Preston Smith
This past Saturday, on May 18, 2019, I graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and minors in both German and international business.
I came straight to Bowling Green after graduating high school because I both wanted to learn and understood that that was the “normal” progression for graduating high school students. I entered as an English education major, and on the second day of class, before having even taken an education class, changed my major to just English literature.
I have always known that teaching was something I want to do, but something about changing my major simply felt right. I somehow knew I wanted to get into the realm of editing and publishing, and if I were successful enough, maybe I could go back to school for teaching later.
My two minors came later. At BGSU, English literature majors are required to have a minor to accompany their major, but I wasn’t immediately sure which minor I would choose. I entered with a German minor, and I’m still shocked I ended with a completed German minor. The international business minor came later, after juggling various others such as journalism/public relations.
My main hope was that, by adding international business, I would be able to gain a broader knowledge of the world and its cultures. I knew that if I wanted to get into editing and publishing, I would need – and ultimately depend on – a better understanding of our world. While completing this minor, I was able to complete business and marketing courses that taught me about interacting with individuals from cultures outside of my own and how to do business with people from around the globe. I learned both general information and information specific to certain countries/cultures. My German minor helped here, too, as it often included lessons about
But what will I do now that I’ve graduated?
I will continue to write for this website that I have come to know as home (this September will mark two years of being with Fuzzable for me!), and I will also begin a program at another university, where I will be in a two year program to acquire a master’s degree in rhetoric and writing. In addition to being a student, I was offered a teaching assistantship – which I giddily accepted – so I will also be teaching introductory composition at the university. In a way, everything is coming full circle.
At the same time, I will be continuing to practice creative writing and growing in that realm. My goal this past academic year was to get a single poem of mine published in a literary journal, but by the time graduation came this weekend, I had eight poems accepted for publication – some of which are already out and some of which are forthcoming. I have also begun writing my first poetry collection with a central theme that I am so excited about. In that same vein, I finished the first draft of a novel last month and need to revise it, and I have already begun outlining a second novel.
Having said all of this, I am so, so excited for the next couple months as I sit down to hopefully write more than I ever have and, in August, begin my master’s program.
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