Interview with Liz Oestreich (pictured above) Conducted by Julia Henner May 2012

1.      What made you want to major in English? Why have you chosen your particular emphasis in English?

“In high school, I really enjoyed grammar lessons. It was just fun, something I can’t really explain. When I got to college, I was certain I wanted to teach high school English. But during my sophomore year, I began doubting that I had a true and deep interest in being a high school teacher. I changed my emphasis to professional writing, because some of the classes a person has to take for the major deal with grammar—my favorite! The downside of a professional writing emphasis is finding a job. Employers don’t look for “professional writers,” so students with a professional writing emphasis should work with faculty who know the profession to find an internship or job.”

2. What was your favorite English class at UW-Platteville and why?

“I have a few favorites.

One of my favorite English class was English 3990, Topics in Language, Literature or Writing: Manuscripts. It was a challenging creative writing course. Being a grammar nut, I found creative writing to be challenging. Yet, the challenge was what drew me to creative writing. “Manuscripts” was a fantastic class because only 13 people enrolled. It was perfect for work-shopping poetry and fiction. Each student developed his or her own writing style, and since there were only 13 of us, we could each pick out each-other's style. It was just really fun, and I learned so much.

Another favorite was Post-Colonial Literature with Amanda Tucker. We read so much literature I had never heard of. Diving into the literature was so much fine, like experiencing another culture. I appreciate all that I learned from that class, and just the general understanding that reading can open your mind to how diverse the world is.

Sociolinguistics with Yuanyuan Hu was another fun class. Learning about why people speak how they do and use the words they use really interests me. Each student had to complete a project that included interviews with two or more people. After completing the interviews, the student had to compare the findings, and try to ascertain why the subjects spoke how they did or used the words that they did.

This last semester, History of the English language has been fantastic. Learning about how the English language came to be and discussing what it’s up to now is so interesting! In some cases the language just did what it did out of simplicity, but other times there were real reasons...those are so fun to discuss.

Honestly, if I went through a list of all the English classes I’ve taken, I think I would find characteristics and memories from each class that could make it my favorite.”

3. What expectations have you had to meet in college? What should aspiring English majors expect?

“Anybody can graduate with an English major. But if a person wants to get a great job, that person has to really apply him or herself in school. There are so many opportunities to learn information that can be used in the future. In Technical Writing, students learn all about business writing. I took it as a sophomore, and I was glad I saved some of the notes I took from the course. When I make contact with professionals, I use what I learned in Technical Writing to make the best impression I could. English majors should expect to be doing a lot of reading.

Reading may not be actual homework with a grade and all, but it will be necessary to get satisfactory grades in English courses. Also, English majors should expect to harbor relationships with professors. English is a difficult discipline to get a good job in, so receiving credited advice from people in the field is extremely important.”

4. Why do you feel English (reading, writing, teaching, etc) important? In other words, why should someone want to be an English major?

“I’ve learned from my Spanish major and TESOL minor that to learn about other languages and how they work, one must truly understand one’s own language. Also, with technology and its effect on language, it is vital that the world has scholars who know and understand English. “

5. What opportunities are available to expand your writing experience on campus?

-          “Professional Writing Internship at the Education Abroad Office

-          Jobs at the Writing Center

-          Tutoring

-          Working for the Exponent

-          Working of Public Relations

-          Possibly working with the professors who put together the freshmen composition book?

-          Taking as many different types of English classes as possible!”

6. What do you intend to do with your degree / what do you intend to do after you graduate?

“In the fall I will be attending law school. I was accepted to William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, MN., and Marquette University College of Law in Milwaukee, WI. My background in English helped me a lot. There is a lot of writing involved in applications! I have also heard from lawyers and current law students that there is a great deal of writing involved in law. In addition to that, the broad education I received allowed me to grasp how big the world is, and how different people can be based on a variety of things. But it also taught me that with mutual respect, most people can get along with each other no matter how different they are.”