Career Catchup - Live Event Coverage Assignment

Career Catchup:

Literature Grads Host a Career Panel at Patrick Henry College

Nathan Pipkin

Revised May 3, 2024

    On the evening of Friday, March 22, students, alumni, and faculty of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, gathered for an evening of discussion surrounding the school’s literature major. The event was organized by Rachel Hankinson, who graduated from PHC in 2021. Hankinson promoted the event to current literature students as an opportunity to ask alumni and faculty questions about securing employment after college.

    Hankinson ended her senior year with a revitalization of Westmarch, the school’s then-defunct literary journal. The journal has now been running continuously for three years, and her classmates noted their appreciation that Hankinson continues to contribute to the life of the major by arranging events like this.

    The roster of panelists also included Cory Grewell, who holds a doctorate in literature, as well as alumni Lillie Schmidt, Lauren Crane, Grace Bennett, and Leah Bolzman. Schmidt and Bolzman graduated from PHC over a decade ago, while Crane and Bennett finished their senior years in 2023 and 2021 respectively.

    Bennett said her unconventional internships have included a stint as a dramaturge for Jupiter Theater Company, a local troupe that brings renaissance theater productions to 21st century Northern Virginia. She also said a podcast from that morning was encouraging: “God can’t steer a parked car,” she said. “If you start moving, the Lord will direct you.”

    Attendees of the panel event ranged from freshmen to seniors, who encouraged the current students with stories of internships and job acquisitions. Bolzman said her summer with the Library of Congress sent her toward the path she’s on now: head of circulation at a major branch of Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Library.

    Grewell facilitated the discussion, during which the graduates also discussed the role that the literature major’s assignments and emphases played in their preparation. “All PHC graduates write well,” Grewell said. “Literature grads writing beautifully is the hope.”

Watch a brief excerpt of the event below: