Emilie Johannes graduated from UD in 2011 with her B.A. in English and an environmental
science concentration. Upon graduating, she returned to her home state of Alaska as
a technical writer for an energy research organization then for an independent Federal
agency that dispersed grants to fund projects in rural Alaska. While deciding on her
next career move, she discovered a marine resources management master's program at
Texas A&M University at Galveston that combined natural resource policy, management,
and science courses. Emilie decided to take the risk of leaving a job for school and
return to Texas for two more years (with a beach and harbor view this time).
"I still felt burnt out from my academics at UD a year and a half after graduating and the thought of two more years of school seemed to be a bit daunting, but I viewed the process as an investment, one that, thankfully, paid off." The summer between her two years of grad school, she interned with BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. and was offered a job to begin after graduating in 2014, where she currently works.
"As a freshman at UD, it was often hard for me to see the point of taking courses across such a broad spectrum of disciplines, as the Core required. It wasn't until after the first year that the interconnection of required courses at UD started to click in my mind and it was in my English courses where I especially felt them all come together. The ability to think critically and explore an issue with a holistic perspective were skills that I honed at UD. These skills carried over well into my master's program and current job working in environmental, which can require careful reading of regulations in order to determine the appropriate compliance mechanisms for the company. The careful dissection of lyric poetry, for example, is excellent preparation for interpretation of legal language, where one or two words can greatly change the meaning of the larger body of text.
"The addition of the environmental science concentration was one of the best decisions I made to complement my English degree. As I went from upper-level English courses to science courses and back, the integration of the two disciplines helped provide guidance for a career path -- an intimidating but necessary thing to consider as a college student. I believe English is an incredibly versatile degree, and the development of communication skills that essay writing and classroom discussion provide are invaluable for any job."
Outdoor chairs filled up quickly as droves of graduates, professors, families and friends arrived on the Braniff Mall the morning of Sunday, May 12, to participate in the 59th annual Spring Commencement Ceremony in honor of UD’s new generation of Crusader alumni.
+ Read MoreThe University of Dallas Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Executive Vice President John G. Plotts, Ed.D., as interim president of the university. Plotts joined the university in December of 2008, initially serving in the roles of associate provost and dean of undergraduate admissions.
+ Read More"That's what our teaching, and all our talk about the reflective life, boils down to -- efforts to keep brilliance in our hearts, to remember the lightness that is native to our spirit," said 2018 Piper Professor Eileen Gregory, Ph.D, professor of English. The Piper Award honors 10 professors annually in Texas colleges and universities for outstanding achievements in their profession and is widely regarded as the most prestigious award of its kind in the state.
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