Neil Rao

Business Analyst, McKinsey & Company

Grad Year: 2007

 

Why I chose English Language and Literature

While this reasoning might be unsettling, I chose to pursue a B.A. in English Language and Literature because, well, I was already over halfway there. Enrolling in electives during my freshman and sophomore years, the English department offered small-sized classes taught by professors – no small feat at Michigan – over an array of interesting areas. For instance, here’s a lasting memory from English 308 – History of the English Language: say Mary, merry, and marry in quick succession, or try it with caught and cot; depending on where you’re from, each set of distinct words produces the same sound. If nothing else, that’s a terrific gag for a dinner party.  English was not, however, the path I initially thought I would select. Entering Michigan as a pre-medical student, I spent much of my first two years proceeding towards a Biology degree. While I fared well in those classes and earned a high MCAT score, the disparity in my level of interest between the Biology curriculum and my English courses made my choice going forward clear to me. After not enrolling in another Biology course after my sophomore year, I finished two classes away from completing that concentration and do not regret leaving it that way.

Another of the deciding factors drawing me toward an English degree was the opportunity to produce an undergraduate Honors thesis, one of the components of the English Honors program. Combining my main academic interests, I spent my junior year exploring the subject of news media coverage of emerging infectious disease outbreaks. With the invaluable guidance of Professor Anne Curzan and the aid of the endless resources for research that the University has to offer, I completed a thesis entitled, “SARS: How the News Media Cause and Cure an Epidemic of Fear,” which remains the single piece of work I am most proud of.  Encounters outside of the classroom also added to my Michigan experience. Working with English Professor William (Buzz) Alexander, I joined other English concentrators in his English 310 course and his Prisoner Creative Arts Program; for the two years that followed, I spent my Sunday mornings tutoring and leading theatre workshops for incarcerated youths at a nearby state prison. My background in English also made me an attractive commodity elsewhere on campus. In my sophomore year, I was selected to join the editorial staff of the Michigan Journal of Political Science; I ended up as Editor-in-Chief during my senior year.  Finally, the benefits from English courses are worth more than simply completing the major. And this is a case when actions can speak louder than words. Even though I graduated with a B.A. in December 2007, I enrolled in a graduate English course the next semester since the returns from practicing incisive reading and cogent argumentation in both speech and writing are of immense value. Practice, after all, prepares you to employ these skills regularly upon entering ‘the real world’.

My Academic and Career Paths

Disentangling my academic journey at Michigan requires some work. Describing it simply, I completed a Masters in Public Health (MPH) in Health Management and Policy at Michigan during my junior and senior years, concurrent with completing my undergraduate degree. Excellent letters of recommendation and advising – thanks to my close interactions with English professors – as well as the flexibility of the English department made this possible. Moreover, everything I gained from my English degree proved crucial to my success in graduate school: from crafting concise policy briefs to giving lengthy presentations to writing a master’s thesis, having advanced my aptitude for writing and critical thinking as an English undergraduate allowed me to focus more on high-order issues rather than general skill-building.  As for what comes next, I will be in Washington D.C. for the summer of 2008 on a Summer Research Fellowship with the Georgetown University Law Center. Afterward, I’ll be moving to Seattle, WA, to join McKinsey & Company, a leading management consulting firm, as a Business Analyst. Afterward, I see myself returning to another graduate program – perhaps for a PhD in English – but I know, regardless of my choice, that the breadth of experiences that my English degree has qualified and prepared me for is unmatched.  In short, one way to conceptualize a college experience is the act of opening and closing doors. In my view, while an English degree does not cement anyone securely on one path – opening one door and locking it behind you – it offers something far more valuable: an opportunity to exit college with numerous doors wide open, awaiting your arrival. While that may sound cheesy or cliché, I believe my experience and those of my fellow alumni bear out this fact.

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