Student Profile Series: Corey King & Eavan Huth

We Are English Majors: Corey King & Eavan Huth
Corey (a senior and an English Major from Hollister, CA) and Eavan (from San Mateo, CA and also a senior in the English Major) are Officers of the Prytanean Women’s Honor Society, the oldest women’s honor society in the US, founded at Berkeley in 1901. We asked them four questions about their experience with this important organization. 
 
1)       Both of you serve in a leadership position in the Prytanean Women’s Honor Society here at UC Davis. How do you balance your very time intensive leadership positions with your academics?
 
First and foremost, while we put a great deal of energy into our leadership roles in Prytanean, our academics have to come first.  Since this is part of being in the honor society, and a value that Prytanean encourages, staying on top of academics is an achievable goal.  At the same time, leading Prytanean requires us to be flexible since there is a large membership counting on us.  We try to remain balanced by utilizing our strong planning skills, keeping organized, and collaborating with one another.
 
2)      As English majors yourselves, what led you to decide to join this very active Society?
 
Luckily, we have both been able to excel in the English Major which initially led us to being eligible for the honor society. At times, the major can feel a bit overwhelming with constant reading and papers due, but being in an honor society seemed like a good way to stay motivated. The opportunity to be in Prytanean with other incredibly determined women has given us the opportunity to share ideas with one another, offer support when the stress hits, and to stay focused on our academics. We are fortunate to be in a major that is so conducive to enjoying a holistically engaging college experience.
 
3)      Combining the skills you have and continue to develop through your English coursework, and those leadership skills you are developing in Prytanean, what specific skills and abilities do you feel are ones that you will utilize in the future (whether it be personal or professional)?
 
Both of us came into the English major with a strong interest in teaching, and we feel that this field requires both strong leadership and facilitation skills, as well as the ability to think critically and engage in dialogue with others.  Both the English major and Prytanean fulfill these needs and have supplied us with greater opportunity to develop our time management skills, thoughtful collaboration, intentional planning, strong analysis, and effective problem solving.
 
4)      What have been some of your favorite classes offered through the English Department?
 

Corey: I really enjoyed English 117 (Shakespeare) with Professor Gina Bloom because of her enthusiasm for the subject. She is truly passionate about Shakespeare and thus the class offered me a newfound appreciation for his works. I also loved English 156 (Short Stories) with Professor Yiyun Li. The dynamic of the class was both enjoyable and engaging, allowing for open conversation about the texts and authors, both of which were incredibly interesting. It was inspiring to take a course from such a renowned writer. 

 
Eavan: One of my favorite classes was English 166, Love and Desire in Contemporary American Poetry with Professor Margaret Ronda.  We explored the poems of many authors both as they exist on their own and also as they exist in dialogue with one another.