Sunny Jiang is a fourth-year English major with varied involvement at Ohio State and beyond:. she is a peer career coach within ASC’s Center for Career and Professional Success, a member of ASC’s Dean’s Advisory Board, an intern at the Division of Infrastructure Management,  and she runs her own jewelry business. We asked Jiang to fill us in on her many involvements and accomplishments, as well as her time in the English department. 

Responses have been lightly edited for style and length. 

Why did you decide to major in English? 

I actually started as a flute performance major in the School of Music, and while I met a lot of amazing people there, I ended up deciding that the path wasn't the right fit for me by the end of my freshman year. I have always loved to read and write, and English was my favorite subject all throughout high school, so it just seemed natural to me to switch to the English major. The great thing about the English program at Ohio State is that it's really flexible. I am still able to graduate on time even though I made the switch, and unlike a lot of other majors, the English major prepares you for a lot of different career fields. I don't feel like I'm confined to pursue only one specific job, which is nice for someone who's as indecisive as me. 

What is your current internship position? And what are some previous positions you've held? 

I'm currently a student intern at the City of Columbus in the Division of Infrastructure Management  Before that, I had held some positions within the OSU School of Music. I was a part of the leadership team for the Central Ohio Flute Association and their annual flute festival during my freshman year, and I worked as a summer camp counselor/ensemble coach at the OSU Flute Workshop.  

Since I started my internship last summer, I've worked on drafting proposals for the American Public Works Association (APWA) North American Snow and Ice Conference, and. I've collaborated with government officials from infrastructure departments in other cities, such as Weston, Massachusetts, on these projects. I've also helped to research and draft a new vegetation management manual for my department. Besides these two major projects, I've also spent some time editing some of my coworkers' drafts and helped around the office wherever I can. 

From 2023-2025, I also served on the College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean's Student Advisory Board, trying to represent student voices from my experiences in both the music and English departments. Besides my job at the City of Columbus, I currently also work as a peer career coach in the ASC Career Success Center, and I run a small jewelry business, MooncakeBunny.co, where I sell at markets around the Columbus area and occasionally on campus during weekends. 

Has your major helped you in all those pursuits? 

I've developed strong critical thinking skills and writing skills that have been extremely valuable in my internship, where I write and edit documents all the time. Beyond any technical skills, however, I would say that what has helped the most has actually been the opportunity to slowly build up my confidence to express my ideas and opinions in class. I'm a naturally shy person, and before coming to college, I was someone who rarely raised my hand or spoke up during class. Through my coursework at Ohio State, I've been able to slowly overcome this fear. As a board member on the Dean's Advisory Board, I represented the broader undergraduate student body, so, the ability to speak up and advocate for the issues faced by undergraduate students was invaluable. I hope that my contributions and voice were able to make a meaningful impact. 

What have you learned from your experiences outside the classroom? 

At my internship, I work with many people who are much more experienced than me. Many of them have worked for the City of Columbus for over 20, or possibly even 30, years. While I felt very intimidated at first because of my lack of experience, I slowly found that I was actually very lucky because I have so many mentors to turn to. I have found that it's not bad at all to ask a LOT of questions, especially since I am very new to this type of work. It's better to ask a possibly stupid question and get it right than to make assumptions and do something completely wrong. I have been very fortunate to work with such supportive coworkers who have tried so hard to welcome me in. 

Why do you think internships and extracurricular opportunities (like your business) are important for undergraduates? 

Although I believe the skills undergraduate students learn in the classroom are incredibly valuable, I also think that experiences like starting your own small business or working at an internship teach lessons that you can’t always learn in a traditional classroom setting. For example, running my own small jewelry shop has been both a challenging and rewarding process because it required me to build something from the ground up. I’ve had to learn how to manage the finances of a business on my own, to slowly build a social media presence, to manage a small team on market days, and to adapt quickly to unexpected situations. There was one day where it just started pouring rain while we were selling at an outdoor market on High Sstreet;. Iin situations like that, you have to learn how to make quick decisions and adapt. That kind of thing is hard to replicate in a classroom. 

Is there anything you think is important for English students to know about finding internships or opportunities? 

I'm not certain if this is good advice or not, but personally, I tried not to limit myself when I was applying to internships. I knew early on that I was interested in government work, so I primarily focused on those types of roles, but I also applied to positions outside what people might typically expect for an English major—including positions in STEM fields, which was part of how I ultimately landed the internship I’m in now. Besides this, I would definitely recommend that students take advantage of all the resources you have available to you at Ohio State. I might be a little biased because I work here, but the ASC Career Success Center is a fantastic resource for resume reviews and the internship search process overall. I also read through a lot of student newsletters because they will sometimes post job openings in them (even though I understand that it's tedious to read through them all), and I found the English job board to be helpful in finding relevant positions.  

Overall, I think that the internship search has been pretty brutal in these past few years, so I would just try not to take rejections too personally and to not lose hope. I applied to almost 50 positions before I landed the one I’m in now. Just try to take it one step at a time, apply to a couple of jobs every week, and don't be too hard on yourself. If I can do it, you can too! 

Sunny Jiang will receive her BA in English at Ohio State’s 2026 spring commencement — congratulations to Sunny and to all our graduates!