Jenna Merony graduated in the spring of 2021 with degrees in English and professional and public writing. Merony was a Citizen Scholar in the College of Arts and Letters; she is pursuing her master’s degree in English language and literature with a concentration in creative writing from Central Michigan University. The following student view was edited and repurposed. The original piece is available on the College of Arts and Letters website.

I came to MSU in 2017 with my twin sister Makayla, who was ready to enter the kinesiology program, while I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I started as an English major because that was my favorite subject in high school, and I knew I wanted to do something that involved writing. My older sister, Taylor, who was a senior when I came to MSU as a freshman, introduced me to professional and public writing, also known as P2W. And that’s where I found my calling — on the publishing and editing track.

I have always loved writing, telling stories and reading but never knew how to make that into a career. That is where professional and public writing proved to show me all the possibilities of how to tell stories for a living. However, as I was finishing up the P2W program, I felt there was more for me to learn so I added back the English major with a concentration in creative writing. With these two majors and being a part of the Citizen Scholars program, I was able to receive amazing opportunities.

One of the biggest opportunities I had was studying abroad. I did the Literary Studies in Dublin, Ireland program the summer before my junior year and received funding for this from the Citizen Scholars program. That funding was the push and help I needed to take this journey.

It was a five-week program of traveling around Ireland and learning about literacy, a few Irish authors and some Irish films. I also learned more about the culture of Ireland from Galway, Sligo, Belfast, Dublin and Cork. One of my favorite memories was learning about William Butler Yeats by going on a Yeats country tour and seeing places that inspired his poems and were part of his childhood.

The experience taught me so much about myself, how to become part of the community around me and to stand up for things I am passionate about. It enhanced my education in a way that I wasn’t expecting and brought out the leader in me.

By the beginning of my junior year, I knew I needed some more experience within the P2W track and needed an internship as well to graduate. My adviser told me about the social media and communications strategist internship for the College of Art and Letters. This internship experience gave me the opportunity to write a variety of stories from within the college, as well as social media, marketing and digital design experiences. These were things I never knew I needed to know until I was able and asked to do it.

Although my intern experience quickly moved to remote work due to the pandemic, it really was one of the highlights of my time here at MSU. And for that, I am grateful. Thank you, MSU and the College of Arts and Letters for a great four years.