Katie Monteleone ’18: Production Assistant at NPR

I work at NPR as a production assistant for the TED Radio Hour. My responsibilities range from editing, scoring, and mixing audio segments for the podcast, writing scripts for the host, pitching episode ideas, and conducting research on guests to prepare for interviews.

An interesting facet of my work is that I get to learn about a wide variety of subject areas with each new episode we produce — things like the science of love, the psychology of climate change, navigating loneliness, jumpstarting creativity, and so on. I often feel like I’m still in school, immersing myself in a new topic every few weeks, and it keeps my job feeling fresh and engaging.

My advice to any current Colby English majors who are unsure of their future career path is this: the skills you are developing in your English classes can and will translate into many different career paths. Stay open-minded and curious, because you never know when you will unexpectedly stumble upon an industry where your skills are incredibly unique and valued.

Majoring in English at Colby was empowering and transformative. My professors in the English department were incredibly supportive and nurturing, and they taught me to always ask questions, think outside of the box, follow my curiosity, and know the value of my own ideas and creativity. Becoming an English major was one of the best decisions I could have made in college, and I’m so grateful I did!