About Gloria Oh

Hi everyone!

I’m Gloria Oh and I majored in English literature at the College–And yes, I already know what you’re thinking. Where am I going to go with a degree in English, and why should you be remotely interested in anything I have to say? Now before everyone goes all haywire on me about the futility of studying literature for a college degree or before giving the usual retort of “Good luck with employment,” I’m going to defend my preferred choice of major because I believe I have a valid point to make.

My journey towards majoring in English wasn’t linear. I took many other courses in a variety of departments outside what was required of our usual GERs. Whether it was in the classics department, econ, government, history, math, business pre reqs, art history even–I learned that my education pretty much boiled down to one thing: Learning how to communicate effectively.

Once I realized this, I decided why not have fun while learning? Why not write papers about Wordsworthian-, ecofriendly-values and avant-garde feminist literature if you’re doing it while learning how to argue well? When else would you get the chance to critically engage yourself in the literary arts? I strongly believed that reading literature not only broadened your understanding of human nature, but also cultivated your emotional intelligence–both attributes that are helpful when working with people. Just when you thought your boss was a workaholic, maniacal machine, you realize, wait a minute, she’s only human, but I digress. Long story short, by the time I graduated, I gained a solid liberal arts education.

Other interesting facts about me:

I was born in West Germany because I was born near Frankfurt several months before the wall came down in 1989.

I have this weird tendency to feel contained if I stay anywhere too long. My itching bug, as I like to call it, is pretty much a symptom of being an Army brat. I’ve moved so many times in my life, that it’s become abnormal to stay anywhere too long. Case in point: I couldn’t even manage to make it all four years in Williamsburg. I spent fall semester 2009 studying abroad at Oxford, England and will be gone again fall semester 2010 in D.C. Yeah, I need to work this out …

Anyway, I wanted this blog to be a healthy balance between helpful advice and amusing reflections, so read on if you’re at all interested in D.C., culture, life, the art of networking, career prospects, random thoughts, etc.