Carrie Vittitoe graduated summa cum laude with a BA in 1995 and worked as an editor at ProQuest for five years. She returned to Bellarmine for her Master of Arts in Teaching and worked as a middle school English teacher for JCPS. She stopped working full-time outside the home in 2004 to raise her three children, but in 2010 she found herself working in the gig economy before it was cool. She has been a freelance writer and editor for nearly a decade and has recently added curriculum development to her repertoire. She also teaches English to middle and high schoolers at a local cottage school. Her latest adventure is a recently developed a podcast about shared reading (The Perks of Being a Book Lover). She lives in Louisville with her husband, three kids, and two cats.
What other majors/minors/tracks did you have beyond English?
I double majored in both English and Economics while getting my BA. I didn’t declare my double major (or any major) until second semester junior year. I just enjoyed English and Econ classes and kept taking them until I realized (or someone made me) declare something “official.”
What is your current job?
I have a lot of current jobs. I write regularly for Today’s Media and have won a number of awards from the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. I’ve also become a regular writer for Towne Post Network. I teach middle and high school English at a cottage school most Fridays of the school year, and I also substitute teach for JCPS. Even though my schedule is bananas, I like having the flexibility to take my kids to school, pick them up, go on field trips, and volunteer at their schools.
In what ways was your degree valuable in preparing for your career?
I really didn’t know what I was gonna do with an English/Economics degree. After working a few years at ProQuest, I realized I needed a little more controlled chaos in my life, which is why I decided to teach. My career has really been a series of happy accidents, but they have all been around English in some form or fashion. My degree helped me hone my writing skills and develop analytical skills which have proved helpful in all areas of my life.
What was your favorite experience as an English major?
I was in the first group of students who traveled to England, Ireland, and Wales with Bert Hornback in 1993. We studied James Joyce, Thomas Hardy, and W. B. Yeats while there. It was a life-changing experience for me in many ways. I also have extremely fond memories of Dr. Carole Pfeffer who was such a wonderful cheerleader and guide.
Any advice for current majors or those considering an English degree?
No matter what profession you go into, you will need to know how to communicate, and you’d be surprised by how many professional people aren’t great at it. As an English major, you not only learn how to communicate verbally and in writing, you develop critical thinking and analytical skills that will benefit you for the rest of your life. Being an English major and reading tons of books also develops your soul and keeps you relatable and empathic.