With a full year of online learning behind us, the 2020-2021 school year will certainly go down as a memorable one. We are proud of our graduating seniors for sticking it out through shaky internet connections, unintentional interruptions, Zoom presentations, computer issues, and isolation. Seniors, somehow managed to work on meaningful research and projects over the course of this year anyway. I caught up with WRD undergraduate seniors Patricia Haney and Lizbeth Servin, along with WRD graduate students Kaitlyn Bolyard and Susan McNally Wilde to hear about their time in WRD.
Patricia was a double major in WRD and English with a concentration in creative writing. After graduating from DePaul she will be attending George Washington University to earn an MA in Media & Strategic Communication. When asked, she wrote that her favorite thing about WRD has been the opportunity to build relationships with her classmates and professors. Her dream job would be as Executive Director of a non profit organization that helps Chicagoans.
Lizbeth is a WRD minor (her concentration is professional writing),receiving her BS in Political Science this year. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she’s also graduating with a minor in Spanish. After graduation she plans to travel, work full-time, and volunteer. The most valuable thing she learned in a WRD course was the value of making revisions to her work physically, with a “red pen in hand.”
Susan McNally Wilde is receiving her MA in WRD with a concentration in Professional and Digital Writing. Susan is eager to bring the skills she learned throughout her time in WRD to better herself as a communicator, story-teller, and consultant. Her favorite thing about WRD was the faculty and students that provided rich viewpoints. She enjoyed being challenged to look at, look through, look around, look from above, etc. when studying a piece of work. Her dream job is anything that can “help others in their journey through life.”
Kaitlyn is also receiving her MA in WRD this year. After graduation, she will look for a job in First Year Writing instruction. During her time in WRD she learned “a new respect for varieties of English and bilingualism.” Her dream job would be as a writing instructor in the Northwest Portland-Seattle area.
All in all, seniors put forth their best efforts during a confusing and revelatory time in the history of education. That alone ought to be commended, but the achievements and ambitions of our seniors shows just how driven and capable the class of 2021 has been and will be. No doubt about it, our seniors are on to great things.