Personal Statement

In my senior year of high school, my class read Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Even now, four years later, I remember being transfixed by the scene in which Santiago dies. The words, the imagery, the tragedy—I thought it was beautiful. And yet, most of my class didn’t agree with me. I had always loved to read, but this moment stands out to me as a pivotal instance in my life when my relationship to literature changed. Why was it that I connected with the story of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, while my classmates did not? Why do some readers love a piece while others do not? When we read, what is it that draws us in, that connects with us, shapes our worldviews, and stays with us for decades? I figured that the answer must lie in the words, and in my and my classmates’ responses to them. I stopped thinking of literature as a solitary endeavor and instead reimagined it as an opportunity for collective meaning-making where an individual interpretation is enriched by discussion. 

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 My nascent interest in literature led me to pursue a degree in English & Literary Arts, along with a minor in Writing Practices, during my undergraduate studies at the University of Denver. During my time there, I took many English classes that developed my analytical skills and pushed me to reinvent my relationship to literature. As a first-year student, I was consistently impressed (and intimidated) by my upper-classmen and peers in my English classes. Oftentimes in class discussions, I would feel lost, and wonder how they arrived at such thoughtful and cohesive interpretations of the texts we were reading. Rather than feeling discouraged, my desire to gain the skills that they were already in our classes pushed me to read more closely and listen more attentively in class discussions.

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In my third year, I applied to work in the Writing Center. Since my freshman year, I had been helping friends edit their papers and other writing, which, along with a class focused on editing and publishing, helped develop my interest in pedagogy and peer-writing support. While working in the Writing Center, I realized that helping writers edit their papers was just an extension of what I already loved about English—interpretation and conversation. It became my practice to read a writer’s paper and tell them how I was understanding it, while highlighting to them that this was just my experience as one reader of their piece. I believe this approach allowed us to interact with the writer’s work as a living document, which was, as all texts are, worthy of careful consideration. Framing reading as a process of interpretation and editing as a way to increase an author’s chances of getting their meaning across to the audience, reaffirmed my interest in literary studies. Rather than simply correcting grammar, I felt like my work in the Writing Center allowed me to engage in close reading and collaborative meaning-making—skills central to literary study. This practice affirmed my belief that texts, whether student papers or published works, are living documents shaped through dialogue and critical attention. Working in the Writing Center deepened my interest in how language operates in context, how meaning is negotiated between writer and reader, and cemented the importance of dialogue in the process of literary analysis. 

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My experiences in the classroom and in the Writing Center inform my decision to pursue a MA in English and Literary Arts at the University of Denver. Particularly, I am interested in the flexible nature of DU’s MA program, especially the ability to take interdisciplinary subjects such as cultural and gender studies. In a rapidly shifting and modernizing world, it is more important than ever to put literature in context. While pursuing my MA, I would take advantage of the interdisciplinary offering to do just that. I think this, along with the small class sizes, will allow me to best pursue my interest in literary arts. I’m excited by the prospect of working closely with my peers, engaging in small-class discussion, and learning from their perspectives and interpretations. In these small classes, I would contribute to an active learning environment by applying my skills for the Writing Center to engage meaningfully in discussion with peers. 

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While completing my undergraduate degree at DU, I was pushed to improve by many wonderful faculty members. It is thanks to them and my experience at the Writing Center that my skills and passion for literature have only grown since reading Chronicle of a Death Foretold. I believe that these skills will allow me to succeed as an MA student in the English and Literary Arts Program at DU.