Reid Benes

Partial Transcript: "It's funny, I didn't initially decide to be an English major."

Segment Synopsis: Reid talks about his initial decision to major in physics, and the class and professor that eventually made him change his major to English.

Keywords: Air Force pilot; Book; College; Creative Writing Track; Dr. Nan ...; English; English Major; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Literature; Maya Angelou; Physics Major; Reading

Subjects: College; English; Literature; Maya Angelou; Reading; Writing

Partial Transcript: "No, I had no idea."

Segment Synopsis: In choosing a career path, Reid recalls the struggle he faced in reconciling his passion for science as well as creative writing.

Keywords: Aerospace Engineering; Creative; Engineering; English; English Degree; English Major; Human Factors Engineering; Job Search; Literature; Math; Presentations; Publishing; Reports; Science; Scientific; Teaching; Writing

Subjects: Careers; Engineering; English; English Major; Jobs; Math; Science; Writing

Partial Transcript: "So, I've done a lot of things kind of in my career, and after I got my degree I worked as kind of a more strict human factors engineer in the defense industry."

Segment Synopsis: Reid explains his role as a Human Factors and Design Engineer.

Keywords: Consulting; Defense; Design and Human Factors Engineer; E-commerce; Engineer; Engineering; Experienced Designer; Interviewing; Websites

Subjects: Defense Industry; Engineering; Internet

Partial Transcript: "Yeah, and so, I mean I do a ton of writing."

Segment Synopsis: Reid talks about how the writing skills he learned as an English major have set him apart in his field.

Keywords: English; Jobs; Presentation; Skills; Website; Writer; Writing

Subjects: English; Jobs; Skills; Writing

Partial Transcript: "Well, one of the things that was a challenge kind of coming out of school, and especially going into engineering, was public speaking and being able to do presentations and stuff."

Segment Synopsis: Reid admits that he was never really proficient in public speaking until his profession required him to utilize that skill.

Keywords: Denison University; Group Discussion; Public Speaking; Skills; Team

Subjects: College; Public Speaking; Skills

Partial Transcript: "I think that honestly, some of the early interviews... for me it was difficult because I didn't really want to do [publishing]."

Segment Synopsis: Reid stresses the importance of students pursuing only what they are passionate about, so that they may render themselves more convincing and qualified in first interviews as well as interviews to follow.

Keywords: Engineering; Experience; First Interview; Interview; Job Advice; Job Interview; Publishing

Subjects: Advice; Engineering; Interviews; Publishing

Partial Transcript: "Absolutely, yeah... I'm always reading."

Segment Synopsis: Reid defines and discusses the role of literature in his own personal life as well as the rest of the world.

Keywords: Arc; Characters; Dan Brown; Definition; Emotion; Humanity; Ideas; Joseph Conrad; Literature; Poetry; Reading; Science Fiction; Short Story; Soft Science Fiction; Story; Writer; Writing

Subjects: Author; Genre; Literature; Writing

Partial Transcript: "It's funny because when I kind of decided, I kind of almost by default decided to be an English major, you know it was--I don't want to say it was easy for me--but it wasn't a struggle necessarily to take the classes and do the writing."

Segment Synopsis: Reid concludes that English majors should pursue what they want.

Keywords: Advice; Career; English; English Major; Job Advice; Marketing; Skills; Software Development; Writing

Subjects: Advice; English; English Major; Skills