Alumni
Colleen Weir '07
Colleen Weir graduated from Carthage College in May 2007. She is currently a graduate student and teaching assistant at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She will graduate with an M.A. in English Language and Literature, and plans to apply to Catholic University of America's Ph.D. program.
While at CUA, Ms. Weir has assisted in the Media Studies Department, worked in the Writing Center, and taught weekly supplemental workshops on writing and rhetoric.
Memories of Carthage: "I enjoyed all of my English classes, particularly Prof. Andrew Feld's Poetry and Poetics class and Dr. DuPriest's Classical Literature and Jane Austen courses. My Carthage English professors introduced me to so many of the great literary works that have shaped our culture. The experience was both enlightening and delightful."
Advice for other English students: "Read! Familiarize yourself with the great classic works, as well as the obscure or not-so-classic works. Also, be familiar with philosophical traditions and histories, especially of the West, since they have obviously influenced the culture and literature so greatly." Weir also tells current Carthage students to try new things. "You will never know if you are able to do something until you try it."
Contact Ms. Weir: colleenweir@gmail.com
Candice Ledman, ’04
Candice Ledman graduated from Carthage College in May 2004. She is currently teaching high school English to juniors and seniors at Wayzata High School in Minnesota. She is also finishing up her master’s degree in education, expected in May 2009.
Memories of Carthage: "Great professors and interesting discussions in classes."
Advice for other English students: "Don't let the Shakespeare class scare you. It made me fall in love with Shakespeare."
Contact Ms. Ledman: candineledman@yahoo.com
Katie Mrskos, '04
Katie Mrskos graduated from Carthage College in May 2004 with a bachelor of arts degree in English. She is currently working for the online Kaplan University as a project manager for the Academic Advising and Help Desk departments.
Memories of Carthage: "I remember how tough Sam Chell was in my thesis class, but I loved it. I never thought that I would enjoy literary theory, but I did. Maria Carrig was also a huge supporter for me. I had multiple classes with her and she always pushed me to be better and better. After Carthage she was a reference for me and helped me find a job right out of school."
Advice for other English students: "Analytical skills and written skills are key, no matter what you choose as a career. In my role as a project manager, I am constantly problem solving, coming up with creative solutions, and presenting these ideas. This is so similar to writing a paper or presenting a thesis that it's uncanny!
"I would also emphasis obtaining some sort of leadership experience while in school. At Carthage I was the vice president of the English Honor Society (Sigma Tau Delta). By having a leadership role, I gained a greater understanding of working with people — a must in any career — and learned how to lead a group to accomplish a task (not as easy as it sounds)."
Contact Ms. Mrskos: kmrskos@kaplan.edu
Christopher Oliva, '05
Christopher Oliva graduated from Carthage College in May 2005. He is currently pursuing his master’s of fine arts degree in directing and screenwriting at DePaul University, in the Cinema and Interactive Media program. “I hope to start my thesis film in the winter, so I am currently developing a narrative short film about Frank Lloyd Wright in hopes for funding a feature film,” he says. “I also am a freelance editor and filmmaker.”
Memories of Carthage: "There are several memories of my time studying in the English Department that I stumble back upon. The one that most stands out is my time in the Senior Seminar course. We studied theory and read a variety of articles, journals and essays that stick with me today and will last a lifetime."
Mr. Oliva works with undergraduate students at DePaul who study screenwriting.
"When it comes to writing exercises and their scripts, I find myself quoting some of the essays by Coleridge and Wordsworth, particularly poetry and art. Ultimately, within that course (Senior Seminar) we had to write our thesis paper. I was the first student to write a thesis about film. It was such a joy to explore cinema as literature through a controversial piece of art.
"At the time, the course did not seem all that enjoyable, with the combination of studying theory while writing your own. I can't help but think back upon it and know that it was the most productive and enjoyable experience in the English Department that I had. There were 20 of us in a room that semester. We really got to see what people could do, and it brought us closer together as students, and peers and friends. And it was very impressive."
Advice for other English students: "I can't emphasize enough the importance of reading what you are given. Little do some of us know at the time, but what we are reading in the department are absolutely brilliant and great pieces of artwork. It is so important to read and understand those to better understand pieces of work today.
"Most things today have become recycled, regurgitated or even ejaculated stories. The most original stories are of the past. This doesn't mean that things today are not very good, nor can they not be brilliant. In understanding the greats of the past, it will contribute to the comprehension of postmodernism. More so in appreciating postmodernism, which is what we see every day now, one will be satisfied by modernism as something fresh. It almost becomes the new postmodern."
His second piece of advice: “Always write,” he says. “Writing is a gift.”
Contact Mr. Oliva: christpother.oliva@gmail.com
Kristina Gomez, ’06
Kristina Gomez graduated from Carthage College in May 2006. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS). She plans to complete the two-year master's program in the spring of 2010, with a specialization in academic and research libraries.
Memories of Carthage:: "I became an English major my second year at Carthage, after realizing that while English majors often cringe the constant question ‘English … Really? What do you plan on doing with that?’, it's nothing in comparison to the blank stares encountered when you tell someone you’re a Classical Studies major,” Ms. Gomez says. “My first encounter with the English Department was through Professor DuPriest and it was mainly with her support that I continued in the department.”
Ms. Gomez says she loved all the courses she took, especially a course on Faulkner, and courses on Women Frontier Writers that she took her third and fourth years.
“I enjoyed the small classes and the interaction with professors that the small class size allowed,” Ms. Gomez says. “The most prominent memories I have involve anything Professor Chell said (ever), and the intense fear I felt at the start of senior seminar, and the relief that washed over me after I presented my thesis.”
Advice for other English students: "Get a handle on the major literary criticism early, join Sigma Tau Delta and take many language courses."
Contact Ms. Gomez: kristinalgomez@gmail.com
Academic Resources
Prospective Students
Student Voices
Brigette Estola, '11, is majoring in English and theatre, and has already had internships exploring both fields. Read more.
Carthage In-Depth
Carthage Symposium
Art Meets Biology. Students photograph biodiversity in Tucson, Ariz.
J-Term
Unearthing the Past. Students travel to Israel to excavate Roman temples of Omrit.
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