In Fall semester 2021, I partook in the inaugural internship course offered by the Catholic University English Department. With the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Taryn Okuma, Associate Professor of Practice and Director of Internships in English, I was hired as an intern for the literary magazine Dappled Things. Dappled Things draws its nominal origin from the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem “Pied Beauty.” Both the magazine and the poem emphasize beauty and Catholicism, and how these two elements go hand in hand.

For my internship, I worked with Managing Editor Ann Thomas by helping to read submissions. I was assigned readings for the Jacques Maritain Non-Fiction Prize and the J.F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction and gave my own notes and ratings for the pieces to be read by the rest of the team. Ann also helped grow my analytical reading skills in the context of publishing by teaching me important hallmarks of both higher and lower quality writing, and by instructing me in the proper way to read submissions in an effective and fair manner. 

This time with Dappled Things was incredibly informative and exciting. To be on the internal side of writing and publishing was a new and valuable experience for me as a writer and as the Associate/Features Editor of Vermilion, the Catholic U Magazine of Literature and the Arts. Not only did this internship give me experience in my field of interest and valuable skills, it also provided me with the opportunity to learn about the Catholic arts community all across the country and start making connections with the people in this field. My eyes were opened to all the pathways in Catholic literature and arts that could be available to me after graduation. I thank Dr. Okuma whole heartedly for curating this internship program and highly recommend it to any future English student with a strong Catholic faith and an interest in publishing.

Caroline Morris (B.A. English '22)


Photo credit: Sergio Arreaga