On Wednesday, November 30th I interviewed Mrs. Cecilia Johnson to learn more about the English major at Ohio State. The following is a transcript of our conversation in which I asked her 5 questions and recorded her responses. The goal of this interview was to get a general understanding of the English major and to get Mrs. Johnson’s view as an English department adviser.
Informational Interview with English Department adviser, Mrs. Cecilia Johnson:
In your opinion, what is one of the best things about the English major?
Mrs. Johnson: “I would say, from my perspective, that I like the variety of the courses that you can take. You can take courses in anything from rhetorical analysis to courses in folklore. You can study film, literature, business writing and technical writing, and digital media. There are so many different things you can do and I really like the variety.
In your opinion, what is the biggest concern for students in this major?
Mrs. Johnson: I would say the biggest concern for students is “What am I going to do with an English major after I graduate?” Unlike getting a degree in engineering or nursing where the career path is really pre-planned, English majors do anything from work in magazine writing to human resources to non-profits, to the political arena, etc. It’s really very broad.
What kinds of careers have graduates from this major pursued?
Mrs. Johnson: It really varies. Some people go into publishing, some people go into human resources. Many students go to graduate school as well. Law school is a big one and some people take the pre-requisites for medical school.
What kinds of research are students in the English major doing?
Mrs. Johnson: People do things like write their own work, some people go out to collect stories from people doing folklore analysis, some people look into literary analysis – doing things like looking at a particular text, researching authors.
What kinds of extracurricular experiences (research, internships, co-ops, student organizations, study abroad, etc.) are available for students in the department?
Mrs. Johnson: Typically, students find internships on their own through career services and also through the Professional Writing Minor however, the internships through the minor are curated though the internship coordinator. Also we have a website that has links to places to look for internships and options for earning credit. We also have something called Literary Locations where you study about the literature of a certain area of the world and then during the break period go abroad for about 11 days to visit the location.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed my interview with Mrs. Johnson and gained a lot of information that I think will be really useful for me going forward. I found Mrs. Johnson on the English Department’s website. She was listed as an adviser and I thought that she would be able to answer my questions about the English major. I figured since she talks with students every day she would have really good understanding of my position. This interview helped me get more comfortable with the idea of declaring a major. I found Mrs. Johnson very personable and extremely helpful. She was knowledgeable and it was really useful to be about to talk to someone about what I like about the major and what I wasn’t so sure about. I wasn’t really surprised by anything that was discussed, however I was reassured about many different things. I was reassured by the welcoming and compassionate faculty as well as the variety of courses and career options that are involved in the English major. Additionally, it was interesting to hear that a good amount of students do go to law school after receiving their undergraduate in English. I think to make a confident decision I will have to research the types of classes required by the major and determine that they are courses that would be of interest for me. I want to know that my major is going to require courses that I feel will be interesting and useful for my education and future plans. One of the resources that I used this semester that I found very useful was the “Finding your FOCUS” module. It really made me think about what I’m interested in and it helped me understand myself a lot better. After getting my Holland code, I learned that I best aligned with the Investigative, Social and Conventional descriptions, which helped me narrow down what majors and careers may suit me. I will undoubtedly continue to research the English major and keep it in consideration as I try to decide on my academic path.