Video series highlights English majors ‘out in the world’

A community engagement coordinator. An English teacher abroad. A development director. A newspaper writer by day and a recreation director by night.

These are just a few of the career paths traveled by College of Arts and Humanities alumni who majored in English while pursuing their degrees at Fresno State.

A recent video series called “English Majors Out in the World,” produced by Fresno State’s Department of English, highlights the unique ways four alumni have translated their academic success into community success, all while fusing their interests and passions with their professional work.

The series — which focuses on English alumni outside of traditional careers in teaching or writing books — includes:

• Mary Sosa, the community engagement coordinator at the Poverello House, where she manages up to 500 volunteers per month who provide social services to people in need.

• Kayla Mendoza, an instructor at DYB Choisun Language Academy in Seoul, South Korea, where she teaches English to native Korean speakers at multiple skill levels.

• Kenyeih Williams, the director of development at Fresno State’s Craig School of Business, where she engages with philanthropic partners and produces special projects such as the Gender and Leadership program.

• Samantha Golden, the full-time recreation director at Gymnastics Beat, where she organizes programs and mentors youth, and a part-time writer at the Clovis Roundup newspaper, where she reports on community news.

Dr. John Beynon, chair of the Department of English, said he’s always struck by the many different ways English majors navigate the world after earning their degrees.

“Few things about my work thrill me as much as hearing about students’ achievements after graduation,” Beynon said. “Whether it be a professional career, advanced studies or volunteer work, in every one of those journeys the students are primed by their education at Fresno State to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.”

The university in April received $5 million in funding from the Mellon Foundation to establish paid internship programs for humanities students. The programs, which will embed career preparation into the curriculum, are expected to continue to expand and bring awareness to viable career pathways for students.

(Story by Jefferson Beavers, communication specialist, Department of English. Celeste Jones contributed to this report.)