Seriously, you should do it. Japan House, located on Lincoln south of Florida, is one of the university’s best hidden treasures, not least because of its grove of blossoming cherry trees, which should be at their peak this weekend. Take a break and check it out! Go because it’s beautiful:
And go because a famous poet pointed out that life is short and beauty is fleeting, particularly where cherry trees and twenty-year-olds are concerned:
Continue reading “Take a Cherry Blossom Study Break!”
Everyone is welcome at these upcoming events. Email kwilcox@illinois.edu if you have questions.
April 4, 4:00 – 5:00pm, EB 259. Grad School and You. Hear LAS alumni who are now pursuing a range of graduate degrees here at Illinois talk about the experience and give advice on choosing a program, applying, and succeeding.
April 5, 4:30 – 5:50pm, EB 108. Interviewing 101. Kristine McCoskey will draw on her experience as a corporate recruiter to help you sell your skills, speak with confidence to employers, and handle challenging interview situations.
April 11, 4 – 5pm, EB 104. Business Careers for English/CW Majors. Andrew Allen, Director of Illinois Business Consulting, will discuss the hiring needs of the business world and the skills that humanities majors can bring to fields like consulting and management
April 12, 5 – 5:50, EB 119. Project Management for English/CW Majors. Anne Odom, a project manager for DS Volition (video game development company in Champaign), will explain what project management is, why humanities majors are good at it, and how you can position yourself to do it for a living.
April 19, 5 – 5:50, EB 119. Business Communication for English/CW Majors. Kate Ditewig-Morris, internship coordinator for the Dept. of Communications and previously a writer for Caterpillar, Inc., will discuss careers in writing for businesses.
April 26, 5 – 5:50, EB 119. Customer Support for Humanities Majors. Pat East of Pixo (a custom software company in Urbana) will describe this growth field in the tech industry at which humanities majors excel.
At the end of February, prolific authors Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry (The Book Doctors) visited the University of Illinois. The duo hosted a series of workshops—“Traditional, Independent, or Self-Publishing?”; “Making Editing Fun”; and “Perfecting Your Pitch”—followed by Pitchapalooza, an event they describe as the American Idol of 
book pitches (minus Simon Cowell). Over the course of these four events, The Book Doctors imparted to attendees a wealth of valuable advice about writing and publishing any kind of book. Attending the events, I came away with both practical tips and a general sense of the complex processes by which a book idea evolves into a published text. Here are just a few of the takeaways from the events:
Getting a book published requires research and planning
The Book Doctors opened their first workshop with good news: anyone can get published! But they followed it immediately with bad news: anyone can get published. In such a competitive market, The Book Doctors stressed, having a great idea isn’t enough to turn
Continue reading “Publishing Prescriptions from The Book Doctors”
Are employers interested in talking to you?
YES.
Desirable English/CW major skills
(English majors: You’ve explored 1500 years of the written word, from Beowulf to Derrida, some of the densest and most challenging prose ever written: complexity doesn’t scare you.)
(Creative writing majors: You’re skilled at working with groups to bring out the best in yourself and others; you know how to bring creative rigor to any problems and how to hold a team to high standards.)
Continue reading “Getting Ready for the Illini Career and Internship Fair”
