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People Profiles
Erik Skogsberg
- 2006 Western Graduate
- Major: English Literature
- Further Education: Master of Arts in Teaching--Secondary English Education, Brown University (in progress)
Why Western?
It just felt right. Western was actually the last school that I visited, and I was planning to attend a different school. It was only after coming to campus that I realized how great of a community that this was. I felt at home the minute I stepped on campus--everyone was helpful, friendly, and actually interested in who I was as a person.
Supportive Mentors
There were three professors who were especially influential during my time at Western. If I were to cite one commonality between these three mentors it would have to be their belief in my abilities. When working with these professors I was treated more like a colleague and a co-learner--someone who could make genuine contributions, and not just a student that they were to pass their expert knowledge to. I felt like they gave me the opportunity to both learn and take risks.
A Jumping Off Point
When I was first interested in alternative education theory (during my freshman year) I came to one of my professors, Marie Eaton, and she (surprisingly) allowed me to do an independent study in what she would later tell me she thought was more senior or graduate-level work. It was her initial risk and belief in my abilities that led me to be able to do what I did at Western.
One Good Thing Leads to Another
It was my work with Marie in education that would lead to my work with Professor Carmen Werder and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This work with Carmen and Carnegie allowed me to co-teach classes, do original research, and travel all over the country to represent Western at higher education conferences many times presenting on my own work.
A Path for the Future
It was my work with English Professor Scott Stevens that convinced me I wanted to go into the field of English Education. I took a senior seminar in rhetoric with him that led me to begin to question the reasons why I value English and the humanities. As an English major one is always being asked, “what are you going to do with that?” This was an undercurrent throughout my time at Western, and Scott’s class was the first time that this practical question about the major was brought into the classroom. As someone who has always valued the humanities, it was an eye-opening experience—something that continually informs the ways in which I teach my students.
Important Life Lessons
I grew up in many ways at Western. I learned how to study, to manage my time, and learned the difference between going to school for a job and going to school for a vocation: a calling. Most importantly I feel like—through my work at Western—I started to value my own ideas and gained confidence in my thoughts and the ways in which they can contribute to larger societal change.
Ask the Tough Questions
My advice to current and future Western students is this: ask the questions that at first you might be afraid to ask. My undergraduate teaching experiences and all of my research projects began with a couple of questions that I was curious about, and if I hadn’t have asked them, I believe my college experience would’ve been much different.