Graduation Year: 2015
Major: English- Literary Studies and Spanish
Current City: New York City
1. How is post-grad life treating you? What are some things that you have learned since leaving Bucknell?
Upon graduating grad school one of my professors said to me, “Elizabeth, you came in here in September like Elle Woods- ready to find the next kegger.” I didn’t find it. I did however, find a nice local liquor store with some killer white wines. (#adulting).
But beyond my initial hunt for a Wednesday night-like social life in Chicago, the message -and lesson- in my professor’s joke was even bigger: when you graduate undergrad, you are 22 years old (give or take). You’re sure that you know yourself, your goals, and what you want to do. And while all that confidence is great, it’s also important to remember that you are, again, only 22. You don’t have to know what you want to do right this very second, who you are and who you’re going to be at this very minute, and what you want to achieve this year, next year, or five years from now.
The biggest thing I’ve learned? To try my damn hardest to remind myself that I’m only (now) 23, so it’s okay for there to be uncertainty and even later at 33 as well.
2. Can you tell us a little bit about journalism school?
In general, most graduate journalism schools are between 1-2 years long and you leave with a fancy piece of paper that claims you’re a master (of science) usually with a concentration (aka a major). I went to Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, which is a one-year program. I started in September and graduated in August with an MSJ with a concentration in Magazine Writing and Editing. And the crazy thing about graduate school -especially an accelerated program like that of Medill- is that each quarter has such a tangible, concrete purpose. The easiest way to think about it is as if each quarter is a year at Bucknell. The first would be all your required courses- “foundations of interactive journalism,” “methods of journalism,” etc.- the second quarter, something like your sophomore year, the third, junior year, and so on. You don’t get deep into what you’re concentrating in until the third quarter (junior year) and it hits you just like Bucknell junior year: a ton of bricks…without the fun of studying abroad or a Wednesday night.
What makes Medill, opposed to other j-school grad programs, so special is that the minute you matriculate is the very same minute you start reporting and doing actual journalism. While your first quarter articles may not be published right away, they are full-fledged pieces that require you to pound the pavement, interviewing sources, writing in AP style, submitting on strict deadline, etc. By second quarter, you’re working in a real-life newsroom, writing at least one story a day for a verified news site, Medill Reports. You will never take a class at Medill in which a professor is standing in front of you lecturing you on the theory of journalism or flipping through a PowerPoint titled, “Past Pulitzer winners.” This throw-you-in-with-the-sharks attitude is something that makes the program is rigorous yet so rewarding.
3. Where are you working currently?
Short story? I work at Cosmopolitan.com and I freelance for Reader’s Digest’s online publication RD.com. Long story? I graduated from my master’s program at the end of August and was incredibly eager to just get into the “real world.” So I applied to an editorial internship at Cosmopolitan.com (the mag’s digital side) with an understanding that if a job opens up there, I could apply, etc., etc. But alas, magazine journalism is an interesting, well, animal and I’m back on the job hunt.
4. How do you think your experience with Her Campus helped you post-graduation?
Besides cementing my love for women-focused content of course, Her Campus helped me to be proactive- even in the smallest habits of making a to do list every day, to develop a range of leadership skills, and to realize (and act on) the importance of women empowerment.
5. What advice do you have for women graduating this year?
There has never been a better time to value yourself as a woman: empowered, confident, strong, proud, the list goes on. No one should tell you exactly how to stand up for your gender- support this organization, follow this definition of feminism, stand in this protest. But you should try your hardest to find a way -or even multiple ways- that is/are the best for you such that you are working to bolster and defend the importance, power, and strength of women. If not you, then who?
FUN STUFF
~Chicago, NYC or Lewisburg? In risk of being totally cheesy, each location is so special. I’ll say this: there is nothing quite like NYC. Period. I love Chicago and I’d move back in a heartbeat (job permitting and all that) but one thing that never got easier there: the fact that people wait for the sign to permit them to cross the street. I kid you not.
~Number one thing on your wish list this holiday season: Starbucks giftcard(s) because I’m officially 85% caffeine and 15% chocolate chip Cliff Bar.
~One thing you miss about Bucknell: Being able to text “Bison at 12?” or “ERR?” and know that you’d be able to be with your friends, no matter the setting without having to plan a “date to catch up.”
~Postgrad or undergrad? Technically I’ve only been “postgrad” for about three months, so get back to me when I finally realize the joy that is not doing homework on weekends.
~True or false: you starred in Cosmo’s snapchat story: True