Writing Her Own Journey: Meet English Major Madison Betts
Like many students, Madison Betts was drawn to Drexel because of the University’s renowned co-op program. However, she was also intrigued by the 10-week terms, which allows for greater flexibility than the traditional 16-week semester.
“[The terms] can be daunting for some students because they move very fast, but I thought it was exciting that you could be exposed to so many classes and professors and have the opportunity to explore more,” she says. It was this format that allowed Betts—who entered Drexel as an environmental science student—to discover her true passion of writing. As part of the First-Year Writing Program, Betts took English 103 with Associate Teaching Professor of English Jan Armon, PhD , and it changed her outlook on the subject. “It was the first time I had an English class that I really enjoyed. It wasn’t about grades—it was about trying to get as much as you can from a piece of writing,” she explains.
From there, Betts began to take creative writing courses for her electives, and eventually she switched to major in English with a concentration in writing. Now her sight is set on working in publishing and one day being a published author of a series of fantasy books.
Influenced by science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, Betts is drawn to writing and literature because of the escapism it allows. She loves the worldbuilding that happens in these imaginative works. She also likes the freedom that the stories allow for—the ways they open up to various interpretations and resonate with people’s experiences.
“I feel like you can read a story three times and get a completely different take each time. Every author has so much to share with their audience, and every reader is going to get something different from their story, which I think is so beautiful,” she says.
“I would love to contribute to that in some way. The authors I have read have had such a major impact on my life and how I view the world. If I could have an impact with one reader, that’d be so fulfilling for me.”
Betts is currently in her fourth year of college on the five-year, three co-op plan. She completed her first co-op while still being an environmental science student, but her second co-op gave her a peek into one possible career path for English majors as she worked as a research and publishing associate for Substantive Solutions, Inc., a software and education company.
Students with humanities backgrounds are usually well prepared to enter the workforce and take up a variety of tasks thanks to their strong communication and critical thinking skills. Betts found this to be the case as she took on a range of duties in this role.
“I think what’s advantageous about being an English major is that you can cover a whole host of different things,” says Betts. “I helped with their website, looked over their blogs and did some editing and outreach as well. It was a diverse workload and I got […]
