By Sally O'Brien
The English Departments annual Chowder Fest returned to the Anderson House last Tuesday evening, offering a cozy refuge from the wind outside. Students, faculty, and alumni gathered over steaming bowls of soup to celebrate stories, share experiences, and reconnect with the community that shaped them.
Chowder Fest brings together past and present English and Creative Writing students to discuss where their degrees have taken them and what it truly means to be an English major at Clark and beyond.
As guests helped themselves to clam chowder, vegetarian soup, and vegan pumpkin bisque, the department chair Professor Lisa Kasmer opened the night with a warm welcome and introduced this year’s speakers. She also encouraged students to take advantage of opportunities such as internships through Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society, and highlighted Professor Mandy Gutmann-Gonzalez as the department’s internship coordinator.
From English to Law
The first speaker, Mahi Taban (she/her) who double-majored in English and Political Science, shared how her English education continues to shape her legal career. After completing an AmeriCorps year of service with Reading Partners, she earned her J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law. Today, she works in the Complex Litigation and Investigations Group at a global law firm in California.
Mahi credited her success to the foundational skills of her English degree, such as critical thinking, research, and communication. She noted how her English major taught her to think critically and communicate effectively, and how those skills are essential in the legal field.
She encouraged students to build relationships with their professors, by engaging in class and getting to know them outside of class, and how creating these relationships will allow professors to best help you. She reflected on the power of mentorship by professors and key classes that shaped her path, such as Professor Kasmer’s Queer Victorians and Professor Levin’s Fictions of Empire.
She also emphasized the importance of exploring career paths early, since there is such variety in what people do with an English degree. She recommended students apply to anything they think may be helpful for their future and get involved through English Department Writing Contests and on-campus jobs.
“Find Things That Fill Your Cup”
The next speaker, Christina Rose Walcott (she/they), known to many as Tina, reflected on learning, community, and growth. A Teach for America 2025 corps member and current educator at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence, Tina graduated from Clark with a double major in English and History in 2023 and earned her Master’s in History in 2024.
During her time at Clark, Tina wore many hats: peer mentor, orientation coordinator, club leader, and English Department student office assistant. But, they shared, it was their professors who made the greatest impact. Tina recalls struggling with her English major at first, and it was ultimately her relationships with the English professors that kept her in the department. They reflected on her life-changing experience with her advisor Professor Lucillia Valerio, who she said changed how she saw English and changed how she saw the world.
Their favorite class, the American Antiquarian Society seminar, combined their love for literature and history, while a directed study with Professor Justin Shaw on the history of the English House deepened her connection to the department.
When asked how she did so much during her time at Clark, her advice to current students is to find things that fill your cup, so that the work you are doing feels worth it. They recommend staying organized and prioritizing opportunities that mean the most to you, and to remember that it is okay to say no.
Now working as a teacher, Tina truly enjoys what she does. They found that their one true love is learning, and as a teacher she gets to learn something new every day.
Storytelling Beyond the Classroom
Rose Wine (they/she/he), a creative and community-centered professional based in Central Massachusetts, shared their journey from a first-generation college student to a storyteller across multiple platforms. As the Marketing & Development Coordinator at African Community Education (ACE), Rose also runs Rose Wine Photography and serves on leadership boards for ONE Worcester and Legendary Legacies.
Rose admits that they didn’t plan on being an English major. As a first-generation college student, they felt a lot of pressure to do well and not waste any moment, and many people believed that English was a risky degree to peruse when you don’t have a safety net. However, after their determination to improve their writing skills in high school, Rose found a love for the process of reading, writing, and investigating literature.
Rose worked multiple jobs in college, and continues to do so today. They truly enjoy every part of their career. They credit their English degree to their storytelling skills, which they use in every job they do, especially at ACE. They encouraged students to consider nonprofit work such as ACE and noted that an English major is an experience that extends beyond academia, when you learn how to tell stories that matter.
“Your Art Doesn’t Have to Make You Money to Matter”
The final speaker, Gloria Potts, is now the Institute Coordinator at the Alice Coonley Higgins Institute for Arts and Humanities and a part-time bookseller at Tidepool Bookshop, Gloria holds an MFA in Creative Writing from American University and has been published in The Hooghly Review, Whistling Shade, and more.
Although Gloria wasn’t an English major at Clark, she studied Political Science and Psychology and said her time at Clark made her a better person
Gloria shared that for a long time, she believed that things that came easily to her, like writing, were somehow “cheating.” She said it felt too natural, and she believed work was supposed to be hard. But then she accepted that sometimes it’s a sign that you’re doing what you’re meant to do.
She emphasized that your art and your writing don’t have to make you money to matter, that they are valuable just because they are your creations and stories. Wanting to make space for her creativity, Gloria sought a career that would allow her time in the day to write. She reminded students that writing applies to every career in various aspects, such as editing, teaching, or even listening.
Building Community Through English
As the evening came to an end, students lingered in the English house, continuing conversations with professors and alumni. The speakers’ impactful stories about how the English major helped them with their career and helped them to connect with others and craft and meaningful life, left students feeling inspired. Whether through teaching, law, nonprofit work, or creative writing, Clark’s English alumni prove that the power of words extends far beyond the classroom.
