Senior Circuit...Jessica Miller
Wofford was an easy sell for Jessica Miller. A Spartanburg native, she was already very familiar with its reputation.
“Though I entertained the idea of getting out of my hometown for a while, when it came down to it there simply wasn't a school that was a better fit for me,” says Miller. “Not for the path I wanted to take.”
That path has already been paved with a lot of experience. Miller has been a huge part of Old Gold and Black, the student newspaper, for three years now. She started as spo
rts editor her sophomore year to assistant editor her junior year to editor this year. Along those lines she has been a Writing Center tutor and an intern with the Hub City Writers Project, conducting interviews with community residents and then transcribing and editing those interviews for the book Stars Fell on Spartanburg.
Miller is a member of both Delta Phi Alpha German Honors Society and Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society, as well as Delta Delta Delta sorority. She studied abroad in Germany a year ago, and was part of the Community of Scholars last summer. As if that weren’t enough, she has also been part of the Dance Team and the Concert Band for three years. Still, there is more.
“I also enjoyed taking creative writing courses, and I won the Helmus Contest twice -- last year for poetry and this year for creative writing,” she says. “I also wrote a poem about my study abroad experience that won first place in the Beyond the City's Northern Border contest. My journalistic writing has been acknowledged as well in the South Carolina Press Association (SCPA) Collegiate newspaper competition (I won first place sophomore year for a sports article, and second place for a feature story and my "My Five" column this year).”
The biggest feathers in her cap are on the horizon. She is soon to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and has received a rare Fulbright Grant. This grant will allow her to go back to Europe and study at the University of Austria for one year before returning to the States. The English and German major, who is also working on her certificate in Gender Studies, plans on completing her final year at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. After that, she hopes to return to warmer climes, hopefully to get a Ph.D. in German or journalism.
Not bad for someone who came to Wofford intent on becoming a psychiatrist.
“I had a four-year plan all mapped out and began plowing straight on through,” says Miller. “It wasn't until my sophomore year, after getting involved with the newspaper and taking a few more English and German classes, that I realized where my heart actually was.
“Interestingly enough, it was my parents who really encouraged me to change my track. It seems like most parents urge their college-aged kids to get a 'practical' degree in business or finance, but I think mine saw potential I couldn't yet see. My dad thinks I'm the next Stephen King -- how about that for parental support!”
With such a busy career at Wofford, Miller says picking one memory that stands out is like picking out just one potato chip from the bag.
“If I have to narrow it down, I'd say my Cornbread and Sushi Interim trip ranks pretty high,” she says. “Dr. (Deno) Trakas and Prof. (John) Lane piled 10 students into two vans, and we traveled around the South, from Charlottesville to Savannah, hanging out with authors and listening to their stories. Not only did I gain a new appreciation for the South while learning a lot about the art of writing, but I'll also never forget watching Dr. Trakas rap to Lil' Wayne and Fat Joe's 'I Make It Rain.'
“Wofford has opened so many doors for me and allowed me to grow both intellectually and socially in ways I had never predicted. When I came here, I thought I was going to get a degree and have some good times along the way, but now I have two degrees and countless valuable memories with even more valuable friends.”