Millikin English students gain enriching experiences during Fall Break
Millikin University's English Department is full of talented and dedicated professors like Dr. Julie Bates, assistant professor, and Dr. Stephen Frech, professor of English, who do more than just teach their classes. To maximize students' learning experience, the pair took a group of nine English students to Chicago over fall break on a trip meant to give them an enriching experience.
"The Writing Committee, Dr. Frech and I, decided we wanted to do a trip or do something with students, especially thinking about professional writing and editing students who might not get the exposure to opportunities in Decatur (Ill.)," Bates said.
The two professors drew on funds from the Albertise Thrift Memorial fund, a fund given to the English Department in honor of Mrs. Thrift's daughter, and another fund that used to exist to take students to a humanities festival.
"There used to be a humanities festival that they used to take students to and it doesn't really exist anymore, so we're trying to recreate that experience because even thinking about not just 'How do we publish?' or 'How do we edit? How do we write?' just this broader exposure to cultural activities and getting out in the city and doing some of the things that we don't have the same access to, here."
While in Chicago, students stayed downtown on Michigan Avenue—only a few minutes' walk from attractions such as the American Writer's Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, two places they visited on the first day of the excursion.
“I liked going to the Art Institute. For me, it reminded me of the importance of expressing yourself in multiple mediums," Broderic Sparks, a senior creative writing major, said after the trip at a Millikin English Club meeting. "I'm primarily a writer, but since we got back from Chicago I've actually painted every night and I plan to paint again when I get back (home)."
"It was during the Art Institute and sometime after that I started taking candid photos of the students and posting them on Instagram," Kathryn Coffey, a junior creative writing major, also said after the meeting. "I guess it was just my subconscious awaking to finding my inner Linda McCartney. Her photographs just say a lot. It's just a simple expression or pose or lighting. It just speaks so much that I can't explain it."
During the next day, students had the opportunity to roam the city, in pairs, free of a strict itinerary, giving them the opportunity to see exactly what they wanted as long as they could get there.
"I learned a lot about Chicago architecture and I also learned a lot about how to navigate myself in the city," Sparks said. "That seems like it wasn't the goal of the trip, but I haven't spent a lot of time in Chicago and Dr. Frech has. He really helped me orient myself with just getting around."
Coffey noted, "Navigating yourself in stories is a good thing to read about and a good thing to teach people if they were ever curious about going to far-off places. I find it very interesting to tour the places that I've never really been to in the city—even though I've lived there pretty much my whole life. It was the American Writer's Museum and even the Chicago Tribune that had me say, 'Holy cow! I didn't know this was here!'"
Faced with the opportunity, several students happily toured the Chicago Tribune, where they could chat with Joseph Hernandez, the deputy food editor of the Tribune.
Hernandez took the group through the Tribune's new building, its test kitchen, and even to the topiary garden which overlooked the Art Institute, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and countless other portions of the city. Students were able to speak with other members of the Chicago Tribune's staff and ask questions.
"I've never been in an environment like that, really," Rebekah Icenesse, a junior creative writing major, said just after the tour. "They gave a lot of helpful information. I still don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate, but they gave me a few ideas like networking. Now I know that's really important, especially for an English major."
Icenesse has written for every category of the Decaturian, Millikin's student-run newspaper, but she became the editor for the Arts section last January. She, as well as others, spoke with a writer who covered Chicago's Art scene.
"I think it gave me a little more of an idea on how to make things better," Icenesse said. "Especially for my section, adding in more art features and more about the people at Millikin would be cool. We occasionally do our spotlights, but we could make it more about the people."
An interesting aspect of visiting the Tribune, students pointed out, was that they spoke to many young people.
"I know it changed my perspective of myself as a writer," Sparks said. "Especially when we went to the Tribune and we saw how many young faces there were walking around. There were people in their late 20s, early 30s. It just made me realize how close and how obtainable a goal like that really is for being an English student."
In addition to meeting members of the Chicago Tribune, students met with Millikin alums at the Palmer House on the last day of the trip. The alums ranged from someone more established like Chris Linden '08, the managing editor and web editor for Northwest Quarterly, to Katy Swift '17, who is just starting out and entering the job market, and already has experience in finding work through innovative ways.
"When we met up with the alumni, Katy Swift mentioned where she got her freelancing job. There are so many places where you can get a job on the internet," Coffey said. "It just blows my mind every time."
Having the students learn from former students was one of the major goals of the trip.
"Our alums have a lot of knowledge and experience, so it makes sense to connect them with students," Bates said. "But also for us, we're starting to build an advisory committee for the English Department and so talking with the alums to gauge their interest, get some feedback. It was a multipurpose trip."
Keeping that in mind, students gained from all the experiences, and each gave them a different perspective of their future careers.
"I think innovation has always been a priority for myself," Sparks said. "I don't know if it has been for other English majors. I think it made me realize that I need to be more in-touch with what's happening in journalism. I'm a literary guy, I focus on fiction. It kind of reminded me that Ernest Hemingway started as a journalist and so did a thousand other great writers."