Wielder of the Trusty Red Pen
Casey Fedde’s picture tells the story of a new Bostonian missing the California weather. Her blonde hair is tied back and she holds an apple that shimmers. “It’s obviously not a recent picture since Boston is still a winter wonderland. I miss California weather,” she notes. A native of San José, her father attended SJSU, so the choice to become a Spartan was not a difficult one.
Her major, on the other hand, was a puzzle that took a while for her to solve: “English wasn’t my first, second, or even third choice as a major. For the first year or so of college, I kept changing my major, bouncing from journalism to advertising to mass communications.” She reminisced about each time she changed her major, she had to walk past the English Department. It served as a constant reminder of her love for reading and writing. So eventually, she decided to become an English major. Fedde’s love for writing culminated in Professor Kate Evans’s creative writing workshop: “Kate was so expressive both in her writing and in her passion for teaching writing. Not only did she have so much to teach us, but she instilled in us the desire to help others in the class. And this made for a rewarding workshop experience.”
Proudly, Fedde exclaims that she has “found a way to use every aspect of my English background!” She goes on to note that: “A degree in English (and especially an MFA) goes a long way in the real world. Employers are always impressed by our written and spoken communication skills. I started at a small newspaper in Texas after graduating and then climbed the ladder to a bigger paper. The journey isn’t easy, but it’s so rewarding.”
Today, Fedde works as a freelance editor, writer, and copy editor for the Christian Science Monitor, an international news organization in Boston. She observes that most of her days are spent with her trusty red pen in hand. However, when she isn’t correcting errors, she is fact-checking, and she’s grateful to her professors at SJSU for preparing her: “Part of copy editing is fact-checking stories, so general knowledge of just about everything comes in handy. And a lot of what I know comes from books. So I have all my professors to thank for having me read so many books.”
Although Fedde has transported across the country because of the knowledge she acquired during her time at SJSU, she still thinks about the students working toward their dreams. “Be an informed reader—and writer,” she wants to remind them, “and don’t ever forget to be grateful. Gratitude goes a long way.”
by Jessica Keaton
