By Maddie Dulle—
On Thursday, November 17, the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Writing hosted a panel discussion that gave those in attendance the chance to learn more about opportunities in publishing and library science. The event, held over Zoom, featured three Miami alumni as guest speakers: Vanessa Thompson ‘16, Hannah Kuhn ‘20, and Brea McQueen ‘15. Each shared her personal experience of getting into her respective careers and answered audience questions.
All three speakers also dedicated much of their time to giving advice about the paths they chose. Hannah Kuhn and Brea McQueen, both of whom are in the field of library science, acknowledged how many different majors and backgrounds librarians had that they’ve worked with. This encouraged the audience since it’s clear that one doesn’t need an English degree to pursue this passion. Brea specifically advised anyone who is considering the career to volunteer at his or her local library, as there is a great deal that goes into being a librarian that the public isn’t always aware of. Vanessa Thompson focused on the ins and outs of self-publishing and the most crucial aspects to remember as authors. As she highlighted throughout her discussion, there are pros and cons to each publishing option that are important to consider when making the decision.
To start off the night, Katherine Kickel introduced Hannah Kuhn and Brea McQueen. Hannah Kuhn, who
graduated from Miami with degrees in English and Creative Writing, is currently working as a public
service assistant at the Fairfield Lane Library. She explained how her original goal was to end up in a
career involving publishing or technical writing, but she eventually switched her focus to Archival
Studies, which is the reason she is working towards her MLIS at Kent State University. A portion of her
interview was dedicated to detailing the process of applying to graduate school, something many of the
audience members had questions about.
Brea McQueen also attended Kent State University and earned her Master of Library and Information
Science (MLIS) degree in 2017. Now, she is working at Miami University Regionals’ very own Rentschler Library, only one of the various successful library jobs she’s held. Similar to Hannah Kuhn, she didn’t start at Miami with the intention of ending up in library science. Instead, she spent three years as an education major before finally making the switch and double majoring in English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies. She explained how she was lucky to get a library job as a student and that’s what influenced her to pursue that path.
The last guest speaker, introduced by Eric Melbye, was Vanessa Thompson, who graduated from Miami
with degrees in psychology and biomedical science. She first talked to the audience about her recently
released book, called Family Interview, that includes important questions to ask a family member to better understand them. As she explained, the book was inspired by questions from her counselor that asked about her difficult relationship with her mother. After writing this, she reached out to Eric Melbye to learn more about her publishing options. In the end, she decided against the tradition publishing route and chose self-publishing.
While Hannah, Brea, and Vanessa may have had similar starting points in their journeys, they all brought new insights for the audience to hear. Overall, each speaker gave great advice and was very willing to share any information the audience wanted.