What is your job/position?
Marketing manager of client programs at Crucial Learning. I work with our certified trainer community, managing communications via newsletter, email, social media, and more.
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
I double-majored in communications, print journalism emphasis (like most other AmSt majors—we tend to double major and/or go to grad school). First job out of college was as a newspaper reporter, and my career went into public relations and then marketing, where I found my niche as a content marketer and strategist.
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?
My American Studies education complemented the communications career path by helping me analyze and think critically in a way that I didn't necessarily learn in my other major—it helps me go beyond the what and dive into the why, how, context, and consequences. And I thoroughly enjoyed the courses! I was much more involved in American Studies than I was with my Comms program and peers. I was in leadership of the American Studies Student Association and also served as editor of the AmSt student journal, Americana (which dovetailed wonderfully with my writing career).
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
American Studies people are my people! I'm still close with several of my peers (unlike my Comms group, where I'm barely in touch with anyone). The major really enriched my life by expanding my worldview—and it was just plain a lot of fun.
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
I chose to major in American studies as a passion project—just minoring in it wasn't enough! I didn't look at it as a career path, but it has really bolstered my world view. And it felt really amazing to do an entire degree just because it was interesting to me! Totally worth the work. It challenged me more than my "day job" major did and kept me more engaged in my education. I've always worked on extra passion projects in my career—freelance gigs, serving on boards for nonprofits I care about, helping friends and family with resumes and their own projects, even writing a book and having a sweets business—and that mentality of doing what I love because I love it started way back then with my double major.
*You can contact Christa with questions about her American Studies story at christawoodall@gmail.com.