Whitworth University English Department

Alumni Achievements

Jordan Michelson, '10

Major: English

Current Position: Michelson teaches English in northeastern Syria through the Mennonite Central Committee. His school is in an Orthodox community with one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world. His title of English-language facilitator involves him in many diverse experiences. In addition to teaching courses in conversation, critical thinking and debate, Michelson assists local English instructors, improves the language skills of local professionals, and helps write, edit and revise formal documents.

Why Whitworth? "I heard about professors who eat meals and play sports with students. They sounded like real human beings with a passion to share their knowledge with others. Also, the students invest in a community with one another, making Whitworth a beautiful place to learn and grow."

Whitworth Activities: Played brass in music ensembles, shed blood in the name of Frisbee, worked in the writing center, and served as a teaching assistant. Studying abroad in the British Isles was very meaningful, both for Michelson's studies in literature and for his development as a global citizen.

Quote: "Whitworth equipped me to facilitate courses, assist local instructors, and improve the language skills of local professionals. My education of mind prepared me for my job's professional qualifications, but what will really help me succeed in this field is my education of heart."

Influential Whitworth Experiences: "Serving as a resident assistant for three years provided me with a parallel education that I value just as much as I do my English degree. I was challenged to examine Jesus' example as an incarnational servant leader."

Career Goals: "My calling in life right now is to honor Christ and serve humanity. Teaching allows me to invest in the lives of the people around me. Jesus was a teacher, and he focused on the relationships of those around him. I guess you could say my long-term career goal is to be like Jesus."

Here's what some other recent Whitworth graduates are doing with their English degrees:

Morgan Feddes, '11, is completing a one-year internship at Christianity Today magazine.

Ryan Hackenbracht, '06, is pursuing a Ph.D. and teaching in the English department at Penn State, specializing in Renaissance literature.

Caitlin Wheeler, '11, is teaching English at Payap University, in Thailand.

Sam Keenan, '10, has a teaching assistantship in the public history program at Duquesne University, in Pennsylvania.

Anne O'Connor, '08, works for Logos Research Systems, Inc., which publishes multilingual Bible software.

Karla Rose, '08, is earning a master's degree in African American Studies at UCLA.

Danny Atherton, '09, teaches for the JET Program, in Japan.

Josh Colwell, '10, is in his first year at Lewis & Clark Law School, in Portland, Ore.

Sarah Glady, '11, is enrolled in the master's in literature program at Arizona State University.

Laura (Adams) Brown, '06, runs an online bookstore from her home.

Courtney Varney, '05, earned a master of library science degree from the University of Washington and is a young-adult librarian in Beaverton, Ore.