English+ provides majors with a wide range of internship opportunities.
Let’s bust the myth for good: English majors can get great jobs—and students have the internship opportunities to prove it! Seven students presented at the March 3 English+ panel on how their internship experiences prepared them for their future professions and increased their skill set.
Dove Cottage
Julia Dixon participated in the Wordsworth Trust internship at Dove Cottage over the summer, where she helped with writing plaques and researching diary entries for a Dora Wordsworth exhibit. She took her project back to BYU, working with Associate Professor Paul Westover (Literary Tourism) to create a research class.
Native American Curriculum Initiative
Working with the Native American Curriculum Initiative, Sydney Zundel created literature and dance curriculums for the eight sovereign Native American nations in Utah. Her experience has led her to attend conferences and classes for supporting Native Americans. She plans to use her training to advocate for Native representation in the future.
Research & Writing Center
A bit closer to home, Logan Johnson worked at the Research & Writing Center (RWC), where students can get help with their papers in any stage of the writing process. He noted that this experience helped him learn to foster creativity and voice in other students’ writing and learn how to outline and edit—all essential skills in the workplace. The best part? Tutors get paid and get credit for class!
Scalability
Hannah Anderson initially did not think her internship with Scalability would help her in her creative writing career; however, she learned many hard and soft skills applicable to creative writing like concision and discipline. Anderson created content for businesses trying to scale up, including writing training documents for an accounting firm CFO.
Washington Seminar
English+ experiences can also involve study abroad programs, like Meg Sheffield’s Washington Seminar internship working at the Department of Education. She attended dozens of congressional hearings and forums and focused on drafting summaries in legislative format. Although Sheffield isn’t planning on pursuing government jobs in the future, she learned how to write in new styles quickly.
TechBuzz
Mattea Gygi interned at TechBuzz News, a news website highlighting the tech and start-up community. Working with TechBuzz gave her confidence in her skills as a writer, which led her to get leadership opportunities as a TA and the BYU Latter-day Saints in Publishing, Media & the Arts chapter president.
Provo City Lab
At the Provo City Lab, Mariah Fry worked with city officials to make Provo more walkable. She learned how to let her qualities shine in the workforce. Now, Fry’s proposed plan is being executed in Provo.
Interested in seeing what you can do with your English major? Check out the English+ website for a list of internships and experiences.