Minor in Public and Professional Writing Results in Prestigious – and Unexpected – Opportunities for Undergraduate Student

February 26, 2025 

By Stephanie Godward, Communications and Marketing Director, College of Arts and Sciences 

Ashley Rutland’s first-ever published piece in 2023 went from appearing locally in the Courier-Journal to being picked up nationally by USA Today for Christmas Day. 

The piece entitled, “Not everyone's holiday is about family. Christmas traditions remind me what I've been missing,” explores themes around family, identity, and more. 

“Family is not universal, so I wrote about what it is like to go through the holidays alone.” 

Now a junior, Rutland is majoring in English Secondary Education with a minor in Public and Professional Writing, which has already opened her to new opportunities to develop her writing and continue to pursue new ways to get her work published.  

In addition to the Courier-Journal op-ed, Rutland has also contributed work to the Louisville Cardinal student newspaper, the UofL literary journal Miracle Monocle, and she just submitted a new piece to be considered by the White Squirrel. 

In June and July of 2024, Rutland received a full scholarship to attend the prestigious New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College for four weeks in Saratoga Springs. “Since 1987, the Summer Writers Institute has been offering students the opportunity to learn from an extraordinary faculty of distinguished writers led by director Robert Boyers,” its website states. “The program is an offshoot of the New York State Writers Institute created by Albany native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy.” The workshop and its participants opened her to new writing concepts and access to a high-level network of fellow writers and authors. 

“We had so many different poets and writers there, including American essayist Phillip Lopate,” Rutland states. “Not only did he write a recommendation for me after the workshop, but I have a connection with him now and he was one of my instructors." 

Before the workshop activities, Rutland and the other participants would read 2-3 students’ manuscripts and then would spend the class time going over each of them, critiquing the work together. During one of the daily workshops, Rutland began working on a prose piece with the guidance of Thomas Chatterton Williams, an American cultural critic, writer for The Atlantic and other national publications, and one of the instructors. 

“He talked about the importance of setting the scene before getting into a narrative,” Rutland said. “I wrote it in third person and basically the story is talking about a daughter who lost her autonomy because of her mother’s desires and wishes. It’s about a daughter who had to go through a surgical procedure because of her mother. It is very real and it is very intense." 

Having the chance to connect personally with other fellow writers as an undergraduate student helped Rutland to learn and grow in surprising and new ways as she continues to explore her own writing path. 

“For me personally, the network was a huge takeaway. I am an undergraduate student and I think there may have been one other undergrad there. Everyone else were MFAs, grad students writing dissertations, or already well-published people,” she said. “Being able to network and gain the insights of people who have been in my shoes – even today, we still communicate and share our work with each other – the community and the network are big takeaways for me.” 

A pivotal moment at the workshop occurred when participants were asked to share authors that inspired the development of their own voices. Rutland was not sure how to respond at the time, but it showed her how valuable it is to read and discover a variety of writing to help develop her own voice. 

“Writers are just so open. Even outside of the workshop we had time to fellowship and talk, and they are so expressive, open, and not afraid to be who they are,” she said of the group. 

While professional writing continues to come into focus in Rutland’s life and future career endeavors, she credits the support of English faculty members like former UofL faculty member Megan Poole, Associate Professor of English Sarah Strickley, and English Term Instructor Steve Smith, who teaches 306 Business Writing. 

“That class (Business Writing) taught me that writing is not just for Journalism or storytelling,” Rutland said. “It is used everywhere, in so many different professions. Just being able to expand my knowledge about different types of writing throughout this minor helps me to get published and also helped me to get into the summer workshop.” 

In addition to publishing opportunities, Rutland also has completed an undergraduate paid internship as a Case Study Writer for Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, a nonprofit in Louisville. Looking ahead, Rutland remains open to the opportunities that will continue to emerge, and encourages other students to do the same. 

“Coming from a background where I didn’t know half of the professional writing opportunities that existed, I can say going into the program gives you the confidence and knowledge you need out there in the real world,” Rutland said. “Going into this minor, being open, and asking questions, I have learned that faculty are here to help you. The connections I have built with professors have steered me towards achieving all that I have already.”