Colleen Etman: PhD Candidate

As a former science scholar turned English major, the story of Colleen Etman resonated with me far beyond our shared experience as students at The College of Charleston. During our conversation, Colleen exposed the reality of being a liberal arts student whose path was anything but linear.

As a mathlete in high school, Colleen entered The College as a Physics major bound to a scientific way of thinking. When asked about this decision she recalled, “Physics was like simplicity and logic, and it was beautiful, and it made perfect sense to me…and then I reached a certain point, and it didn’t.” It wasn’t until she was studying Shakespeare under the all too familiar Dr. William Russell that she was influenced to make the transition to English.

Similar to the rest of us, Colleen believed that English was not a suitable major on its own and she chose to pair it first with a second major in Psychology and later with Women’s and Gender Studies. She felt that English was to be considered “nothing more than a ‘fun major.’” She shared: “I remember thinking ‘I am doing this because I want to have fun not because I want to do anything with this.’ And then it became ‘well shoot this is what I want to do.’” Settling for an English and Classics double major, Colleen happily completed her bachelor’s degree.

With the post-graduate life upon her, the looming voices told Colleen that her next best step would be law school. Falling victim to the pressure, she did just that before failing out after one semester. By no means was this the end to her studies, however, as Colleen then decided to return to The College to complete her master’s degree. In choosing to study Shakespeare and Adaptation for her master’s thesis, she was introduced to her current specialty of Pop Culture Studies. At the same time, Colleen became an editorial assistant for a literacy and composition studies journal that found her line editing and checking sources. It was certainly a different side of English that showed her the behind the scenes of running a journal.

With a greater desire to be on the writing side, Colleen decided that she wanted to teach: “Getting a job as a professor means being more than a professor.” She said. “I would be able to keep writing, go to conferences, and do committee work…. I wanted to get into a PhD program so I could do that.”

Now as a PhD candidate at The University of South Carolina, Colleen is one step closer to her goal. She has uniquely planned and taught classes on Star Wars while also writing articles on Avatar the Last Airbender – just a few examples that witness a blend of her knowledge of English with her passion for pop culture. In his book You Can Do Anything, George Anders writes, “No matter how narrow your immediate topic of interest may be, the deeper you go, the more you acquire the universally useful skill of knowing what to do when you’re on your own.” Colleen is a prime example of this notion – having allowed her love of current media to lay a foundation in her studies.

When asked about her publication process, Colleen awarded many of her opportunities to the popular social media app Twitter. What started out as a fandom account has now become one of her greatest tools for making connections. Not only was her first article published through a colleague found on the app, but she has presented on conference panels (and is even brainstorming a book!) with the connections she has made.

Sitting now with four articles in various stages of publication and attending conferences regularly, Colleen is one year out from completing her PhD. Her goal of becoming a full-time professor is well within reach.

Despite these accomplishments, Colleen still acknowledges the often-harsh reality of being an English scholar. She gave a wholistic summation of her time in saying, “I kept trying to force myself into another mold because everybody told me ‘Don’t major in English’… and even now I don’t know if I’ll be able to find a job. So maybe it is a useless major but it’s what I want, it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. I’m good at doing this.” In saying this she mimics Ander’s outline of the liberal arts journey, which, he notes, can ofoten include “Several years of quirky-job-hopping accompanied by additional training that eventually led to a happy resolution.” While her path may have been (and continues to be) unpredictable, she remains firm in her decision to become an English major.

In her final remarks she shared that “it’s really easy to feel lost and insecure when you’re nearing the end of your senior year, but once you find the thing you’re meant to do it feels right. It took a minute for me, but you can mess up and still get to your success story.”

While Colleen’s own success story sits right around the corner, mine feels nowhere in sight. But our conversation provided the necessary comfort and motivation I needed to be reminded of our unbound potential as English majors. Uncertain job market aside, her relatability and passion for English manifests well as I would not hesitate to enroll in one of her classes.