved me from a life of certain misery similar to the effect of education on Henrietta Lacks’ daughter Deborah (in the Campus Read book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks). When she learned everything related to the use of her mother’s cells, she was able to accept reality and transcend the paranoia and fear she experienced from relying on assumptions and incomplete information. Before that learning, she suffered mentally, physically, and socially. 

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

In ten years, I hope to be a professor/consultant in sustainability, business ethics, and business human rights. I am willing to move anywhere to achieve this goal.

Digital Interview with Ian Clark Conducted by English Program Faculty, November 2012

1)  What year did you graduate and what was your area of emphasis?
I graduated in May 2009 with a BA in English literature.

2)  How did you wind up working at UW-Platteville after graduation?
I got lucky, actually. I was unemployed for the summer following, doing this and that trying to get a foothold and a paycheck. Through the relationships I fostered while I was a student, I learned about a limited term, part-time job in the public relations office. Because I had a demonstrated ability to write within a variety of styles (MLA and APA) and to learn new styles (Associated Press and Chicago), and of course some good recommendations from faculty and bosses, I was able to get a foot in the door and rejoin the university that August.

3)  Could you tell us about your current occupation?
Currently, I am the content manager at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. I work with photographers, designers, marketers, writers, our Public Information Officer, and a whole mess of departments on campus to, in a nut-shell, help the university communicate more consistently in its messaging and voice. We are trying very hard to help UW-Platteville better establish a brand and leverage our existing brand so that we are more recognizable, more attractive, and better understood by our innumerable audience members. Prospective students, community members, legislators,... you name it--whomever is listening, we're trying to educate them.
Daily, I'm editing and writing press releases, working on our website transition project, handling media inquiries, and helping in public information matters.

4)  Could you tell us a little about the paths you’ve traveled since you graduated?
I've typically traveled up college drive to work every day, including summers, winter breaks, and all the times in between. I haven't gone too far outside of Wisconsin since graduation, except a few trips to Texas and an amazing 10 days in Israel.
As far as career paths, I was an LTE in the PR office and Distance Learning Center for nearly a year, Chancellor Shields' speech writer for a year, and now I'm the content manager. It has been an interesting ride, and I'm looking forward to where my life takes me.

6)  What are a couple of your favorite student memories of your time at UW-Platteville?
Oh boy. I had a lot of fun playing on the club hockey team, I played lots of video games with my roommates on our dueling big-screen TVs in Southwest Hall (I was part of the first group that got to live there), and I spent a lot of time up in the Writing Center where I worked during my 4th and 5th years on campus.

7)  Was there something you had to do here which you felt was a waste of time, or something that you would do differently?
"Things I would've done differently with my time" could be a subtitle to the 12-part autobiography I'll never write. As far as a waste of time, I'm sure there were a thousand little things here, but I don't remember any of them now, so they must not have been that important.
Doing things differently? I know I would read more. I would try to know my professors better. I would have studied more.

8)  Is there a class or classes that you wish now you could have taken, but didn’t?  If so, why?
My last semester, I was signed up to take History of the English Language with Doc C, but I dropped it because I didn't need it to graduate. Looking back, that class and classes like Grammar and Context, Shakespeare, Greek and Roman Mythology, even Biblical classes are very important I think, if for no other reason than if you're a writer, so much of what the greatest DWGs (dead white guys) wrote was based on metaphors, similes and analogies that are founded in Christianity, mythology, Shakespeare, and the texts that were THEIR canon. To best understand them, we need to understand what they're talking about, and to do that, we should know at least something of their reference points. I'm glad I took Shakespeare, but we need more of it, and Grammar and Context was awesome for me as a professional writer.

9)  Can you tell us about one or two high points of your life since you’ve graduated?
As far as high points go, I moved to the fourth floor of my apartment building. That's about it. I've had lots of valuable experiences since I graduated, but none of them have been the amazing moments of triumph that we think we're going to have. Life is lived day to day. And knowing that, all we can do is build on what we learned the day before. So while I don't have anything to unabashedly brag about, I'm working on it.

10)  (If you are a writer) Do you still write?  Can we follow up and interview you for our writing blog later on?
I write every day of my life. And I love it. Most of it is for work, but I also write in my free time. I'm usually working on a few short stories and my blog www.toobigforpostits.com at any given time. (My blog has, on average, zero hits per day, but that's what I get for being the 1 billionth person to start a blog; who cares, I'm going to keep at it.)
Yes, I'd be happy to be interviewed for the blog.

11)  Could you ask yourself another question about something you wished we had asked you about, and answer it?
I probably could do that, but nothing comes to mind. Sorry!

12)  Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Alive and hopefully not screwing anything up that will ruin me either professionally or personally. Other than that, I'm just interested in seeing how it all plays out.