When it comes to figuring life out for oneself, we sometimes choose to look to others for advice or opinions on how they figured out the path in their own lives. Not always is the path clear (like my own path so far), but what I have learned is that one’s path is rarely straightforward. For some, such as myself, careers (or majors) in English or writing are not always the first choice, but instead are where we might end up finding out more about ourselves and our path in life. This happens to be the case for College of Charleston alumni Erin McPherson. As someone who has changed decisions and is still learning where I want to go after college, reaching out to someone in a field that I am interested in, and who has a similar story to mine, has been incredibly enlightening.
Now working as Associate Editorial Director at Raleigh’s 6AMCity, her Political Science and English BAs, as well as an MA in English, are helping her to propel forward in her career in journalism. Starting out on what she planned as a path to law school, she came to the realization that she was missing her English classes, and with that, she ended up choosing to declare a double major in both fields. Coming to her conclusion that “the market was super oversaturated with prospective lawyers and people going to Ivy League schools were not really getting hired out of law school,” she then decided to take four years off instead to figure out what it was she really wanted to do.
Following this, she then made the decision to go back to CofC to get her masters in English, with the thought that maybe she wanted to be a professor, though she soon realized that this path wasn’t truly for her. As E. Michele Ramsey and Laurie Grobman discuss in their book Major Decisions: College, Career, and the Case for the Humanities, “it’s about doing things you are passionate about and believe in, as well as being comfortable with the work/life balance your chosen career may or may not offer you.”
After obtaining her Masters, she decided to try out jobs with publications where she ended up reporting and editing and just learning where it was she really wanted to go. She credits her internship with The Local Palate as the leading factor that helped her come to her career decision. When engaging in an internship where she would write articles and create content, she soon found out that it was very rewarding to her and that writing for a journal or publication is actually what she wanted to do.
Moving through a few different media publications, she now finds herself working happily in digital media for her current company, 6AMCity. According to her, some of the pieces she has enjoyed writing the most are actually pieces reporting on the local government developmental news: “I love being a participatory citizen,” she says, “while creating content for others to learn about.”
Erin cites two professors from the College of Charleston that helped to inspire her and with whom she worked more closely: Professor Trish Ward and Professor Tim Carens. Upon finding this out, I myself was incredibly intrigued to hear that the professor who helped me come to the decision to declare my English major and make the switch from Communications (who is also now both my major and minor advisor), was also partially responsible for helping Erin along in the major as well. Finding out through sharing stories about studying abroad that we both share a love for fantasy literature and Arthurian legends was very comforting as well in realizing that, as an overwhelmed soon-to-be graduate student, we are all still very similar in our passions for literature and writing as English majors.
In the book, You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education, George Anders gives the advice that “Alumni aren’t just job boards cloaked in human bodies. They can improve your college-to-career migration in all sorts of indirect ways too. That’s especially important in your first few years out of college.” I find this message especially true following my enlightening interview with the inspiring Erin McPherson, and thanks to her I can’t wait to see where my path will take me as well.
Erin attended one of our roundtables last year, so we have a chance to learn more about her background as a class, so I’m glad you were able to interview her and share her story for a broader audience. So cool that you found so many areas (both in terms of your enduring literary interests and how you approach potential careers) that resonate between the two of you. I also appreciate Erin’s example because she took her time to figure stuff out, but the skills accrued through her English coursework (and key professional experiences) really propelled her. Sometimes, it takes time. But her success has really been remarkable.