Part Two of the Honors Thesis Journey: Lucas Ruud

Content

In the previous installment of this series, Lucas described his Thesis Seminar class and how he’s completing his creative portfolio through the class. Here, he explained the work he’s done so far and the steps he took towards completion. Check out the progress Lucas has made!

What was it like doing your portfolio itself? How did it feel?

Writing my thesis was the most engaging and creative writing project I've been a part of during my time at UMass. 

I felt supported by my classmates and professor, and it was freeing to have two semesters to workshop longer pieces.

How did you go about completing your work? How did you use your Thesis Seminar class in this process?

My seminar requires around 80 pages of revised prose and a personal statement. I wrote over 100 pages last semester, so now I'm working on revising and drafting my personal statement. I love having a group of people who willingly volunteered to read all my work, so it's easy for me to take advantage of such a great workshop opportunity. 

Image

What were some challenges you came across that you weren’t expecting?

My biggest challenge was developing a consistent theme to my portfolio. I have a lot of interest in different genres, and while I can include different genres in the same thesis, I felt like I wanted to have consistent theming throughout my pieces.

How did you balance your time between your thesis and other coursework?

I don't really view my thesis as work. Sometimes I write 15 pages in an afternoon and sometimes I spend hours on workshopping a single sentence. It's chaotic and unpredictable, which keeps it fun for me. It can be time consuming to critique all of my classmate's work, but I know that the effort I put into their work will be reflected in mine. 

How did your instructor help you during this process?

John Hennessey is an incredible professor, but he's also a writer and poet himself, which gives him a uniquely important perspective on my writing. He's excellent at recognizing the strength in a writer and encouraging them to build upon that strength and take risks. I've written my best work under his mentorship and I hope to continue to write work that he would be proud of after I graduate. 

How important was the Thesis Seminar in this process?

I can't stress enough how important a collaborative and constructive environment was to the success of my writing so far. There likely won't be another time in my life where I'll have fourteen editors looking at my work consistently, so that drove me to write as much as possible while I have access to my editors. 

Lucas is now almost done with his Honors Thesis. Stay tuned for Part Three where we will learn more about his final thoughts on the process and any reflections he’s made!