Home to Wisconsin and Back to DC
I write this from my new laptop, a generous graduation present from my family. Yes, I’ve graduated, and will spen the rest of my life confusing people by telling them I have a (single, not triple) Batchelorate of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Or at least until I get a Master’s. But that’s far off in the future yet. Now begins the job search. I’ll be conducting it in DC, where I’m also working some internships over the summer. I look forward...
Read MoreOn IndieGoGo Campaigns
This week, my student team finished mailing out perks to the sponsors of our IndieGoGo campaign, which raised funds for a community-level organization in rural Ghana to extend microloans and scholarships to local women. We were able to deliver $1,290 to Capacity Rural International during our class visit, over $900 of which came through IndieGoGo. The IndieGoGo campaign actually raised $1,085, but the site takes a fee. Although we knew that going in, there are some other things we discovered...
Read MoreFriendly Reminder: Get Thee to LinkedIn
This one’s mostly for my friends and peer group, but applies to anyone really who hasn’t yet built up their LinkedIn and is wondering if they should get one. Yes, you should. Come join me. As my job search starts off, I’m spending at least an hour a week going over my LinkedIn profile—adding classes and experiences, updating and linking my network to my current projects, and just staring at my completed resume going, “Hmm…not bad, actually.” At least some of this is ego, and...
Read MoreHanging Up My Shingle
The semester is almost over, I’m graduating, and I’ve decided to give myself a few more months in D.C. searching for a job in the field. It’s a decision I’m very excited about, but in the meantime it means I’ll be living on my own without a regular paycheck in a not-inexpensive urban environment. To stretch my savings, I’m offering my services as a manuscript doctor, offering developmental critique of novels and short stories. I’ve done critiques for...
Read MoreMadwoman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge–the personalities of writing
This week my internship brought me to the Writing Staycation at the Writer’s Center of Bethesda, where my supervisor, Zahara Heckscher, is leading a dedicated group of writers on a 9-5 retreat with the goal of sharing ideas, considering mission and goals of writing, and most importantly getting some words down on the page. While I’m there to perform a number of internship duties (the staff at Trader Joe’s are becoming familiar with me) and to assist with the...
Read MoreThree doses of perspective
In order to make up for internship days missed while in Ghana, I worked 4 days last week instead of the usual two (class being canceled). Not only did I have plenty to catch up on, this was the week I also got to visit some consultations with my supervisor and join the other office interns for a personal sharing workshop–the kind of thing you only can get at an internship in the creative arts! Three statistics stood out this week and offered a healthy dose of perspective to my young,...
Read MoreHello World
This blog happens to be started in the midst of a crisis of identity for me. I’ve just recently graduated college and am finishing one last semester in Washington, D.C. before…what? I’m making the shift from student to young professional. I think that young professional’s career will lie in the nonprofit sector, but anything more specific than that I’m still feeling out. In my time I’ve been a volunteer income tax preparer, a cashier, a library page, a...
Read MoreAbout Therese
Therese Arkenberg's first short story was accepted for publication on January 2, 2008, and her second acceptance came a few hours later. Since then they haven't always been in such a rush, yet her work appears in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Analog, Daily Science Fiction, and the anthology Sword & Sorceress XXIV. Aqua Vitae, her science fiction novella, was released by WolfSinger Publications in December 2011.
She works as a freelance editor and writer in Wisconsin, where she returned after a brief but unforgettable time in Washington, D.C. When she isn't reading, writing, or editing (it's true!) she serves on the board of the Plowshare Center of Waukesha, which works for social, economic, and environmental justice.