Why English? Sadie Olsen Shares

For undergraduate Sadie Olsen, while studying English has always been enjoyable, committing to it in college wasn’t an easy decision. 

“A part of me felt like doing English wouldn’t lead towards a future career, so I looked into other degrees like anthropology to try and figure out what I wanted to do,” Sadie remembers. “However, every time registration rolled around, I would check what classes English was offering, and they always sounded like such a fun time. I would spend forever reading through each of the class descriptions trying to narrow down what I could potentially fit into my schedule even though I wanted to take every single one.”

Eventually, Sadie declared as an English major, knowing she has a real passion for the subject. Sticking with it was far easier. Between taking interesting courses and becoming part of a welcoming environment of students and professors, Sadie said she continually felt encouraged to become more involved. 

“What I really appreciate is the continual willingness from our professors to listen to students and to improve their classes and our department. Professors are always encouraging us to go to office hours and to approach them with questions and concerns about our reading material,” Sadie reflects. “The experiences and education of students is their top priority, and that permeates the entire department and makes the students feel valued and excited to be here, and it’s just a wonderful feedback loop of positive energy.”

Sadie has immersed herself in the world of research during her time at USU, attending and presenting at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society and at the Fall Student Research Symposium. One of her favorite memories while in English was taking Professor Christine Cooper-Rompato’s Special Topics in Literature course on archival research. This was Sadie’s first experience doing archival research, and the experience taught her how to engage with, present, and explain research. 

Sadie’s research paper is also going to be published in the upcoming issue of Sigma Tau Delta Review. Her piece, “From the Monstrous to the Mundane: Queer Interpretations of Dracula through Dracula Daily,” is the first research paper she’s worked on independently of a class or professor. 

“I got to use techniques from digital folklore to explore literature interpretations on the internet, which was such a fun way to make use of both my minor and second academic love, folklore,” Sadie comments. “The fact that it did get accepted to a journal is maybe the most encouraging thing ever because it lets me know that what I’m excited to research and explore does have a space in academia and that pursuing a career in English literature is a possibility for me.”