How are you involved in the life of Concord today?
What advice do you have for today's English majors?
My involvement is typical of most alumni and retired faculty and staff. I belong to the Alumni Association and look forward to receiving correspondence and issues of the Concord University Magazine. Residing near the University, I receive all the local news about sports, cultural events, student activities, and, yes, sometimes controversial issues pertaining to the school. Staying in touch with former colleagues and staff also keeps me abreast of what is going on at Concord.
Giving advice to students who would like to major in English or to those who are almost ready to graduate is not always an easy task. My own former students have illustrated that the English or English education major can lead to various types of employment opportunities. I know those who have become college professors, secondary teachers, lawyers, government workers, etc. and are seemingly quite happy in their positions. On the other hand, the experiences of some of my former students show that one sometimes has to be prepared to change careers or get another degree if expectations of secure and satisfying working days do not come about.
Do you keep in contact with former students (now alumni), faculty and staff that you have known through the years? Despite all the issues involved with social media, I am appreciative of how it has given me opportunities to keep in touch with former students and former and current faculty and staff. It has also allowed me to renew old friendships with Concord alumni whom I knew as a student here. One of my former roommates, Tam Mallory (‘68), and I are on Facebook together, along with Noel Tenney (‘69), my long-time art buddy, who posts photographs of his beautiful paintings that bring back memories of our painting together in the basement of Old Main where art classes used to be taught, and Garland Elmore (‘68) with whom I later taught in our first college teaching positions. I am also in contact with lots of former students who share news of marriage, children, and the joys and trials of a new job or graduate work. This type of contact did not exist in the past, and I appreciate that social media makes keeping in touch so convenient. Then there are those chance encounters, such as going to Kroger and running into Kay White who for many years helped me prepare reserve materials in the Concord library, and seeing Barbara Hazelwood, our former Languages and Literature secretary, while buying plants at Lowe’s. All these Concord contacts are very special to me. 18
FALL 2018 CONCORD UNIVERSIT Y MAGAZINE
I always told students if they loved literature and writing and had done well in their freshman and sophomore classes, to follow their hearts and pursue English as a major. Some of these students, however, occasionally decided for various reasons to change their major after the first or second required course, and a few even felt they needed to apologize to me for doing so! I also occasionally told individual students to choose carefully a double major or a minor. Having something either to fall back on or to complement the English degree can be helpful. For example, a student who hopes to get a Ph.D. in English should try to study one or more foreign languages as much as possible. Moreover, the reality of the job market must also be taken into consideration, as well as where one wants to find employment or perhaps even go to graduate school. I would always encourage prospective English majors to talk with and get advice from other students pursuing this major, along with English teachers, professors, and especially other professionals who have used their English degree in nontraditional ways. Educating oneself on the use of the English major may prove to be as important as successfully completing the academic requirements. █