Students in English at UNK can supplement their studies with a double major or minor from different disciplines. Today we feature three students whose studies cross English with the fine and performing arts: Music, Theatre & Dance, or Art & Design.
Joshua Wetovick is a double major in Music (violin) and English. This past spring, he completed an independent research project in the Undergraduate Research Fellow program titled, “Making Music in Alfred Lord Tennyson's Arthurian Epic, ‘Idylls of the King,’” under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Umland. He presented his findings at the UNK Student Research Day conference and at the SLLC conference hosted by Department of English. At the SLLC conference, his paper received the award for Outstanding Interdisciplinary Criticism.
Sammantha Hanks graduated from UNK in May with a double major in English Education and Theatre Education. This past spring, Sammantha made her directorial debut with a production of Antigone. The play was part of an URF project, titled “Antigone Now: The Collison of Ancient Greek Theatre and Modern American Perception,” mentored by Dr. Marguerite Tassi. She was named the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior by the Department of Theatre. In the fall, she will teach high school English and Theatre in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Megan Cherry graduated from UNK in 2017 with a double major in English Education 7-12 and Art Education K-12. At UNK, she was an Undergraduate Research Fellow, mentored by Dr. Denys Van Renen. She also completed a study abroad program in the Czech Republic for 4 months. Currently, Megan is an Art Teacher at Beatrice High School in Beatrice, Nebraska, where she teaches 2D art, 3D art, and digital media.
Reflecting on her time at UNK and her career, Megan shared the following statement:
Choosing to double major in both K-12 art education and 7-12 English education was one of the best decisions I could have ever made. True artists don't just limit themselves to one dimension; they continually push their own boundaries and find new forms of expression. Art and English are just two forms of expression that shape the cultures we live in. If you want to create culture, you need to understand the human experience. If you want to learn more about the human experience, study the work of someone else and then create something meaningful for yourself and others. And, by studying both art and English, I became a more versatile and dynamic educator.
— Megan Cherry, UNK ‘17, Beatrice High School Teacher