My journey into the field of professional writing was undecided, up in the air, for a good portion of my freshmen year. When I first applied to ASU, I was undecided on a major but was leaning toward biology, especially with the ecology, evolution, and environmental studies concentration. However, toward the end of my first semester of freshman year as a biology major, I quickly realized that biology was not for me. I have always loved science, but math and chemistry were a sore spot for me in high school and proved to be even more challenging in college. I set up a meeting with the Career Development Center to get some help and advice on what to do now that I was unnerved and once again undecided. I found myself stressing out over what new major I could possibly switch to while being passionate about my studies, though deep down I always knew English was for me.

 

          One class that really sparked my interest in English, even when I was still a biology major at the time, was my RC 1000 course. My professor, Katy Abrams, was overzealous about our class and course project, which consisted of partnering with the Hospitality House. We were separated into groups and would volunteer at the Hospitality House to help wherever we were needed. Along with this community service project we had to do various papers, interviews, posters, write transcripts, and plenty more fun and interactive assignments. I found myself growing as a writer and further developing my writing skills with Professor Abrams’ help and guidance. She was my first look into the English department at ASU and truly enhanced my growing interest in adopting English as my major. It was nerve-wracking deciding on a new major as I kept questioning and doubting myself if I was making the right choice. Although I was nervous, I had amazing English professors that provided me with the support and encouragement I needed to help myself adjust after having made a drastic decision to switch my major.

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          Throughout my sparked interest and newfound confidence to explore English as a career, I managed to learn new methodologies, practices, and philosophies that I had adopted and continue to carry with me. The most important thing to me as a writer is learning how to harness plain language. Nothing feels more deterring than being unable to understand an assignment or document due to an excessive amount of jargon. I have experienced my own fair share of scholarly articles or jargon-riddled documents that make it difficult to understand and comprehend the assignment. One of my passions within the professional writing field is ensuring that my writing is clear and concise for readers