Samantha Caldwell is the person that every parent hopes their child will grow up to be. Not only has she maintained a great grade point average at the University of South Florida, but she’s active in campus organizations, involved with tutoring programs in the county and extremely talented at crafting projects, like crocheting, jewelry-making and creating outfits for events such as the Renaissance Faire or USF’s zombie prom.
Caldwell is currently Her Campus USF’s promotions manager and creator of one of the site’s blogs, SciFi for Girls. She is a huge part of the reason Her Campus USF has expanded so rapidly and grown its audience and contributors. She creates all the fliers for HC USF meetings and events, organizes the chalking around campus and copy edits the articles before they go on the site.
Her Campus USF sat down with Caldwell for a few questions about her involvement with HC USF and her time on campus.
HC USF: What made you get involved with Her Campus USF?
Caldwell: My involvement with Her Campus USF began when I needed to keep a blog for my expository writing class. I decided to focus on science fiction/fantasy that appealed to women or represented feminist values and I thought, what better place to post than a site designed for college women? I love reading the other blogs on Her Campus, and I was excited to be a part of it. I have so much fun with my blog, and it has evolved into something much larger than a class project for me.
HC USF: What are your responsibilities and how has it enhanced your educational experience here at USF?
Caldwell: In addition to my blog, I am the promotions manager and a copy editor for Her Campus USF. The experience has made me a lot more confident with my writing and editing. I catch mistakes in my own assignments now that I wouldn’t have caught before, and working to promote the club has gotten me a lot more involved on campus. I commute to school, and before I joined the club I only drove to campus for classes. Now I attend events, I walk around and talk to people about Her Campus, I create and post flyers, and I make pretty chalk advertisements all over campus. Her Campus makes me feel like a real college student, involved with my school and community, and I wish I had joined prior to my senior year.
HC USF: What else have you done at USF or job-wise to further your career goals?
Caldwell: I have a few different career goals. I am working on two degrees simultaneously, one in English/American Literature and a second in English Education. I want to go into book publishing, editing specifically, meaning that much of my time at USF has been spent in improving and diversifying my reading and writing skills. I was inducted into the English Honors program last year, which really helped me in that area. I also want to go into education, assuming I am not admitted to the graduate publishing program I am applying for. I like to have several back-up plans, and I treat my education major with the same value and respect as I treat English. To ensure my success as a teacher I am active in the Suncoast Area Teacher Training (SCATT) program, which provides the opportunity to attend informative workshops to prepare me for an actual classroom. I also tutor with the AVID program, meaning that I work in the classroom alongside the teacher. The experience has really improved my confidence around the students, and I get to create lesson plans and lead class activities.
HC USF: What IS your ultimate career goal and why?
Caldwell: As I mentioned before I want to go into book publishing. That is my immediate goal. My ultimate goal is to write my own novels. I think I want to write Young Adult science fiction. I know that’s a popular, possible overwritten category, but those are the books I loved to read as a kid. My whole life has revolved around literature. I can’t clearly remember learning to read anymore because it happened so early for me. I can’t imagine working in a field that does not involve literature.
HC USF: Do you have any words of wisdom or advice to students trekking a similar career path?
Caldwell: Absolutely. Get involved as soon as you can in as many related organizations as you can. If you want to go into publishing, get started early in the editing and advertising sectors of your school paper or clubs, and read EVERYTHING! If you want to pursue education, join SCATT, especially if you want to teach in Florida. SCATT graduates hire SCATT graduates. Remember that. I would also recommend volunteering in a classroom or joining an organization like AVID that allows you to tutor in a classroom. These experiences teach you things you cannot learn in an education program.
HC USF: What do you think of your time and education at USF?
Caldwell: As much as I have done at this school, I wish I had done more. I am waiting, very impatiently, for a response for the graduate school to which I applied. During my first two years in college I worked full-time and attended school full-time, and my work kept me from participating in campus organizations. However, the last two years have brought me enough financial aid from grants and scholarships to allow me to focus on my academic life and not on work. During this last half of my time here, I have worked to make up for what I was unable to do as a freshman and sophomore. Overall, I think I have done well. As for the quality of the education I have received, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better English department anywhere. My professors have been amazing, and I have learned more than I ever expected to learn. Our department offers the most wonderful sense of community, making everyone feel safe and happy with their choice of major.
HC USF: What are you passionate about? (educationally, career-wise and personally)
Caldwell: I think you can gather from my answers to the previous questions that I am passionate about literature and education. I am trying to join a field that will combine these interests. With book publishing I will be instrumental in delivering new novels to the young students that I tutor. I help these kids improve their reading, often against their will. So many young people detest reading, and I feel like this response is directly related to the way books are delivered to them. I want to fix this problem. I want to be able to better the marketing of Young Adult novels to better attract these struggling readers.
HC USF: What makes you YOU?
Caldwell: I hate this question. It makes me feel awkward and I think any answer I give will sound pretentious. (Of course, you might think that simply because I used the word pretentious, but don’t. I learned the word from Jayne Cobb.) I work hard every single day. I am taking twenty-one credit hours this semester, I work twenty-five hours each week, I’m working on my honors thesis, and I cook every night. I never stop working, and I think that it defines me. I’m okay with that. My work ethic is strong, and I don’t fail easily. This makes me me.
HC USF: Besides your work with Her Campus USF, your degree and your tutoring, what all have you accomplished in your life that you’re proud of?
Caldwell: I am proud of being the first person in my family to attend college. The population of my backwoods home town is just now reaching 700. I’m proud of getting out that town and doing something meaningful with my life.