Heather is a class of 2010 graduate who studied creative writing during her time at DePaul. She worked at the UCWbL during her senior year as a peer-writing tutor. Since then, she has become a traveling musician for the past ten years and has recently decided to return to DePaul to work on an M.ed in English Secondary Education. Heather was also one of the founding members of writer’s guild. She still occasionally attends meetings, so be on the lookout for her if you have any questions beyond this interview!
Be sure to also check out Heather’s website to listen to her fantastic music.
Current Career
Where are you now? Where do you work?
“In the time since the past ten years, my primary job has been as a touring musician. I got out of here with my really employable creative writing degree, and I thought about going on to do an MFA. But I thought I would take a year and do music to see what happened, and it turned into ten years!”
Wow, that’s amazing, what do you play??
“I play folksy, singer songwriter type of music. If people ask for my genre, I say feelings [laughs], because maybe it is actually more clear. Depending on the instruments involved, it is always lyrics and feelings heavy. I’m a lyrics person for sure! I think my creative writing degree actually did help me a lot. I write every day.”
My next question was whether you enjoy your job, but it certainly sounds like you do!
“I absolutely enjoy my job, though I am currently here to get certified to teach high school. Since September, I’ve been off the road to study here, and I’ve been substituting at CPS in the meanwhile. So, I’m getting a lot of teaching experience, and I’m learning a lot about teaching. It’s something to allow me a different lifestyle. I would do music forever if it was just about the music, but this is a path to a more stationary job that also lets me feel fulfilled. I’ve done the odd corporate thing here and there, but it’s just not for me!”
UCWbL Retrospective
So, how has your writing process changed since you joined the UCWbL and beyond?
“I think it made me think critically about what you’re writing toward and why you’re writing, as opposed to just fixing mistakes. It shifted my focus from fixing mistakes to what I’m trying to accomplish. It was really useful for me as a writer when I got to look at other people’s work and when I look at my own work. It’s a different lens for the same thing, but it’s a much healthier focus, and I see improvement overtime.”
What was your best memory at the UCWbL?
“I remember working with a few English language learners and having a fun time laughing about the idiosyncrasies of the English language and its idioms. It’s something that I wouldn’t have had in a non-tutoring context. In that context, it made it more fun, and I learned something about it: the silly little nuances of how we speak.”
What kind of advice would you give to current UCWblers? This can be about grad school, post-grad, or even just about life in general!
“First of all – good job! You are going to be able to use this on your resume in a thousand different ways. I’ve applied to teaching positions, more office-y positions, and it’s a really, really flexible thing to have.”
And even with just that one year of experience, it counted a lot, right?
“Yeah! Yeah, absolutely! You don’t have to had done it forever. Just the fact that you worked at a university writing center – that says something about your skill as a writer and a communicator. As someone who is communicating with people day to day, you learn the skills on the job, but also can translate those when you’re talking to your employers. It made me a lot more confident, so use that to your fullest.”
“As a skilled writer, you will know how to amp up your resumes I’m sure. Aside from that, for me, coming back to grad school has been… I had a professor who said, ‘wait until you miss it. You should want it. You should be stoked to come back.’ If you’re contemplating a next step, there is nothing wrong in taking a step back. My one step back turned into ten years on the road, which was pretty wild. By some metrics, this is not a clear-cut success path, but for me it was. I did what I came here to do. I’ve been to all fifty states and have played in different countries. It’s been wild.”
“Whatever it is you’re afraid of doing, whether in an academic context or far outside of that, you know, go get messy!”
Heather S. is one of many wonderful UCWbL alumni. If you know any other alumni interested in an interview, please do not hesitate to contact Robert R. on slack.