Being an English major at Drexel is an entirely separate experience from being an English major at a liberal arts college or state school. Sure, I get all the same “What are you going to do with an English degree?” questions, but the utter shock and confusion on the faces of Drexel students when I say I’m an English major is hard to replicate.
When I met one of my current roommates a few months back and told her I was considering English as my major, her reaction was “You can major in English at Drexel?” It was my turn to be shocked because I thought it was assumed that the majority of schools offered English as a major. She had always loved English and later ended up switching her major to it. She’s a lot happier now.
I honestly had my doubts about majoring in English at a STEM school. I was undecided for a while and settled on English this past summer. It was a little discouraging to sift through the ES&P archives, seeing that there weren’t a lot of co-ops for English majors, and most of them were unpaid. I had to sit back and think if I truly wanted to stay at Drexel. My solution was to talk to my academic advisor, co-op advisor, and other students.
I was told to look for co-ops in English, but also that my major would work in other places such as business, communications, philosophy, and many other areas. That was somewhat comforting. As much as potentially not having a paid co-op disappoints me, I decided to look at the experience from another perspective. The writing industry is super competitive, so if I can enter it with 1.5 years of unpaid work experience under my belt, it is better than entering it with no experience at all or a paid job somewhere irrelevant to my field.
While the issue of co-op was solved, another arose. In September, Drexel hosted an Involvement Fair which showcased all of the school’s organizations that students could join. I went with one of my best friends, who is pre-med. There were a million pre-med organizations there. While she stopped at every other booth I followed head down, waiting while she spoke to whoever was giving out information. A few times I was asked, “Are you pre-med too?” to which I just smiled, shook my head, and explained that I was there for moral support. I kept trying to find clubs that were related to writing, but they were far and few between. I already write for Drexel’s newspaper, The Triangle and I’m already on the staff for Maya Literary Magazine. It was dispiriting to see so many options for other areas of study and so few options for me.
Finally, at the last second of the fair, just as I was losing hope on any sort of new writing club, I saw HerCampus. I had meant to join last year, but I never got the chance to. All I needed to hear was that I’d get to write for a magazine and I was sold. Yet, even counting HerCampus, there were only three writing-related clubs at the fair. So I rethought my choice of schooling once again.
Recently, I have started to get more into my classes. One thing I do have to say is that the English department at Drexel is hands down the nicest department I have ever encountered. Everyone is extremely welcoming. However, that trait is not exclusive to the faculty. All of the students that I have met in the English major are kind. I walk into my “What Can You Do With An English Degree?” seminar every Tuesday and am met with smiles. I believe the small size of the major at Drexel makes all of us a lot more friendly with each other. Many of my other required major courses have engineering, computer science, psychology, and other major students in them. It’s rare to find another English major. Therefore when I do it’s like “Oh hey! It’s you!” It provides a sense of relief and comfort. Being the only English major in the room feels a little odd sometimes.
I will say I enjoy the way Drexel has set up their English program. There are three concentrations: writing, literature, and secondary education. I’m a writing concentration. I have looked at other colleges’ plans of study and realized that I wouldn’t get to take as many writing courses as I would at Drexel if I transferred. There is also an opportunity for publishing experience by interning with Drexel Publishing Group and an opportunity for workshopping and working with neighbors from West Philadelphia through Writers Room.
While there are perks to majoring in English here, I suspect I will have many more conversations about why I’m majoring in English, what I plan to do with it, and the concerned stares that come along with those conversations. I do however think that Drexel needs to provide more opportunities for English majors, whether that be through co-op, organizations, or some other form. It is not a STEM major, but it is still a major at this school, therefore making it important. I’m already trying to make a conscious effort to be as involved as possible in the English-related opportunities that I am given here at Drexel, but I also want to change the narrative of English as a whole during my time here. I believe I can reach that goal.