By Olivia Bassetti
Aside from fun nights with friends, tailgates before games, and much needed iced coffee from Holy Grounds, some of my most formative days at Villanova as an Environmental Science major with a Sustainability Studies minor, were spent in Mendel moving from class to lab. What I didn’t expect was just how important my time in my English classes would become as I picked up an English minor along the way.
My introduction to the English Department at Villanova took place my sophomore year when I decided to take my required core English class and chose, “Coming of Age in Ireland,” with Dr. Mullen. Throughout high school, science and literature classes were always my favorite classes and while my Villanova required Ancients and Moderns classes were good stand-ins for an English class my freshman year, I was ready to move back into true English Literature classes.
From the start of that first literature class, I felt the embrace of the English department. I enjoyed the break from the lecture-style classes my STEM courses provided and immersed myself in the engaging discussion-based style of English department classes. I also felt a bit insecure in my writing abilities as an underclassman and wanted to take classes that I knew would improve my writing skills. Additionally, I liked that these classes helped rehumanize the world in a way different from STEM classes, which can sometimes alienate the experience of the average individual person. I have always loved reading and writing so feeling early success in that first class inspired me to look up the requirements for an English minor.
When I declared the minor, I didn’t want to lose the community and exposure to great literature that my English classes provided, and a break from the monotony I occasionally felt in my STEM classes. I didn’t realize how much of an asset this English minor would become until I started my job search. Many interviewers remarked on what a great combination it was to have a STEM major who supplemented their major with a reading, writing, and interpersonal skills-based minor.
I now work in the Environmental Consulting division of a large engineering firm where the skills I learned from my English minor have been great assets. One of the best takeaways for me from my English minor was developing confidence in my writing abilities. Before getting an English minor, I suffered from imposter syndrome when I would have to write. However, now in my daily work life, I write up reports where I paint a picture of the environmental state of various sites I visit. These reports are sent to lawyers and higher-ups and there is no time to doubt my writing ability. My English minor provided me with the space to grow my reading and writing skills while reading some truly great texts. I would recommend an English minor to any STEM major to help them become a more well-rounded job candidate and to find success in their job after graduation.
