The Valuable English Degree

Allison Hardy

What can you do with a degree in English? Four English Department alumni returned to Bloomsburg April 9 to share their experiences with current students. All say their English degrees are valuable in their careers.

Allison Hardy, a 2007 graduate, is an annual giving officer at the Mercy Health Foundation in Baltimore. Hardy notes a strong correlation between what she learned at Bloomsburg University and her professional life.

Marisa Peterson

"As an English undergrad, I spent most of my time reading, writing, and researching,” she said. “As a fundraiser, I spend most of my time reading, writing, and researching. Just the topics are different. From Shakespeare and Austen to donors and capital projects, the skill set remains the same. The flexibility of an English degree speaks to the importance of good communicators and clear writers.”

Likewise, Marisa Peterson, a 2010 graduate who works for the Jackson Hewitt corporate offices in New Jersey, credits the research and writing skills she learned as an English major as a key reason she was hired from the company’s temp pool. “As English majors, we are trained to view and interpret the world in a very different way,” Peterson said. “These skills set me apart from other young temps.”

Shawn Rosler

Panelist Shawn Rosler earned two Bloomsburg University degrees: a BS in Secondary Education/English in 2000 and an MS in Instructional Technology in 2002. Rosler is the lead analyst/project manager for the EHR Computer-Based Training Development Team at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. 

Grant Clauser

The fourth panelist was Grant Clauser, a 1991 BU alum who earned an MFA in English from Bowling Green State University. Clauser taught writing at several colleges, then moved to the publishing business as the editor of several magazines about technology. Currently, he is the technology editor of Electronic House magazine and the web site editor of www.electronichouse.com. Clauser also has a new poetry collection, The Trouble with Rivers.