"The English major is actually the Critical Thinking major": An Alumnus Reflects

Alum Spotlight: Holly Auten

I graduated from HC in 1998 with a major in English and minor in Religion. I had the good fortune of taking classes from all of the department’s professors: D. Lloyd, R. Lloyd, Marsh, Marvel, Fairbanks, and Malloy. Back when it was called Interim Term, I traveled to Ireland with Rich Lloyd and Rob Babcock to study the Easter 1916 uprising. My Langvardt Scholar presentation was about the making of the atomic bomb; I was inspired by my visit to the Trinity Site in New Mexico on the 50th anniversary. Albuquerque is my hometown.

The books I’m holding are almost 30 years old. They’re from Darrel Lloyd’s
19th century British poetry class, which was my first college-level literature course.

I have a Master’s in English from Kansas State University. My career began in medical textbook publishing and evolved into software project management. Burnt out at age 40, I redirected my career by earning a Technical Writing Certification from Cal State East Bay, then landed a job in 2016 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (llnl.gov) where I am today. LLNL is one of the Department of Energy’s 17 research labs; our mission is national security.

My role is Technical Communications Specialist working in LLNL’s Computing Directorate (computing.llnl.gov). I am also the communications lead for the Data Science Institute (data-science.llnl.gov). My job includes writing, editing, website management, printed materials, social media (@Livermore_Comp and @LLNL_OpenSource on Twitter), and other communications-related tasks. I work with graphic designers, photographers, videographers, and other creatives to communicate the Lab’s scientific R&D to a variety of audiences. The technical disciplines I cover are computer science, applied mathematics, software engineering, data science (including machine learning and AI), supercomputing, and open-source software.

Majoring in English can be a punchline: Some people think all you do is read, or they think you’re incapable of comprehending technical information. On the contrary, my English major has significantly contributed to my competence and success as a science communicator. The English major is actually the Critical Thinking major. Through reading and writing, you learn how to interpret what you read in other contexts, and how meaning can be conveyed and received in different ways. You learn how to consume and impart information through multiple lenses. You learn to consider the world beyond yourself and your small bubble.

Twenty-five years after graduation, I can’t overstate the importance of this combination of factors—leaving home for college (Nebraska was completely new to me), attending a small liberal arts school, and majoring in English—in shaping who I am today.

I read 60-70 books per year, leaning toward literary fiction, post-9/11 narratives, and horror. My husband is a fiction writer (williamauten.com). The best novel I’ve read so far this year is Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead.

If the velvet Elvis wall hanging (painting?) is still in the Gold Room, I am the responsible party.