As an English major alumnus of Elon University, Colin Rackley has recently made a generous donation to the Elon English Department for his Elon Day Donation. He has expressed his great admiration for the English department and deeply hopes that other Elon graduates of the English department will make donations as well.
Rackley obtained a degree in a Creative Writing concentration and was part of the graduating class of 1998. During his time as a student, Rackley was involved in the English Department newsletter and the student-led service organization Circle K International (CKI).
Since graduating from Elon, Rackley has worked in a variety of different positions to find his passion. He has worked in transportation, hotel business, and non-profit sectors. When asked how he has applied topics that he learned within the English department or at Elon in general to his career, Rackley replied that he has been able to apply knowledge from Elon in a multitude of ways. For instance, when Rackley was a supervisor in the hotel business he had to be very specific when training another person and detailing the specifics of a job position. He believes that the detail-oriented mindset that he formed from the English department helped him to succeed in this position. Rackley also worked for a non-profit dedicated to assisting troubled youth. As part of his role in this non-profit, he worked to develop advertising, flyers, and events to recruit volunteers for the organization. He stated that the creativity he developed from the English department greatly helped him to accomplish these tasks in an effective manner. When he needed to tell stories at events about troubled youth he used creativity and effective language in order to deliver a persuasive message and moving story. Rackley feels his degree in Creative Writing helped him to communicate to the community.
When asked how he feels his style of writing or communication has changed from an academic to professional standpoint, Rackley states that he most clearly saw this change in his role in non-profit work. Rackley remarked how he often had to understand his audience and their demographics in order to fit his language and creative content to their needs. This principle of adapting one’s language to their audience is a principle that is widely taught among the English department at Elon.
Rackley shared that he has many fond memories at Elon and within the English department. Much of his love for Elon comes from his admiration for the professors he worked with as a student. He enjoyed the supportive nature of professors and claims that he formed bonds with several professors during his time at Elon.
Rackley’s passion for creative writing did not end after Elon and he still enjoys creative writing both in his career and his free time. In his free time, Rackley will often participate in creative writing groups where members will share poems, stories, or songs they have written.
Rackley would like to advise students at Elon that “more than ever, college graduates expect to be rewarded/promoted quickly… It’s okay to dream big, but remember that importance in the “free economy” is earned over time by following company standards and being the best employee that you can be.”