Several people spend their entire college experience studying the same field and learning a trade that they may or may not enjoy. However, at Lawrence we are given the unique opportunity to venture outside of our government, psychology, or history majors and see life through the eyes of a philosophy, biology or art history major. Many times, to the chagrin of our parents, our explorations cause us to switch majors and completely change the direction of our lives. Allison Augustyn, a 2001 graduate, did just that when she decided to change majors from piano performance to English and theatre dramaturgy.After graduation, Allison realized that, “there comes a point where you have to apply your basic understanding of a subject to a real world experience.” Therefore, she did not hesitate to jump in to the “real” world and begin her career. Allison is currently employed at the Pioneer Press Newspapers, a job that she found by using the famous technique of networking. She is both the head manager of the page layout department, and author of the weekly column for music reviews. Pioneer Press Newspapers, a branch of the Chicago Sun-Times, provides Allison with a rigorous but flexible schedule. Her work enables her to learn about different areas that she never thought to explore such as, “computers, software, and advertising.”
Ms. Augustyn enjoys her work because it is “challenging, varied, and interesting” and plans to remain at Pioneer Press as long as the work remains that way. She believes that her liberal arts education and the high standards of her professors taught her how to successfully face each challenge. She states that, “Lawrence gave me the confidence to know that I can approach any problem, any situation and hold my own. I can use my analytical and creative thinking to approach a situation, and then use the ability to express my ideas…to convey my thoughts and get the problem solved.”
Allison advises students interested in journalism and advertising to, “Read everything you can get your hands on, and pay attention to the style and content.” She suggests to learn what motivates people’s actions and to know your own strengths and weaknesses. Her final piece of advice is “never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do because, for the most part, all the rules can be broken if the reasons are good enough.”
Written by
Erica L. Marshall ’04