What made you want to work in English Studies?

I've always enjoyed writing.  As a child, I wrote, printed, and distributed my own neighborhood newspaper.  From there, I worked on my school newspaper and yearbook.  In college, I gravitated toward journalism and reporting, and as a teacher, I especially enjoy teaching students about report structures.  I also like sharing business communication scenarios from my past jobs, which include working as a tutor for international students, a musician, and a leasing agent.

What do you like about working with students?

I enjoy helping students find their professional voices.  We sometimes focus so much on the academic writing environment, but students will write for work - a lot.  I enjoy seeing students get comfortable in those roles, whether it be polishing a resume, drafting a report, or researching for an industry-specific proposal.

Three book recommendations:

Writing for the Design Mind by Natalya Ilyin; To Engineer is Human by Henry Petroski; Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Biographical Sketch

Julie Sandland has been with the Department of English since 1985, when she began work on her MA in English.  In 1991 she was hired as a lecturer, and has taught first-year composition, introduction to literature, business and professional writing, and technical writing.  In recent years, she has taught business and professional writing online. In addition to teaching, she has worked as a copy editor for the anthropology journal Shamanism, an editor of graduate thesis papers, and a freelance writer.  More recently, she has studied and written in the area of women's Civil War history.She is currently completing a bachelors degree in Mass Communication, and seeks to integrate communication theories in her teaching of composition.