LEADING
Busch Returns To Her Roots By Madi Blanford ’21 / Photos by Ty Cornett
I
t has been 10 years since Dr. Megan Busch graduated from Charleston Southern, charging forth into the professional world with an English degree and an entry level position at Charleston Home + Design magazine. In fall of 2021, she returned to her CSU home—not as a student—but as a full-time professor of English, equipped with a decade’s worth of journalism, marketing, and teaching experience. When a young Busch first arrived on campus as a CSU freshman in 2007, she entered into an English program very similar to the one that exists today. Dr. Scott Yarbrough, then professor of American literature, trained his students in the artistry of the modern American novel. Dr. David Phillips, professor of early English literature, graded students’ papers with ruthless, tearevoking precision. Dr. Nancy Barendse, professor of rhetoric and composition, laid the foundation for amateur writers’ knowledge of English grammar and mechanics. “The professors made the program,” Busch said. And now, she has joined their ranks, stepping into the position of Barendse, who recently retired. Busch is teaching Advanced Composition and Rhetoric and History of the English Language. Barendse said she still remembers having Busch in class, the quintessential English major with a planner covered in sticky notes and memos. “Dr. Busch was one of the most organized students I’ve known,” Barendse said. “She always had all of her work done, on time and exactly right. She was the kind of student faculty dream of getting.”
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in The Buccaneer Beacon, a product of Dr. Jason Peterson’s students. Madi completed it in Advanced Reporting class. She graduated in 2021 with a BA in English with writing emphasis and is now living in Kentucky.
18 CSU magazine
Fall 2021, vol.31 no.3
