My name is Annie Haemin Park, and I graduated from the Professional Writing (PRWR) program in 2021. The following year, I completed a Master of Marketing at the Schulich School of Business, immediately diving into my career as a Marketing Specialist at Schulich ExecEd.
I've been many things during my education: an undergrad, a graduate student, a research assistant, a blog writer, and, often, a cram-study-until-5 AM-er. But one of my crowning identities is as an alum of the Professional Writing program.Â
Writing is everything, and it is everywhere. Regardless of your career, you'll write. You'll write lab reports in STEM, type proposals in business, and craft emails in every job imaginable. I'm serious about the emails. A sizeable chunk of your working life will be consumed by: "Dear Colleagues…"
To stand out from the rest, you must communicate in a way that catches and keeps your audience's attention. The York University Writing Department knows this best; they provide the know-how, insights, and strategies you need to become a master communicator.
The beauty of the Professional Writing program? They don't confine you to one type of writing: I took courses in publishing, organizational writing, digital writing, editing, and more. I learned the foundations of various writing fields.
You choose and build your path. My path was marketing. I developed a fondness for copywriting and digital marketing in the PRWR program, with practicum courses providing core copywriting and marketing skills and allowing me to practice them in real-life settings.
The abilities I gained from the PRWR program paved the way for my success. My editing skills had me selected as a Managing Editor for the Future of Marketing Magazine, Canada's #1 digital publication on the future of marketing. My organizational writing abilities ignited my dream career as a Marketing Specialist at Schulich ExecEd. Even now, I use my digital writing skills to compose new stories and campaigns.
A professor from this program once told me something along the lines of, "Write first, worry later."
They meant: don't overthink.
They meant: first, get something down.
They meant: just start. It was that professor and the rest of the PRWR faculty who helped me start writing and get something on that blank, white page.
Thanks to Annie for sharing her experiences of PRWR! Check out other student experiences in the Writing Department!