Professional Writing & Rhetoric’s student spotlights are back with a new social media intern! My name is Emily Holland, and I’m a sophomore at Elon double majoring in PWR and Strategic Communications with a minor in Spanish. I have a lot of ideas in the works for social media and blog content for this semester, including these spotlights. So, I decided to answer the spotlight questions myself to start the spotlight series and allow readers to get to know me a little better.
How/why did you decide to major in PWR?
I applied to Elon knowing that I wanted to study something related to writing. I loved all things writing-related in high school, and my English teachers always gave me good feedback on my work. Despite my love for creative writing, I wanted to graduate with skills that would probably give me a better chance at a stable job. I liked the idea of being part of Elon’s amazing communications program and then studying English with a PWR concentration to supplement my training in writing, but when PWR was elevated to major status during my first year, I became even more excited about the opportunities I could have in that program of study.
Which PWR class that you’ve taken has been your favorite and why?
I took ENG 319: Writing Center Workshop as one of my PWR electives during my second semester at Elon, and I fell in love with working at the Writing Center and everything that goes along with consulting. I also enjoyed the class projects that allowed me to learn more about different genres of writing and strategies for revising.
Have you had a writing-related internship? If so, where was it, and what was your work there like?
This is my first internship–I’m running the blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts for the Professional Writing & Rhetoric major for the 2020 spring semester.
Have you done writing-related research? If so, what was it about, and did you present it anywhere?
I’m part of a team of three students and three professors who are researching how students’ writing experiences at Elon transfer to the workplace. We’re currently in the data analysis phase of the project, and I’m working on applications to present the results at conferences in the fall.
Do you have any other relevant experiences/interests that you’d like to mention?
I’ve had a personal blog for two and a half years and still post on it every week.
What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned from PWR?
I’ve learned that writing can come in a variety of forms, including multimedia pieces. The amount of genres of writing that exist keeps increasing with new technology, and the definition of writing isn’t just words on a page anymore.
What is your favorite thing about the PWR program?
I love that the professors all take the time to get to know students and reach out to them with opportunities that would be a good fit for that student. I also like the emphasis on research–I originally didn’t think that I would do undergraduate research because I wasn’t a science major, so the idea that I’m preparing to present at conferences and contribute to a published journal article is still kind of surreal but incredible.
What do you think you want to do after you graduate from Elon?
I’m not entirely sure yet (I’m only a sophomore!), but I think that I either want to work in public relations, technical writing, or editing/publishing. Maybe I’ll do creative writing on the side and someday publish a bestseller and quit my day job. If not, I’ll probably go back to school and eventually teach at a college so that I can train a new generation of writers.
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