Student Testimonials

Brett Henggeler

As early as my freshman year I decided that, even as an Art major, I needed to get involved with the English Department because I enjoyed writing, mostly poetry and non-fiction. I went to the very first Medium Weight Forks meeting that year and was thrilled to learn that this magazine was the perfect way to marry my interests of both art and writing together. The members of this group soon became some of my best friends, and so I was unofficially initiated into the English Department. It was during my sophomore year that I decided to declare a Writing minor so those Poetry classes that I was taking weren't just for fun.

Some of the members of Medium Weight Forks also worked in the Writing Center and were involved with the English Honors Society Sigma Tau Delta. Soon I was part of both entities, and I believe that both have helped to shape me. I have become more articulate, which is a good quality as communications skills are usually listed in the top priorities list for prospective employers. It has also allowed me to carve a small niche in the Art Department, for I am the only Writing minor that I know of, and it allows me to express my art better than most.

I would strongly recommend this department, as it has helped me not only in college, but with my future plans in the field of graphic design.

Interested in studying English? Check out the degree program options.

Barry Grass

I’ve always been fascinated with the art of writing. I am a writer myself, but coexistent with that I am a reader. The field of English allows me to explore both. Studying English is so much more than simply writing papers about books. In English, I learn about cultures, human behavior, history, philosophy, art, and how they all are combined into thought provoking, wildly entertaining works of great literature.

I didn’t want to attend a school too far away from where I grew up. Of all the universities in the state of Missouri, I feel that Northwest Missouri State University provides the best undergraduate education in the field of English. From the first semester of my Freshman year, I was taking classes with knowledgeable and inspiring professors. Outside of the classroom, I’ve had valuable opportunities to learn and grow by being involved in Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society, and by tutoring in the Writing Center (see picture). My experience with the English department at Northwest has been extremely fulfilling.

Interested in studying English? Check out the degree program options.

Andrea Jones

I came to Northwest with more than a few ideas of what I would study and earn a degree in, but my love for literature conquered all. I love every piece of the reading process. I love falling into a book, hearing about what makes other people fall, studying characters and authors and readers and critics, who to me are just another kind of reader. I don't know if I've ever considered this a valid career move. Sometimes I still can't explain how it will work out. What is the importance of literature, of storytelling? I'm not sure how to define it, but maybe that's what I'm here to discover and prove for myself. It doesn't happen every day, but the classes I've taken here have challenged me to consider this question and to create more answers, and more questions. I feel that earning an English degree is not just a degree in the study of literature but of life. That can take a person anywhere.

Interested in studying English? Check out the graduate program options.