Ryan Teitman is a poet at Stanford University

After I graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in English, I worked for three years in and around Philadelphia as a newspaper reporter. I owe my first job in journalism to Professor Robin Becker's arts writing seminar. Using clips I wrote for her class, I got my first real writing job--a gig as an arts freelancer for the Centre Daily Times.

John Hendrickson is a Managing Editor

Shortly after graduating from Penn State last May, I was hired by The Denver Post as the Managing Editor of the paper's music site, Reverb. What was once a sporadically updated blog soon transformed into a fully interactive website with its own domain and branding, www.heyreverb.com.

Valerie Heruska works in student affairs

My name is Valerie Heruska and I currently work as a professional in student affairs. I graduated from Penn State with my BA in English in 2005. With a degree being as versatile as one from the English department, I felt that it truly opened doors for me to get into the field of student affairs.

Kristina McKenna is a secondary English teacher

I came to Penn State with a passion for reading and writing, so majoring in English was a logical choice. From Plato and Catullus to Steinbeck and Plath, my professors continued to feed this passion, offering me opportunities for growth in my writing and communication skills, as well as broadening the scope of my reading.

Kelly Murphy works for Penguin Publishing

I'm currently the Global Digital Assistant at the Penguin Group, the largest trade book publisher in the world. After graduation from PennState in May 2010 with a BA in English and a minor in French, I contemplated my career options, knowing I wanted to continue working with literature but not sure how to go about it.