What is your job/position?
Senior Analyst, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
While doing American Studies, I did a study abroad where a professor talked to me about working for the US government. So I looked into options and decided an MPA was a good next step. While doing the MPA, I did a visit to DC and learned about GAO. I got an internship and then returned to work there following graduation.
What are the specific competencies you cultivated as an American Studies student that you now use in your professional life and that set you apart from your colleagues?
Reading, always reading. You will do better in whatever job you are in if you read a lot of varied information. Humanities gives you the adaptability to take in information from different fields. For me, it ranges from technical to business to social science to management to academic to government reports. You need to absorb as much information from as many sources as possible. Clear, concise writing goes along with that; an essential part of any job today is reading and writing emails as efficiently and effectively as possible.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
Having knowledge on interesting subjects randomly comes up, and people love to talk to interesting people with refined passions in the humanities.
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
Do big research projects, go out into the field, take advantage of unique college experiences (interesting summer jobs, internships in places you wouldn’t live in long term, study abroad programs), get as much real world experience as you can (internships, research with real organizations, grants, on campus internships). And do things that excite you and are interesting; those will make you more interesting when you’re talking to people—everyone takes classes in college, but it is the other stuff that makes you different.
*You can contact TC with questions about his American Studies story at tccorless@gmail.com.