Success Stories

Graduating from Birmingham-Southern with a degree in English provides a tremendous foundation for any number of careers. English majors are equipped to teach, lead, create, manage, and much more. Below is just a sampling of recent BSC English graduates who have exciting vocations

Ginny Phillips (Political Journalism '97)  As a freelance writer, she has interviewed John Cleese, George Stephanopoulos, James Carville, Sally Ride, DeeDee Myers, Karen Hughes, and Letitia Baldrige. Her work has been published in Preservation, Frontier in-flight magazine, Woman's World, Platinum, Massage, American Profile, and American Spirit.

Murray Dunlap (English '98) , a native of Alabama, received his MA in creative writing at the University of California, Davis. His fiction has appeared in Virginia Quarterly Review, The Hook, The Greenbelt Review, and is forthcoming in Red Mountain Review and Night Train. One story received a nomination to Best New American Voices. Book reviews by the author have appeared in Virginia Quarterly Review and New Delta Review. Dunlap’s first book, Alabama, was a finalist for the Maurice Prize in fiction. The author lives in rural Tennessee with his wife and dog.

Clay McCaslin (English ’95) taught English in Hungary and Czech Republic for two years before coming home to earn his law degree at Tulane University. He has published an article on immigration law and has represented local parish government entities and school boards in lawsuits against major oil companies such as ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips for the contamination of large tracts of wetlands in southern Lousiana and for the illegal price fixing and underpayment of royalties. He currently is involved with class-action litigation against pharmaceutical companies.

Jessica Kilgore (English ’03) is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English Literature at the University of Texas, Austin.

Randall Goodgame (English, '96) is an independent singer-songwriter ... just wrapped his 4th album "War and Peace" due out Nov 1. Randall is also the primary songwriter for the platinum selling Christian folk band Caedmon's Call. One of his songs went to #4 on the AC charts last year. He has toured the country opening for rock band Jars of Clay, playing here at the BJCC last year for over 8,000 people. He has shared the stage with Alison Krauss, Sister Hazel, Lisa Loeb, and many others, and is currently touring extensively with 1999 New Christian Artist of the Year Ginny Owens. Randall is also married to Amy (Booth) Goodgame (Sociology, '95) and father of Livi and Jonah Goodgame.

Hunter Manasco (English ’99) and Katharine McElroy (English ’97) are co-leaders of the rock band Nineteen Forty-Five, whose second album, "I Saw a Bright Light" (2003) received favorable reviews in Mojo Magazine and the College Music Journal, among other industry heavyweights. The album held at #2 on Atlanta's “indie-rock” station Album 88—one of the largest college stations in the United States--for two months.

Nick Gaskill (English ’03) presented two papers at national professional conferences during his time at Birmingham-Southern and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English Literature at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Eleanor Haggstrom Christiansen (English '96) is currently pursuing a PhD in Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her focus is literary approaches to Hebrew narrative.

Leigh Ann Peters Berte (English, '95) has completed her Ph.D. in English at the University of Washington in Seattle. She now teaches at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and studies 19th and early 20th century American literature.

After BSC, Mark Berte (English, '92) received a Master's degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He recently moved back to Birmingham after serving as astrategic planner in the City of Seattle’s Department of Information Technology. Mark is the Lead Organizer for theConstitutional Reform Education Campaign at Greater Birmingham Ministries and volunteers as the Steering Committee Chair of Catalyst, a group of civically minded locals who are trying to make Birmingham a better place to work and live. Mark and his wife, Leigh Ann, who is an English professor at UAB, have a two-year-old daughter named Julianne.

Ben Crum (English '96) has released 2 albums with the band he leads, Great Lakes. His third will be released in early 2005. He's toured the U.S. and Europe, sharing bills with such acts as Belle and Sebastian, the Apples (in stereo), Clinic, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. His records have received positive reviews in Magnet, Mojo, NME, and others. He lives in Brooklyn