English Majors and Cross Country: An Unusual Mix

Meet Shoshannah Crompton and Nathaniel Long. Both are members of Columbia International University’s cross country team. Shoshannah, a junior from Lexington, South Carolina, runs a mixture of 5ks and 6ks. Nathaniel, a sophomore from Hartsville, South Carolina, runs 8km races and also runs the steeplechase for the track and field team. Both students, however, applied to CIU to major in English.

Long claims that many of his peers are surprised when he informs them that he’s an English major, adding that the stereotype that English majors aren’t athletic is a common one.

“I’ve always wanted to be a fiction author, so I initially decided on English to enhance my writing capabilities. This reason still motivates me, but now I also study it because I am becoming more and more fascinated with words, poetry, and what literature reveals about the nature of mankind,” says Long.

Crompton is also interested in writing.

“I think being an author, editing, teaching, or undercover journalism would all be cool,” she says. “No matter what I do, however, it’s a bucket list item of mine to write a novel or maybe a fiction series. Regardless, I want to glorify God in whatever I end up doing.”

Crompton has found opportunities to hone her English skills in CIU’s Academic Success Center as a tutor. She is also completing a writing practicum for academic credit at Crossover Global, a missions organization.

While the two explain their career preferences, they also explain their interest in cross country. Crompton’s love for running began years ago.

“During the summer before I started high school, I tried out for soccer but had never played before, so I wasn’t very good. The other girls teased me because of my lack of aggressiveness and skill in the sport, so I wasn’t having the best time,” remembers Crompton. “One day during tryouts, I saw the cross-country team run by, using a large zucchini for baton passing, and I immediately knew I wanted to switch sports. I ran cross country and track all four years in high school. Running has always been my escape, an outlet to vent frustrations and admire God’s creation.”

Long’s experiences with cross country are a little different.

“I’ve been running cross country since seventh grade, but I started taking it seriously in tenth grade. My dad first advised that I run because it’s healthy and I am naturally built for it,” says Long. “The reasons I still run are for the exercise, the scholarship, and mostly for the team community.”

It’s important to note that careers for English majors abound. That’s because English majors have many of the “soft skills” that employers seek: reading, critical thinking, writing, and conducting research. Many English grads find employment not just in the most traditional path, education, but also in administration, writing, editing, higher education, law, and as missionaries and pastors.

These types of skills are precisely what appealed to Long. “I think English is arguably one of the most important studies since it teaches one how to think, how to understand his own thinking, how to understand others’ thinking, and how to express himself so that others may understand his thinking.”

As far as a career, Crompton is unsure of exactly how she would like to use her degree. “I am super indecisive, so right now, I am keeping all of my options open. I really enjoyed Creative Nonfiction, which I took last Spring. It helped me realize the broad scope I have available to me in my writing and that there aren’t strict rules I need to follow to get something published,” she says.

Long is also undecided on a specific career, but whatever it is, he plans to always author fiction stories on the side, no matter how long it takes. “I don’t anticipate that my books will ever be my main job,” he says. “I see authoring as a lifelong passion and potential career that may eventually be successful if God so wills.”

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