Bill Williamson 0:21
Welcome back, everybody to another episode of All Things, RPW the podcast for the Rhetoric and Professional Writing department at Saginaw Valley State University. The episode that you're about to hear is the kind of episode that we hope to feature quite a bit over the coming months. In this episode, you're going to hear Ethan Day who is now an alumnus of the program, interviewing classmate, Catherine Shuler, who also graduated last year. And this is the first of a series of episodes that he recorded for us while he was interning for the program. And they all feature soon to graduate students peers within the program, and the interviews are all great. And I like I said, this would be the first one that you get to hear. And we'll drop these in periodically throughout the weeks and the months to come. With that I'll let Ethan and Catherine take it away.

Ethan Day 1:25
Hello, and welcome to the first episode of the RPW Peer Interviews. My name is Ethan Day and I will be your host today I am joined by Catherine Shuler, who is a senior this year at Saginaw Valley and a prospective law students are very excited to talk to Catherine and hear some of the insights she has about the program.

Hi, Catherine, thanks for joining me. How are you today? Good. How about yourself? Good. Good. So for starters, what? What year are you? SVSU?

Catherine Shuler 2:02
So I am a senior I'm planning on graduating after the winter semester of 2022.

Unknown Speaker 2:08
Okay, and did you start out in the RPW Department?

Catherine Shuler 2:11
Well, I started at SVSU and the MPW department I technically transferred from Delta College. And so at that time at Delta, I was interested in criminal justice. But then I heard about this program. And so I kind of went into this program coming into SVSU.

Ethan Day 2:28
How did you hear about the RBW program?

Catherine Shuler 2:31
Well, I've actually heard it from different people, because I interested in going to law school. But I wasn't sure what major I wanted to take to law school, like I wanted to major that was going to benefit me in law school. But also that was going to be a good plan B in case law school didn't work out. And so I heard about it from a couple random people actually, I heard there's an attorney, I work with he his friends, a technical writer. And so he was talking about how his friend was doing really well as a technical writer and how it's such a growing industry. And then I also heard it from a judge randomly as well that her daughter, I believe was actually at the RBW. Department at SVSU. And so that's kind of how I picked up on that. And then I met with Dr. Herzog afterwards to kind of talk to him about the program. And that's how I got into it.

Ethan Day 3:16
So upon transferring you went right into the RBW. Program.

Catherine Shuler 3:19
Yes, exactly what happened, I even it wasn't my thing. It was my last year i delta, when I talked to Dr. Herzog, and he actually told me some classes I could take at Delta that transferred. And that was another reason to was just there was quite a few credits. I could take a delta that transfer.

Ethan Day 3:34
Yeah, that's really interesting. I mean, mine is quite a bit different. I heard about it from Anderson Bearden, who worked in I think recruiting or admissions at the time, freshman year, and I didn't think much of it. What did they so essentially, them telling you that it's applicable to the law field, and that it's also a good program or field in and of itself? That's what made you interested?

Catherine Shuler 3:59
Yeah, I would definitely say that, especially because at the time I wasn't, I wasn't sure about law school. Yeah, I mean, now I'm definitely more confident about it than I was. But at that time, I was kind of looking for a good plan B too, in the sense that it's like I wanted a good industry that I could pursue. And like that would be it's one that industry that's growing, of course, so that way I could have an easier time getting a job. And then also, I really liked the technology aspect of it and learning different technologies and programs and stuff like that, and learning how to communicate like stuff like that as well. So that also interests me.

Ethan Day 4:30
Yeah, that's interesting, because I kind of had a flip flop process of going about it, I landed an RP W first, and then decided to go to law school afterwards. So it's kind of interesting. I this was my original career and then why I'd planned it to be and then kind of worked backwards where I realized I had different interests, but it just worked out well that this is a supporting major. So what made you stick with the RBW department after after giving it a try?

Catherine Shuler 4:57
I think the big part was just the amount of support and like ability to communicate with the professors and stuff I never had, I was never able to reach out so easily to the professors and everyone that I've kind of come into contact with as much as I have with this department, it was easy to, for example, I did a couple of independent studies. And I always thought that was something that makes things or would be a complicated process. But professors are so good with working about that. And I also I decided to stick with it too, because it's very adaptable to what I'm interested in. So like, because I know a couple of people who are graphic designers, and like independent studies can be directed towards graphic design, and people can do that. Whereas like, for me interested in rhetoric, and you know, learning about how to prepare arguments and stuff like that. So I'm able to do some independent studies that kind of require or like, kind of focus more on that aspect. And I think that's really, really unique about the department. And I like how it's, I think it's small and and how it's, I mean, it's now it's small anyways, but it just again, that being able to reach out to professors and faculty and going over my plans and have them be interested and very, you know, supportive about it. Yeah,

Ethan Day 6:08
it's always felt very personable for me. And I feel that, especially independent studies, I've had a lot of really good experiences with those. And I feel like those are some of the best classes that I've had. And I think that all just comes from having a department that's very personal, and having professors that are involved in making sure that their students succeed. And that was actually one of the first things that I was told about it was that I was concerned, okay, I'm spending all this money on school, I want to make sure I get a job. And I was told that this program has an incredibly high placement rate, which was something that kind of drew me and obviously, I won't be necessarily looking for a job and Professional Writing. But that was that I guess that's something that just speaks to the success of the program. I can I know we've kind of touched on a little bit, but what are your plans after graduating from SVSU?

