Willimantic, Conn. – Eastern Connecticut State University’s English Department hosted a panel discussion of Eastern alumni titled “English at Work” on March 11. The English Department, led by department chair Lisa Fraustino, established the panel two years ago to help current English majors get a sense of the career paths they could pursue after graduation. The panel discussed how majoring in English led them in different directions, including graduate programs and a variety of careers. The panelists were Rosanne Carlo, Lauren Biatowas, Angela DiLella, Melissa G. Dwelley, Christian Gallichio, Samuel Lisi and Ashely Parker.
Carlo graduated from Eastern in 2008 with her B.A. in English and political science. She earned her Ph.D. in rhetoric, composition and the teaching of English at the University of Arizona. She currently works as an assistant professor at The College of Staten Island.
In 2012, Biatowas received her B.A. in English and a secondary teaching certificate. She currently teaches eighth grade at a middle school is New Milford, while working on a master’s program in media literacy and digital culture at Sacred Heart University. Dwelley also graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in writing. While enrolled at Eastern she was a writing tutor. She is currently working at a community college in Massachusetts and manages a dual enrollment program, international admissions and electronic communications.
In 2013, Gallichio and Lisi graduated from Eastern. Gallichio graduated with a B.A. in English. He is currently pursuing an M.A. at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He has previously worked as a screenplay reader for The Weinstein Company. He is currently working on his master’s thesis focusing on 19th Century Christmas Fiction. After Eastern, Lisi attended UConn School of law. He has also been admitted to the master of law program and will obtain an LL.M. in intellectual property and information governance. Currently, he is serving as corporate director and founding member of a legal technology corporation in Hartford.
In 2014, DiLella graduated with a B.A. in English and a minor in writing. She is currently working on a master’s degree in creative writing at the New School in Manhattan. While attending Eastern, she was heavily involved in the Writers Guild, which produces “Eastern Exposure,” the student literary magazine. Parker also graduated with her B.A. in English in 2014. She is currently finishing her master’s degree at Indiana University. She is president of the Linguistics Department’s graduate students at IU.
These panelists spoke about tips and effective ways to manage your time in graduate school.
“It’s important for our students to hear from recent Eastern alums, not just from professors, about what’s out there. ‘So what are you doing to do with that English degree?’ is a question that our English majors––and English majors everywhere––get asked a lot. Panels like this one can help our students begin to answer that question and to see what their futures might hold,” said Daniel Donaghy, professor of English and faculty advisor of Eastern Writer’s Guild.
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About Eastern Connecticut State University
Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut’s public liberal arts university, serving more than 5,300 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 158 of Connecticut’s 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 20 other states and 63 other countries. A residential campus offering 38 majors and 55 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked the 27th top public university in the North Region, by U.S. News and World Report in its 2016 Best College ratings, Eastern has also been awarded “Green Campus” status by the U.S. Green Building Council six years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.