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Senior Spotlight: Jacy Zhang

English major Jacy Zhang loves the power of language and dreams of one day doing an arts residency or humanities graduate research in Alaska.

Why did you decide to become an English major?
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 18:21 ESV

Not that I quoted this verse to my advisor when I signed up for the English major, but I had a sense that one of the greatest weapons available to humans is speech. And if something so powerful is available to me, I figured I'd better use it well. To bring life, not death. So I studied language.

What is something you read during class that impacted your worldview?

"On Fairy Stories" by J.R.R. Tolkien. I read it for ENGL375: J.R.R. Tolkien: Middle-earth and Beyond with Dr. Crane. Here's a little gem for taste: "For creative Fantasy is founded upon the hard recognition that things are so in the world as it appears under the sun; on a recognition of fact, but not a slavery to it."

Quite a magical essay. As you'd expect from a title like that. The epilogue is golden.

What are you passionate about (or even curious about)?

One of my dreams is to live in Alaska. The Alaskan landscape has so much beauty, and Arctic cultures have so much knowledge to offer. I think I could be really happy doing an arts residency or doing humanities graduate research there.