Catherine Shuler 6:57
So currently, I'm actually applying to law schools right now. So my plan is to go to law school in the fall next year. And then afterwards, I plan to be an attorney, preferably in Michigan, so I'm not sure exactly. I'm interested in like criminal and civil law, but I'm not exactly sure what type of field yet. But being attorney is my overall goal.

Ethan Day 7:18
Awesome. And what do you feel you've learned from being in the rhetoric and professional writing department that will help you in your future ventures as a lawyer or through law school?

Catherine Shuler 7:30
I think a lot of it from what I've learned was the idea of like problem solving, like I never thought to think so in depth about it. But it's helped me become flexible and adaptable. Whenever I come across problems, even if it's like everyday issues, everyday problems, you know, I would think about, I think more depth about the problem. And I think about different ways of solving it and how it could be better and stuff like that. I think that's great in the sense of, like preparing for, like arguments or like because there's gonna be times where you know, if I'm gonna argue for a case or something that there's going to be a problems that arise. And I think now with this program, I felt more comfortable about being a being adaptable, and being flexible, and being able to learn how I can look at a problem in a different way and how I can expand upon it and how I can essentially solve it. And I think that was one of the biggest things I took away from this department

Ethan Day 8:19
is just advancing your ability to solve problems and to analyze problems as well. Yeah, it's

Catherine Shuler 8:24
really expanded my my way of thinking I think, I feel like I think very, I don't want to say philosophical, but I think very, like I think broader about the sense like it now I can't look at it, I can't go in a room and not think about the design and how it affects everything like that. And so I think, with the law and stuff like that, I think it'll help me be able to apply. Like, for example, I get, you know, you read a law or case law, and I think it's kind of it's helped me apply other more broader problems and scenarios to that law that could help me with my arguments and stuff like that.

Ethan Day 8:57
Yeah, I think that's great. And I think I could definitely agree with that sentiment. I think that's one of the big focuses of the department is problem solving and analysis. And so to hear somebody talk about that, as something that was a major takeaway doesn't surprise me at all.

Catherine Shuler 9:13
Yeah, and I also kind of have an experience sort of with this too, because I do work at a law firm. And what a lot from what I've learned from this problem, or with this department, in the sense of problem solving, and everything is I work with attorneys who they're there the law firm has been around for a while and so these attorneys are very old school and what they do and they're so focused on like their cases and their you know, their cases and clients and stuff, but they forget about the technical aspects of it. So for example, obtaining information like we We work with insurance companies, so we have to attain like several papers of pick, you know, pick files and stuff like that. And a lot of the attorneys sometimes let's like transferring information, for example, prevent them from doing so. Are they frustrated with the small stuff? And I think that With this program, I'm able to be more on my feet when it comes to technology and able to solve those issues like, okay, let's find a program that's going to help send something, even though it's 2000 pages, it's going to send it really quickly or something like that, I guess help me think that might be in that sense.

Ethan Day 10:14
Yeah, I think that's really great. And so I think I probably already know the answer. But would you would you recommend this program to other people? And what kind of people do you think we are good for are good candidates for the rhetoric professional writing program.

Catherine Shuler 10:30
I think people who are indecisive about what they want to do, I think this would be a great program just to kind of get a feel for it, because I think it because the professors are so and the courses even themselves are so open to different fields, like are there like, you know, law, or philosophy or editing or writing and stuff that I think people can use this degree to help fit with their interests, even if they don't have a specific name for their interest. And also, I think it's very beneficial to for students who like for like, this is kind of like me, for example, who I love computer science, but I'm not a big fan of like the technical aspects of computer science. That's why I never really got into it. But with this program, you're able to learn about different programs and technology and how to use technology to communicate technical things, or even to learn, you know, you learn techniques, tech, technical programs, to, I guess, develop what is interest you and stuff like that. So I think those people would be would benefit from this program.

Ethan Day 11:28
Yeah, and I definitely agree with that. Well, I really appreciate your time. I think we got some really great insight from you today about the program and about your experiences. And thank you. Yeah, thanks for having me. Absolutely.

Bill Williamson 11:49
Dr. Bill back with you now. I want to give a huge thanks to Ethan for working to capture some of the insights and, and thoughts from his classmates during his final year here at SVSU. And I want to thank Kathryn for coming out and being his first guest. It's great interview, I love hearing the students talking about the kinds of things that are meaningful to them, the kinds of experiences that have helped shape their time at SVSU. And specifically, within programs connected to the rhetoric and professional writing department. It's always a fantastic thing to hear. I said there's going to be more episodes from Ethan coming up in the weeks and months ahead. And of course, I'll be bringing more guests your way as well. If you've got an idea for an episode, or if you'd potentially like to be a guest on the show, reach out, talk to me. I'm always open for suggestions for those kinds of things. And if you don't already know how to get ahold of me, you can reach me at WWII ll i am@svsu.edu. That's w wm@svsu.edu. I look forward to hearing from you. And I hope that you come back for the next episode. Take care everybody

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