WKU hosted its very first English Day here at Cherry Hall on March 1st and it was absolutely spectacular! We invited students from Bowling Green High School who were interested in studying anything related to English, including, creative writing, professional writing, literature, and more. These students were given the opportunity to sit in on real college classes and experience what it would feel like to be in a class surrounded by people who are passionate about the same things they are passionate about. 

The day itself was chock-full of activities for the students and each activity gave the students a chance to see the different areas they could study within the English major. There was a professional writing activity with Dr. Liddle, a literature activity focused on Edgar Allen Poe with Dr. Hughes, an ESL activity with Dr. Keller, and much more! 

Jennifer Howard, an English teacher at Bowling Green High School and alum of WKU’s English for Secondary Teaching program, says that she and her colleagues wanted to give their students a chance to see what college is like. “We wanted to give our students who were interested in writing, literature, or just English in general a chance to see what it’s like to be on a campus and to experience a real college class,” Howard said. “It was also a chance for students who don’t know what they want to study to see new areas that they never considered to study before.”

Howard and her fellow teacher Abby Laster also wanted to make sure that the students they brought to English Day were students who were genuinely interested in studying English or in seeing a college campus.

“We wanted to make sure that the kids we brought here really wanted to be here. So, I told my students that if any of them were interested in writing or studying English to come see me after class and we kept this trip a secret. We didn’t advertise this as a field trip, so these kids really do want to be here,” Laster said. 

Both teachers reported that their students had nothing but good things to say about all the classes they attended and all the activities they took part in. “The kids absolutely loved it. They came back from their classes and activities so happy and excited to talk about all the things they learned and did. They had a fantastic time!” Laster and Howard said. 

The students had some great things to say as well. Senior Tara Pattee absolutely loved English day because of her previous interest in reading and writing. “I’ve always been interested in writing and reading, and I eventually plan on going into film studies. So, being able to have the chance to come here and experience it all for myself has been incredible,” Pattee said. “I loved these classes way more than my high school classes because you can actually tell that the students want to be there.”

Parker Fields also only had good things to say about the event. Fields says that he was very interested in writing so the experience was amazing for him overall, but Professor Jess Folk’s screenwriting class really stood out to him. “We did a screenwriting class with Professor Folk and it was awesome! We talked about the first episode of Stranger Things, which was really fun, but the best part about it was that it didn’t feel like a class. It just felt like I was hanging out with a bunch of people who were all passionate about the same thing I was,” Fields said. 

Overall, English Day was a success for students and faculty alike. We look forward to offering additional events and expanding to other area schools in the future!