Q: Why did you decide to minor in English at UNCP, and what do you enjoy about your coursework and faculty?

A: Starting at UNCP, I wanted to be a teacher and was on track to graduate with a degree in social studies education. However, life changed sophomore year, and I realized that I did not want to be shoehorned to just teaching, so I switched my major to general history with a minor in English. In my time in the Department of English, Theatre & World Languages, I have enjoyed three things: The extraordinary faculty, the freedom to choose from various classes, and the excellent peers one gets to know while taking the many English courses.

Q: How has your study of English supported you in your other academic pursuits, such as participating in REACH?

A: English has supported my academic career by learning to manage a large amount of reading and writing. More specifically, it has helped me learn techniques, such as close reading, to recognize authors' intent and reasoning in written works that I would previously miss. For example, I used these techniques in REACH during the research phase of my project, Letters from War: Historical Memory and Contemporary Contexts, to interpret letters from Pearl Harbor in a way that they never have been interpreted before. However, these techniques were not the only areas in which English has helped me in my academic pursuits, as I also have become a better interpersonal communicator.

Q: What are your plans for life after graduation?

A: I plan to take a gap year to gain experience in higher education or the political world, helping to increase my real-world experience, which I know my English degree will help. My goal is to go to law school and become a lawyer.

Interview conducted via email by Scott Hicks on Nov. 11, 2024. Click here for a photo of Schwenneker, pictured at the 2024 REACH symposium at Mary Livermore Library in April 2024, presenting a research poster, “Letters from War: Historical Memory and Contemporary Contexts.”