What is your job/position?
I'm currently a law student, starting my second year at Harvard Law School! I recently finished a summer externship with the United States Department of Justice in Los Angeles, California.
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
I actually started an internship while I was in American Studies working as a researcher/writer for the podcast History that Doesn't Suck! I was promoted to full-time status shortly after graduating, and I stayed there for a full year. My boss at HTDS, the creator and host of the podcast (who became a lifelong friend), was one of the primary people who encouraged me to pursue my passion of attending law school. With the help of professors and mentors I met through American Studies, I applied to and was accepted at Harvard, my dream school where I now attend.
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?
I really learned how to take disparate facts and events and weave them into a story that can convince, persuade, motivate, etc. my audience. That really helped when I was writing entertaining and accurate scripts for the podcast, but it also helps me day-to-day in my legal work and studies. Reading and writing are imperative, and I learned those skills in American Studies.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
I would not be where I am without American Studies. The size of the major offered me a chance to be a "big fish in a small pond" and really distinguish myself from my peers in ways that other, more populated majors just couldn't. American Studies really helps you to make a mark and approach things in a different way from all others. Plus, a professor I currently research for is an American Studies grad, and so we've been able to bond over that!
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
I promise you, you can make American Studies work. Don't worry about what everyone thinks or says, you focus on yourself and your dreams, and you can use an American Studies degree to really make a difference.