Meet Alum Lillis Hendrickson ’13

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Major/Minor: English and Communications

Current Employment: Freelance Content Writer in London, England

What role has the English major played in your career path?

Before attending Wake Forest, I had never considered English as a viable major, but after my first English course (Introduction to British Literature with Professor Way), I was hooked. You can read and write all day and they give you a degree?! Sign me up. As a senior, I completed a thesis under the supervision of Professor Jenkins, a unique endeavor that offered me a chance to conduct independent research, a skill crucial to my freelance work today.

After graduating in 2013, I joined Teach for America as a corps member in Atlanta, Georgia, where I taught sixth-grade English Language Arts. I then moved into marketing, holding various writing and communications positions in Houston, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Today, I am a freelance content writer living in London with my husband. In my free time, I write fiction and run a women’s critique group for other aspiring authors. Throughout each of these career (and country) moves, one thread has remained: writing and communication.

Many people questioned my major choice, citing that it wasn’t marketable or useful. I have found the opposite to be true. Completing an English major helped me to develop a unique blend of analysis and creativity coupled with clear, concise and coherent writing, a skill surprisingly absent in the wider professional arena. An English major does not limit your career options, but rather widens them, and I’m grateful every day that I followed my passion.