The most important thing I learned as an English graduate student was the value of learning to write in many different contexts.
Through a variety of both coursework and internship opportunities, I have become exposed to a much wider world of writing than I knew as an undergraduate. I started out as a self-declared literary studies student, but that love for close-reading, analysis, group discussion, and research had prepared me well for writing in many other backgrounds. As a graduate student, I became entrenched in professional and technical writing, marketing and public writing, design, and teaching writing and research. Even though these contexts seem distantly related, I have found that English Studies and writing in these many different contexts are intertwined, informing one another.
I also learned the value of a Master's degree this past year. In some emotional moments of soul-searching (as we all go through at some point in college), I realized that a doctorate program wasn't for me. I had always thought of a Master's program as just a step in that direction, and I was worried for a moment that I was moving sideways, so to speak. This couldn't be further from the truth. A Master's degree is not just a bridge between an undergraduate and a doctoral program. For me, it was the most formative years of my whole educational experience. It brought me experiences that have vastly reshaped how I understand writing, how I value my skills as a writer, and how I value a graduate English degree.
A graduate English degree is useful in far-wider contexts than I could have imagined. Studying English in this Master's program has been instrumental in developing skills such as close-reading, analysis, research, discussion in group settings, creating and defending arguments, public speaking, and much more. Writing is everywhere, even in this digital age. The ability to think critically, read closely, and communicate through text effectively will always be needed, whether we're writing on paper or through a computer screen.
