Where are they now?

What CSUF’s American Studies students are doing with their

American Studies degrees

“American Studies was instrumental in helping me interpret and understand not only society and culture, but also community, and the value thereof. Today I work for the National Comedy Theatre, as head of youth programs. The lectures I received at CSUF helped me develop our curriculum into one that promotes individuality, while still instilling a sense of community, so our students help inspire and promote each other. It more or less mirrors the experiences I had at Fullerton.”

Joe Birdsong

“Since graduation, I’ve been working as an Internal Communications Specialist for Blizzard Entertainment, a global video game company [makers of World of Warcraft]. American Studies prepared me incredibly well for working in a culture industry! I am able to plan, develop strategies, and write communications that will reach an audience who work at the crossroads of gamer culture, geek culture, and part of a large imagined community. I am also honored to work with my colleagues in Europe and Asia. Having an awareness of ethnocentrism has made me a much better partner in global communications.”

Anita Rice

Brittany Franck works for the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, training teachers to better engage the students in their classrooms. Among other AMST students, Melanie Pyles is currently serving the Peace Corps in China and Teresa Garcia in Jordan, while Patrick Heyer just finished working for the Peace Corps in Senegal and Nathan Horton finished in Kyrgyzstan.

Megan Wagner (BA & MA) and Cynthia Bruns (MA), reference librarians at Pollak Library

Megan reports, “In my interview, Cynthia Bruns said that American Studies grads make ‘especially fantastic librarians’ since we are such a diverse set of minds…. American Studies trains graduates to ask critical cultural questions, examine diverse communities, and analyze multiple perspectives. With such a multidisciplinary field, I feel especially prepared to speak to a variety of audiences and needs in the library. American Studies not only changed the ways in which I understand culturally-constructed concepts like masculinity, social class, and ‘American Character,’ but helped me to understand the process of cultural inquiry, ethnography, and primary source analysis. Critical thinking skills like these are essential for the next generation student, teacher, librarian, and any information professional -- and have powerfully changed the person I am today."