Along with working as a reporter for the Sandusky Register, English and writing graduate Jen Grathwol ('07) is beginning a low residency MFA program with Naropa University.
English and business major Katie Vennekotter ('07) works as Coordinator for Academic Affairs and Assessment Activities at Ohio Northern University. She reports, "My background in writing and the work I did through the English department at Bluffton has helped me develop a strong attention to detail and the ability to communicate through writing effectively and clearly, which is valuable for my work in assessment."
After graduating with a degree in English and Spanish, Indira Sultanic ('06) is working in a graduate program in translation at Kent State University.
Chad Van Buskirk ('05) is teaching ESL classes at the University of Findlay while he works on his master's in TESOL.
Now back in the United States, Erin Wahl ('05) taught English for three years in China. Having taught at several universities, she reports that jobs are plentiful for English teachers. Erin says, "My education at Bluffton provided me not only with the training and foundation that I need to do my job each day, but also with the spirit and curiousity to go out into the world and test the limits of what I know and what I can do every day. If there was ever a school that teaches its students to instigate good changes in the world around them and inspire passion for life and learning in others, it's Bluffton."
Alaina Schulte ('04) has graduated from law school at the University of Cincinnati and has passed her bar exam. She is working as an assistant prosecutor.
Mary "Molly" F. Snyder ('92) completed a law degree in 1997 from Capital University Law School. Now with her own private practice in Upper Sandusky, specializing in criminal defense and family law, Carrie emphasizes the importance of her English degree to her current success: "The training I had in critical reading and extensive writing as an English major form an essential basis for my work as a lawyer. These skills are not taught in law school--and without them, I would be at a loss."
Sheryl Cunningham ('00) did a year of service with AmeriCorps*VISTA working with ReUse Industries, a non-profit reuse and recycling center. Among other tasks, her job included planning and publicizing events as well as advertising and marketing. Having completed her master's in compostion and rhetoric at Ohio University, she is working on a Ph.D. in political communication at the University of Washington. Additionally, she is beginning a position at Wittenberg University as an assistant professor of communication.
Following a June 18, 1999 wedding, Gina (Faccenda) Mantero ('98) has settled in Dallas, Texas. Gina works as a Marketing Coordinator for an engineering firm, writing, researching, and editing technical reports and proposals for contractual work. She says, "It's a great job! I really get to stretch my mind, and the learning never stops--today I might be working on an environmental report. Tomorrow? Perhaps it will be a proposal for our firm to design an interchange for a major freeway. It's very hectic and extremely deadline-driven, but I do enjoy it."
Kimberly (Yant) Spallinger ('97) completed her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from Bowling Green State University. She is cuurently teaching full-time at Bowling Green.
After working for a year in Indianapolis at MacMillan Publishing, computer book division, Ginny Stoller ('96) returned to Ottawa-Glandorf HS, where she did her student teaching, and became the senior English teacher. She teaches both college preparatory classes and advanced placement classes as well as supervises the school's yearbook--and reports that she "loves her job."Am Rife ('99) completed a master's at Miami University of Ohio. Am notes, "Even though Bluffton's program is small, I was as well prepared for graduate level classes as the others, and I even think my background in poetry was stronger than some of the other students', so I know that my BC professors were good." Am is in Columbus, doing adjunct teaching at Capital and Ohio Dominican.
Sara Webb-Sunderhaus ('95) completed her Ph.D. work at Ohio State University, specializing in composition and rhetoric. Now she has a tenure-track position at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Before going to graduate school, she was employed as a substitute teacher, a human resources representative, and a tutor in basic writing courses at the University of Cincinnati. She comments, "I know many people say that 'you can't do anything with an English degree,' but that is simply not true. I know from my time in the business world that companies are desperate for people who can write well, who can communicate verbally, and who can think critically. Students should not feel that an English degree only prepares them for an academic career--almost every field needs the skills an English major provides."
Heath A. Diehl ('95) earned a Ph.D. in English in August 2000 from Bowling Green State University, focusing on world drama, theatre history, and Queer/feminist/postmodern/cultural theories. He is currently working as an instructor in the department of English at Bowling Green.
Carrie (Roth) Kruse ('95) works for the Allen County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in Lima, Ohio. In her role as a Facility Manager at a satellite location, she oversees the day-to-day operations of a sheltered workshop where approximately 100 adults with disabilities come to work on various contracts and receive habilitation services each day. Carrie emphasizes the range of options that an English degree allows, noting, "Working with people with disabilities was not even a consideration of mine when I completed my English degree. At the urgings of a friend, I applied for a job with the department, fully expecting my interviewers to question the relatedness of my degree to the open position. Actually, they were thrilled to see my background in English since there is a great deal of paperwork and writing involved with my job. Editing the agency newsletter was soon added to my list of job duties."
