Chris Doyle graduated from Catholic University in 2019 with a double major in English and Drama. While at Catholic U, he was featured in numerous campus theatre productions like Our Town and The Love of the Nightingale, and he served as a resident assistant for two years in Flather Hall and his senior year in Opus Hall. Since graduating, Chris received his Masters from George Washington University in Higher Education Administration and has become a JD Candidate at Georgetown Law Center pursuing specialties in labor, education, and human rights law. He works on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus.

What is your current job/title?

 I am the MA Program Administrator in Georgetown University’s English Department. I wear many hats, but I oversee the yearly application cycle, thesis defense, and student employment in the department. I also organize events on campus for our department and the Global Irish Studies Initiative, market our MA program to undergraduates around the country, and maintain the department’s public social media profiles and website.

 Why did you choose to study English at Catholic U.?

 In all honesty? I wanted to pursue a Drama degree but didn't feel comfortable putting all my eggs in one basket. I started exploring Chemistry and Latin, but taking Dr. Murton’s survey course settled things. When the time to declare came around, I had decided on English because literary analysis felt like a fun puzzle, and I figured an English degree would help me improve my own writing skills both in fiction and analysis. On top of that, being required to read more and more works sounded like the most enjoyable way to work toward a degree. I relished the opportunity to spend my senior year with Dr. Baker studying Irish literature, too.

 What was your path from graduation to your current job like? What advice can you give senior majors and recent grads about life after graduation?

 I prioritized the pursuit of my Master’s at first which involved working as an IT Analyst at a small legal firm during the day while taking classes online and in person in the evenings. My communication skills and writing ability were essential in my day-to-day. Having written and long-form research papers as part of the senior seminar, planning out, writing, and defending my Master’s thesis was almost second nature. After I received my second degree from GWU, I began shopping around for higher education administrative positions in the area, and Georgetown’s English Department offered me a position as their Office Coordinator. After two years, I applied for and was offered a promotion to my current position. Georgetown similarly values liberal arts education and the Jesuit value of cura personalis—they were a natural fit for me.

My advice to those about to enter the workforce with an English degree is simple: use the communication and writing skills you’ve honed to stand out. Even if you don’t apply for a writing position, a variety of firms will value your critical thinking, work ethic, and ability to string a sentence together. A strong cover letter arguing how these things can apply to the position you’re applying to really does stand out. If you’re drawn to a graduate degree, I can speak from experience that English majors are highly valued in many different kinds of programs—especially law. Reading and writing well are not skills so easily taught on the job, but they do help you stand out in the applicant pool. Find a niche you’re interested in and pursue it.

 How has your English background served you professionally?

Some of the feedback I’ve received from our department chair, Dr. Daniel Shore, and from the admissions team both at GWU and Georgetown Law referenced how my cover letters and letters of intent stood out in their clarity. In my current position, I do a lot of communicating via email, and fostering and maintaining relationships on and off campus are necessities. Not only can I keep up with our faculty when they discuss their reading lists for the classes they’re teaching, I communicate reliably and faithfully with my colleagues and the university community at large.

What do you like the most about your job?

 Ever since I was a Resident Assistant at CUA, I found a lot of purpose in the act of service to my fellow students. That drove me to pursue my own Master’s, and I work very closely with our MA students every day. I also organize campus visits and personal tours for applicants to our graduate program, so I get to meet students who are passionate about what I am passionate about. Working with students and improving people’s education experience is its own reward. The tuition benefits I use to attend Georgetown’s Evening JD program are a bonus!

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

This depends on what point we’re at in the semester, but I already mentioned a lot of my position’s responsibilities come down to communication. I maintain our department website, our social media pages, and our graduate program’s general email account, so I write a lot of personal correspondence (i.e. email) and public-facing content. I also oversee our student employees in the department, so that involves setting deadlines, organizing longer term projects for our program’s benefit, and posting and interviewing for open positions. During MA application season, I organize information sessions, send out marketing fliers and emails, and assign applications to our graduate committee for review. During the semester, I help organize academic and student events around campus. No two days are the same!

 What did you learn as an English major at Catholic U. that has stayed with you?

I think studying English helped me to form an indispensable characteristic in the modern day: an open mind. Previously, I had written off older works like Donne, Milton, and even Beowulf as humdrum and past their usefulness. Younger me couldn’t have been more wrong. I still go back to Donne and consider him my favorite poet (thanks, Dr. Murton, for the introduction), and in my reading, I try to alternate between a newer work and a classic work. I just finished a reread of Moby Dick and found myself sincerely moved by Melville’s words and how they seem to stab at the reader through the ages. If you haven’t already, I implore you to read it—after your assigned work, of course.

I felt English opened my eyes to the wide array of human experience and empathy. If an author doesn’t seem like you, for one reason or another, or you think their work just isn’t for you, I urge you to reconsider. CUA English taught me that even works from a millennium ago grasp at the same human spirit we enjoy today, and I’ve extended that conclusion to many authors and genres since and am better for it. Literature is an endless series of writers and readers seeking commonality, seeking the human. All we have to do to join that tradition is turn the page.

Do you have any advice for current English majors?

I think I got this right in a previous version of this alumnus profile, so I’ll reiterate it here:

 Our biggest strength as English majors comes from the sheer amount of reading and writing that we're required to do; it bolsters our vocabulary and improves our communication skills - in and out of the classroom. I only suggest that you do plenty of both, and if possible, expand your reading list beyond those names and genres that you're already familiar with. The classics are great, and often a necessity, but don't forget to read for pleasure, too. Having an English major under your belt opens up a lot of paths for work in the future, but a robust and diverse reading list can prepare you for almost anything you'll encounter in your travels.

 One addendum: read often, read widely, and take in as much art as you can (film, visual, theater, music); you’ll meet humanity along the way.