Since our blog debuted in 2017, we have published 500+ posts. While some of you may have been with us from the start (thank you, loyal readers!), others may have joined us more recently.
So, we’re highlighting periodically some of the posts that have garnered a lot of views or that address topics of continuing interest in the current moment — posts that you may have missed or that you might want to revisit.
Today, in honor of Veteran’s Day, we look back to a post from Alexander Hurla (BA ’22) about our one-credit undergraduate course “Career Pathways in English and the Humanities,” which first ran as a pilot under the course number ENGL 599 and now runs permanently as ENGL 597.
In the post, Alexander explains his situation as of senior year and the benefits of the course:
Back in 2014 when I graduated from high school (which is somehow getting further and further away!), I joined the Marine Corps, in part to give myself four extra years to determine what I wanted to do with my life. Well, nearly eight years later I found myself entering my senior year of college with many of the same questions about what to do next…. In all, this course is one of the most applicable of my college career because it forced me to sit down and really consider what the next step is. Two of my passions are writing and sustainable agriculture, but I’ve always had trouble understanding how they might fit together. Thanks to what I learned in ENGL 599, I’ve figured out how to reconcile these two careers….
Since graduating from K-State with his BA in the Humanities, Alexander attended the Rodale Institute’s Veteran Farmer Training Program, started as a RIFT instructor at the Kansas Wesleyan Community Resilience Hub, and has been promoted to the Joe Hale Chair in Regenerative Agriculture at Kansas Wesleyan University, where he oversees the Heartland Rodale Institute Farmer Training program and supports the future of regenerative farming in Kansas.
Alexander Hurla in action (Photo credit: @rodaleinstitute)
See the full post at “Undergrad Student Spotlight: Alexander Hurla” to learn more about Alex, and visit our Courses page to learn about our Spring 2026 offering of ENGL 597 “Career Pathways in English and the Humanities” — and our congratulations to Alexander on his continued success!
— Karin Westman, Department Head
K-State English 