Sabrina Taylor, a third-year junior at UMass, is majoring in English with a specialization in Professional Writing and Technical Communication (PWTC). She is also pursuing an IT (Information Technology) minor.
Sabrina enjoys working as a photographer for the Off Campus Student Center. She also hosts a show, “Keep Bouncing” for WMUA 91.1 FM, the UMass college radio station. Tune in on Sunday evenings from 8–10pm EDT to follow her fantastic work.
As a UMass student, what does a typical day look like for you?
I usually start classes around early- to mid-afternoon, but I'll head to campus earlier to either do work or to eat at a dining hall (one of favorite pastimes) to kill time until my classes. Most of my classes are currently English courses, so I spend a lot of time in South College. When I'm done with classes for the day, I like to stay on campus and do work in the library or the Off-Campus Student Center. If I don't have work (or am not feeling the most productive), I will go eat again or go to a friend’s dorm room.
How do you balance your English major with time spent pursuing other class, professional and extracurricular activities?
Over the course of my time at UMass, I've tried keeping a consistent balance between my English and non-English courses. I don’t want to get too comfortable with only taking writing-based classes, but at the same time, I want to complete as many of the requirements as soon as I can. However, I’ve found that being an English major often overlaps with other classes as it is, and has definitely helped me write coherent essays and critically think no matter the course. As for professional and extracurricular activities, I dedicate the remainder of my time to my job as a photographer in the Off-Campus Student Center and as a DJ at WMUA for the program “Keep Bouncing” on Sundays from 6-8pm! Being an English major has also helped me a lot with live broadcasting on WMUA, as I’ve become much more comfortable with public speaking as a result of knowing how to effectively execute my thoughts both in writing and on air.
What attracted you to the English major?
I went to a high school that offered a humanities program, in which we took interdisciplinary courses that revolved around Philosophy, Art, History, and English Literature. We spent a significant amount of time reading and writing college-level essays, and I always just gravitated towards these assignments the most. I am definitely not a math or science-based thinker, so English just felt like the most comfortable major choice.
How does literary studies impact your worldview?
I feel like a big factor that plays into many works of literature is the history during which they were written. English as a study is the result of individuals writing based on their emotions during a particular time period. Because of this, on a global scale, I feel like I come to understand my worldview through those novels and authors that project their story and their cultural upbringing through literature.
Share a book that’s currently on your reading list.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami!