by Madison Gilreath
Josie Hunter graduated as an English major with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development in 2022. During her time at Stevenson, Josie found success and joy in taking part in The Greenspring Review and planning events like the first VERSES poetry competition, still held at SU today.
It’s no surprise that as an English major, literature and creative writing classes were Josie’s favorite. She found discussions and coursework in English courses at Stevenson to be “insightful and fun” due to the small class sizes, which included many students she had other classes with as well. She stated that she often “left with new ideas and perspectives, new book recommendations, and definitely new material to write.” She reminisces about her time at Stevenson now, noting she felt supported by staff and her classmates, some of whom she has stayed in contact with to this day. “That type of community and care is what I miss about Stevenson and that’s a major reason why I am pursuing a creative writing MFA,” Josie said, when asked about the experiences she remembers fondly from her time studying at SU.
Today, Josie has taken her knowledge and experience from SU to American University, where she is a copywriter. Josie has since found her minor in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development to have importance beyond just the classes she took. She feels strongly that both her major and minor play an important part in her role today, stating that she is “able to be creative and also use my business side” while completing tasks like writing and editing event invitations, journalistic stories, and captions for social media. Josie felt prepared for professional work after her experiences with her minor, stating that it prepared her for professional work and collaboration, especially “after now seeing what collaboration looks like when it’s not for a grade.” The cross-disciplinary aspect of her education at Stevenson helped prepare her for her career and further education. Josie says now that she felt confident SU’s English faculty encouraged her to explore different interests to discover what suited her best.
Along with her flourishing career as a copywriter, Josie has been busy post-graduation with her work as a freelance editor as well. She feels as though she works best with a well-organized system when communicating and collaborating with clients, along with knowing a client’s needs upfront. When asked about building freelance workflow and her preparation for that aspect of her tasks, Josie recalled that “The creative writing classes really prepared me to read someone’s passionate work and think thoughtfully and holistically about it so that I can provide valuable feedback that will help them reveal their story’s best version.”
Josie’s involvement in the ever-growing English community at Stevenson has followed her into her career and life today. She has been able to form lifelong bonds and friendships with students and staff, even stating that “two former classmates have recently read and provided feedback on my graduate school creative sample.” She left Stevenson feeling prepared and excited for her future and career in all aspects, whether that is creative writing, copywriting, or editing. Josie made her mark on the English department at Stevenson as a student, writer, and editor in countless ways; and feels now as though she has every tool needed to continue her success with a career in the English field.