Careers in English: Laurie Donnelly-Pascual

Laurie Donnelly-Pascual

"While going to a doctoral program in Counseling Psychology from an M.A. program in British and American Literature might not seem like a logical next step, it has been a fairly natural transition: analyzing works of literature and analyzing people are surprisingly similar processes.  In my current program at Texas Tech University, there is a strong emphasis on multiculturalism, and seeing treatments and experiences through multiple perspectives based on ethnic/cultural/sexual minority identities.  Numerous courses at NIU have prepared me for that: from English 103, in writing about our own cultural identities, to studying post-colonialism and writing back to empire in British Literature, I was constantly challenged to see things beyond the majority perspective, and recognize how that majority power distorts and silences other voices.  This has fueled my focus on social justice and working with clients who have been silenced because of their minority status.  Additionally, research plays a large role in what I do, and the strong writing background I have from my English degrees has definitely been an enormous benefit to me."

Laurie Donnelly-Pascual