Alyssa Czernek ’25 | Fargo, North Dakota
Majors: English Literature, Multimedia Journalism
Minor/Certificate: Communication Studies; Professional Writing
I have always been an insatiable reader. When I was younger, I would stay up late at night reading and hoping my parents wouldn’t be able to see my lamp light from the crack under my door. When we had reading time at school, I would get so lost in my books that the teacher had to call “Earth to Alyssa” several times before I heard.
I credit my mom with fostering this love for literature. When I got older, she would recommend books to me and it was like a mini book club where just the two of us could dissect plotlines and love triangles together.
Now, I am active in online book communities and have made many friends through a love for the same books. The summer before my junior year, I even got the chance to meet one of my favorite authors, V.E. Schwab, in Poland while I was on vacation. I was first introduced to her writing in 2019 when my mom and I had plans to go to BookCon, a convention for book lovers that takes place in New York. I knew she would be in Poland before I left, but I didn’t realize her tour dates lined up with when I was in the country myself! The night before, I was frantically trying to buy tickets while my aunt translated the Polish website for me.
However, travel isn’t required to enjoy a good book. Nothing brings me more joy than curling up on the couch with my pets and spending the whole day getting lost in a different world.
In my sophomore year of high school, I was in an honors English class when my teacher pulled me and a friend aside to tell us about a special opportunity available to us. She said Concordia was offering high school students a chance to attend their book club courses for free so they could get a feel for what a college class might be like.
I was able to attend several of the book club courses, which last from three to four weeks depending on the number of books you’re reading. I remember reading “My Sister the Serial Killer,” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” and “Boy Erased.”
Since coming to Concordia, I’ve taken six more of the courses and hope to squeeze a couple more in before I graduate. Each book club is a one-credit course and, aside from the reading, there are six writing prompts to answer. The workload is pretty light and there’s always a diverse group of students taking them. The book clubs open my eyes to new perspectives every time.
It was definitely a bit intimidating to be in a class with students who seemed so much older and more mature than me, but if there’s one thing I’ve always been good at, it’s discussing books.
Two years later, I was touring Concordia’s campus. As the tour concluded, I had the opportunity to talk to a faculty member from the department I wanted to major in (for me, this was English). Dr. Amy Watkin was the professor I spoke with, and one of the first things she said to me was that she remembered me from the book clubs I took with her.
That is what solidified my decision to come to Concordia. I was shocked and touched that Dr. Watkin remembered me after so long, especially considering I now know how many new faces she sees each semester. I knew Concordia would be a place where I could build strong relationships and never feel like I was in it alone.
I knew Concordia would be a place where I could build strong relationships and never feel like I was in it alone.
Dr. Watkin later agreed to become my advisor, which further shows how strong the bonds formed at Concordia can be. Now we chat about what books we are reading and our summer plans. Dr. Watkin has become more than just an advisor to me; she has become a close confidant.
Another factor that drew me to Concordia was the smaller campus and class sizes. While I might not like to admit it to myself, I’m an introvert and have a difficult time making friends. Because of this, I chose Concordia. It had a small enough campus where I knew I wouldn’t have trouble putting myself out there and meeting new people, but I also wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the number of new people.
I’ve always known I was going to study English when I attended college, no matter where I was going. However, it wasn’t until I started looking deeper into Concordia’s curriculum that I realized there were concentrations I could choose.
The second I realized I could spend four years reading books and getting to discuss all my thoughts with peers, I declared myself an English literature major.
My favorite English course that I’ve taken at Concordia is English at Work in the World. It’s a one-credit class with an optional PEAK that explores what type of jobs English majors could be hired for. We toured different companies, including a nonprofit and Microsoft, and had several guest speakers. I was inspired by how many different career paths are open to English majors. During fall break, there was also an optional field trip to Minneapolis where we toured two publishing houses, Milkweed Press and 1517 Media. That was an experience I’d never get to have without taking this course.
I was inspired by how many different career paths are open to English majors.
Toward the end of my freshman year of college, I realized I had a lot of elective credits I would need to fill because I had AP and dual credit courses that transferred with me from high school. I’m a firm believer that you should get as much as possible from college considering how expensive it can be (which is also why I added a communication studies minor and professional writing certificate the next year).
