Emily Betwinek is a former head editor of the Eagles Cry, well known for her Met Gala and Polar Express articles, her writing caught the attention of everyone in her grade. She is currently studying English Literature in Florence and has a job as a freelance editor for The Story Plant: a book publishing company. She also happens to be the president of Endicott College’s English Honor Society.
TEC: When did you first realize you wanted to study literature?
Emily: I realized that I wanted to study literature while taking AP Lang with Mr. Malossi. It was during our logical fallacy unit when I first realized that I was actually really good at English, which is something I had taken for granted up until that point. I thought the unit was super fun, but everyone else in my class seemed rather frustrated. When I was the only one to raise my hand to answer the first question, I started wondering if maybe I was slightly better than average, or at least had more fun with the topic than my peers. That’s around the same time I started receiving 99% on all my essays. Mr. Malossi told me that I was “asymptotically approaching 100%.” He pushed me past my limits, and after a few weeks of this, I asked if English was something that I could actually study, and what I could do with a degree in the field.
TEC: What is the best part about your job?
Emily: The best part of my job is getting to work on real books that are actually going to be published. There are a number of books out in the world that readers are consuming, that have my work and ideas as a part of them.
TEC: What is your long term goal for your career?
Emily: My long term goal is to follow through with publishing while going to grad school for a PhD in English. I hope to one day become a professor, and am eager to continue working in the publishing industry while I do so.
TEC: Has a specific author influenced your decision to enter the field?
Emily: Kurt Vonnegut, a satirical science fiction writer who Mr. Malossi actually introduced me to on my 18th birthday, has vastly influenced my love of literature. The many works of both Vonnegut and James Baldwin have made me passionate about the power and importance of literature, especially with its capacity to change minds and hearts.
TEC: How has reading shaped your values?
Emily: Reading has shaped every single one of the values that I hold today. From Naturalism to Humanism to Romanticism and more, even Vonnegut’s satirical takes on society have impacted how I interact with the world around me, other people, and even my own emotions. There isn’t a single belief I hold or moral that I believe in that isn’t in some way rooted in literature, especially poetry. The Modernists, specifically, and the Beat poets did wonderful things for my way of thinking.
TEC: Do you have other passions that you make time for?
Emily: I am incredibly passionate about music and make time for practicing bass every single day. Music and literature are so intertwined that it’s important for me to stay rooted in both. That’s why if I’m not playing music, I’m listening to music, and constantly introducing myself to new bands and artists.
TEC: Have you learned any important lessons in the time that you have been working?
Emily: I finally learned, for the first time, that hard work really does pay off. I pushed myself so hard last summer working two jobs, and then working another two jobs on top of taking 6 classes last semester, all of which I was rewarded by being actually hired to work at The Story Plant. It isn’t often, unfortunately, that I see concrete examples of where my hard work and drive has gotten me, but my being the first intern ever hired as an incoming junior in Endicott’s English department is something quite special, and I’m aware of how I’m the one who got myself there.
TEC: What about yourself would you say has led to such a big accomplishment?
Emily: My refusal to give up, even when others tell me I should. Last semester I overworked myself in preparation for going abroad. I worked at both the tutoring center at my school and as a freelance editor for The Story Plant, while taking a full course load at school. All of my professors told me that it was too much, and that something had to give, but I knew if I kept to it, I could do it. It was the same for last summer, when I was still interning with the company. I was working 9 hours a day, 7 days a week while putting in 2-3 hours a day, 7 days a week for The Story Plant. It was exhausting and at times felt impossible, but I succeeded. And not only did I excel in both work places, but it was my hard work and passion which led my boss to actually hiring me on for freelance work.
