Boundary-crosser, creative analyst, professional communicator.
Why creative writing and economics?
Economics is the study of macro, society-wide phenomena. Economics examines how we make choices in aggregate. And, as a social science, economics is grounded in quantitative analysis.
Creative writing studies people at the micro level. Creative writing is about self-expression, but the field is also about understanding people who are different from us. As Percy Blyce Shelley argues in “A Defense of Poetry”:
A man, to be greatly good . . . must put himself in the place of another and of many others . . . . Poetry enlarges the circumference of the imagination by replenishing it with thoughts of ever new delight . . . . Poetry strengthens the [imagination,] which the organ of the moral nature of man.
Studying art has forced me to think creatively and communicate effectively. Ideas are useless unless you can articulate them. And I believe in challenging myself and learning new material. My liberal arts education has prepared me to succeed in any situation.
What are your goals after school?
I want to be a consultant, advertiser/marketer, or an investment banker. Ultimately, I want to attend Columbia Business School or the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Experiences
Intern for Richard Nash, CEO of new media start-up Cursor (January 2010 – Summer 2011)
- Designed and developed a social networking website and webapp, both aimed at writers.
- Managed a database of 6000 contacts.
- Publicized new book releases.
- Coded 5 ebooks and edited 2 novels. These 7 books became Cursor’s spring line-up.
- Developed an insider’s view of the digital publishing market.
Oberlin Student Finance & Investment Club (Spring 2010 – Spring 2011)
- Rebranded the club with new letterheads and a redesigned website (to be debuted Summer 2011).
- Meets weekly to debate investment decisions. We favor a long-term, slow-growth strategy and our $300,000 portfolio routinely outperforms the S&P 500.
Treasurer for The Plum Creek Review, Oberlin's oldest (and best) student literary magazine (Fall 2009 – Spring 2011)
- Editorial staff meets weekly to discuss submissions of prose, poetry, photography, and artwork. We receive ~300 submissions/semester and publish ~40. We print in full-color and with square binding. We also sponsor poetry readings, art installations, and other campus outreach initiatives.
- Increased the budget from $5,600 to $6,500. (Spring 2011)
- Founded the Yellow House Writers' Co-op, a writing center where underclassmen can consult with seniors about their applications to the Creative Writing Program.
Editorial Intern for Computer Shopper magazine (Summer 2009)
- Wrote feature-length product reviews and blog articles.
- Tripled @computershopper’s social media base and redesigned Computer Shopper's YouTube channel.
Intern for Patrick Ryan, Assistant Editor of Granta (Summer 2010)
- Copyedited new issues of the magazine.
Web Assistant at the Oberlin Office of Communications (Spring 2011)
- Migrated old content to our custom-built CMS.
Intern for the Creative Writing Department (Spring 2010 – Spring 2011)
- Publicized department events and served as liaison to prospective students.
Poet-in-residence at Langston Middle School (Spring 2010 & Spring 2011)
- Taught lessons on E.E. Cummings and Robert Hayden under the guidance of an experienced poet. (Spring 2010)
- As a TA, coached students in classroom management, anthology publication, and lesson plan development. (Spring 2011)