With this in mind, I decided to sit down with my advisor and discuss what I might want to add on as a second major. I knew I wanted classes where I could focus on building my writing skills. Through this conversation, I remembered a journalism class I had taken in high school and enjoyed.
I filled out the necessary paperwork and, at the start of my sophomore year of college, I was a double major with multimedia journalism added on.
I would recommend Concordia’s multimedia journalism program to anyone who wants to foster their curiosity. Bad things happen when people stop asking questions and journalists help with keeping the right people accountable.
Without this major, I would never have pushed myself out of my comfort zone and met new people. While writing articles, I’ve gotten to know more of my community members such as small business owners, library directors, and engaged citizens just to name a few.
One of my favorite things about journalism is the chance to learn more about fields I’m not as educated in and find out what draws people to them. Everyone has a story to tell.
My favorite journalism course that I’ve taken is Feature Writing. This course expands on what is taught in News Writing but focuses more on writing stories with people at the center. I did a big project on proposed North Dakota legislation to ban books in public libraries and it is one of the pieces I’m most proud of. It was a topic I was passionate about and talking to community members about something that would directly affect them was incredibly interesting.
Journalism has also helped my love for the Fargo-Moorhead area grow. I’ve lived here my whole life and it’s easy to get into the mindset that nothing new is happening. However, there is always something interesting going on and I’ve had to explore that more through writing articles for my classes. Whether it’s controversial legislation or a new independently owned bookstore opening, there is always something exciting happening that needs reporting.
As a Cobber, I value the relationships I’ve made the most. There are several professors I know I can turn to for advice when I’m having problems and they care about me as a person, not just a student. I have friends who have graduated and we still keep in touch, meeting up every once in a while to catch up on life.
And my roommate, Maggie Rappa, who I will have lived with for three years by the time I graduate, is also my best friend from Concordia. We met freshman year through our orientation club and since then we’ve taken trips to the lake together, attended the Eras Tour, and had numerous movie marathons. Without the friends and faculty members I have grown close to, I know my college experience would have been significantly different.
Cobberhood follows you after graduation, too. I’ve noticed this through my internship with the Communications and Marketing Office at Concordia. I do a lot of writing for the college news and blog. Through this experience, I have continued to use my interviewing skills and have spoken with Cobbers from New York all the way to India!
I’ve also gotten to know a few of my professors better through interviewing them for faculty features — some of whom have been with the college for decades. The enthusiasm I’m met with while interviewing Concordia alumni has made me realize that the sense of community I feel while on campus won’t disappear when I graduate in May.
The sense of community I feel while on campus won’t disappear when I graduate in May.
One of my biggest takeaways from this internship has been how to write on topics I know nothing about. For all of my journalism classes, I usually choose to write on topics I find interesting and am familiar with. However, with this internship, most of the stories I write are assigned to me.
This means I’m frequently writing on subjects that are new to me. This has helped push my research skills and I’ve learned to be OK with asking the people I interview to explain the basics to me.
When I was applying for this internship, I was asked to provide writing samples. I included three from the multimedia journalism classes I’ve taken with Erin Hemme Froslie, the instructor who has taught each of my writing courses for the major. She helped me go through and select which articles best showcased my skills and helped me edit them.
I also help with posting on social media, designing emails, and writing copy for different marketing materials around campus. I think one of the best things about this internship is that your project tasks are tailored to your interests. There are other interns I work with who prefer to assist with photography and videography or are better at generating ideas for social media. Each of us has different skills that we are developing.
Schedule a campus tour and, while visiting, make sure to take the social aspect of college into account as well as the academic. Yes, academic opportunities are important while pursuing a degree, but you don’t want to be miserable while obtaining that degree.
It’s OK for your plans to change. Not everything needs to be planned out in advance. I’m definitely a person who likes to keep a planner filled with homework assignments that aren’t due for weeks, making sure I never fall behind. I like having the reassurance of long goals and plans perfectly spelled out, each step clear.
However, that has not been my college experience. Each year, I’ve added a major, a minor, or a certificate because I have tried to be more open to change. If I had stuck to the rigid plan I entered college with, I would not have had these opportunities to explore different fields and grow as a person.
Published October 2024