Molly Teller is a senior undergraduate student using their English major to augment their skill set as a production assistant for WOSU Public Media.  

Teller started their college career undecided, leaning towards a major in the STEM field. “As I was taking my early GEs, I realized that I enjoyed my literature and writing courses a lot more! I ended up taking some more English department courses and made the decision to switch into the major during my second year.” Teller’s coursework in Writing, Rhetoric and Literacy (WRL) felt like the perfect fit. 

Teller found their production assistant position on the WOSU site while conducting a massive search for internship work to continue expanding their WRL skill set. “They keep a posting of jobs that they’re hiring for on the WOSU site, and I found the production position that I ended up in there!” Teller helped to produce episodes of “All Sides with Ann Fisher”. They explain the intricacies of the job: “I line up guests for shows, assist in writing scripts, send out reminders to our guests and pitch and create my own episodes.” 

As an English major Teller has been able to utilize skills learned in their coursework within their internship position. “A big thing with WOSU is being able to write concisely and in an accessible way…In addition to writing skills, my English major has familiarized me with researching my own projects, which has helped me to produce my own episodes,” Teller explains.  

The internship has helped them reaffirm the utility of their major in different fields. “Writing is something that’s needed just about anywhere you look. Even though I haven’t been studying journalism, my major work has prepared me to learn quickly and to rely upon the skills that I’ve developed.” While the work at WOSU is intense, it has also helped Teller to chart their growth and explore new areas of improvement. They have currently moved on to a position with the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center as a museum writing intern.  

Teller’s desire to learn across subjects extends beyond their employment. In addition to their professional writing minor, they are minoring in Russian. The Russian course they took during a summer in high school really sparked a passion. They elaborate, “I just love learning languages and the Russian alphabet is so cool!”  In their free time, they rock climb and create three-dimensional art using textiles and ceramics.  

Balancing so many interests is demanding. Teller greatly recommends calendars to help organize your time. They also emphasize familiarizing yourself with your needs. They remark, “I love hanging out with other people and trying new things, but I've had to get in tune with when I need to chill out. Sometimes it can be a bummer to say no to plans, but I have to prioritize my rest and well-being with school and extracurriculars.” 

By Jayasree Sunkireddy