Why English? Brooklyn Hibshman Shares
When English Department undergraduate student Brooklyn Hibshman was a senior in high school, she knew she wanted to study English, but she wasn’t sure where. Between offers from different schools, USU stood out as an affordable program where she felt like she could grow into her own person.
“Throughout my years in the English program, I grew to love and rely on the community we have,” Brooklyn comments. “I feel like every class is full of my friends, both in other students and professors. In general, everyone in the English Department is so connected and supportive to the point that I rarely feel nervous when I present, talk in class discussions, or have a piece workshopped.”
For Brooklyn, the English Department is unique because of the amount of involvement from everyone within the program. From clubs and organizations to activities and the literary magazine, students are active parts of the department. “For example, a friend of mine looked at Sink Hollow’s website a bit ago and noticed that half of our class was on the magazine’s staff,” Brooklyn says. “I also feel like there’s always something or someone to celebrate, and the department does their best to support and celebrate them. Although the English Department is big, there are so many opportunities to connect with people.”
Other fond memories Brooklyn has from her time in the English Department included throwing a festival in her Shakespeare class and attending a launch party for Sink Hollow with color-coded party hats.
Recently, Brooklyn competed in the Student Research Competition at the annual Association for Computing Machinery Special Interests Group on Design of Communication conference in Texas. Here, she won the undergraduate division with her research presentation, “I’m Going to Put My Foot Down: Advocating for Ethical AI Use in a Technology Startup.”
“I am so incredibly humbled and honored to have won this competition. I entered the conference feeling a little unsure of myself as a student researcher, but this award showed me the importance of my work,” Brooklyn reflects. “I had the support of both the English and Communication & Media departments behind me, so I hoped I’d do well but never expected to be a finalist, let alone the winner.”
As a dual major in English and Technical Communication and Rhetoric, Brooklyn’s research explores AI in communication and technology. “Winning this award means the world to me, especially with the amount of AI-based research in academia. I genuinely couldn’t have gotten to this point without the support of the English Department and everyone in it,” she notes.