What an English degree can lead to — at ASU and beyond

For many English majors, the most persistent question comes after graduation: "So, what are you going to do with that?"

At Arizona State University, that question has shaped not only how the Department of English thinks about career preparation but also the legacy of alumnus Michael Sanders, ’96 BA in English — a proud Sun Devil whose life and career embodied the adaptability, empathy and communication skills at the heart of a humanities education.

That legacy now includes a new investment in future English majors. The Department of English has received a $50,000 endowment from Sanders’ family to establish the Michael V. Sanders Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded annually beginning in fall 2026 to an undergraduate English major.

Sanders, who died in September 2025 after a battle with cancer, was a proud Sun Devil, a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and a longtime ASU staff member. According to his family, “Michael lived fully for the people he loved and touched the lives of everyone who knew him. Funny and quick with a story, he had a gift for bringing people together. He cherished his friends and family and will be deeply missed.”

Formerly the director of the career center at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, Sanders was passionate about career preparation and took his job as a mentor seriously. Friends, students and colleagues remember him as their “ASU dad” who could light up a room with kindness. He regularly took care of other people, offering both advice and a listening ear.

Sanders’ wife, Heidi Sanders, '95 BA in broadcasting , said that her husband had an ability to help people feel included.

“Michael welcomed everyone as family,” she said. “He never met a stranger, made every person feel seen and served ASU with quiet, unwavering devotion.”

Department of English Chair Manushag N. Powell nodded to the impact of Sanders’ life and the family’s gift.

“I wish I had had the opportunity to know Michael,” she said. “This legacy, which is to support the career aspirations of our students and help them find their happiness, is deeply meaningful to the Department — and it is deeply kind.”

In 1996, Michael Sanders found himself at a familiar crossroads for many new graduates.

Freshly out of ASU with a degree in English, he was ambitious and confident he had a strong foundation, but uncertain about what came next. Law school — once the plan — no longer felt like the right fit. What he did know was that he loved reading and writing, enjoyed discussing big ideas and had a natural ability to connect with people.

Sanders’ wife, Heidi — whom he had met in an ASU English class on persuasive writing — encouraged him to stay open, lean in to his abilities, and use his networks.

And so he did.

With a combination of on-the-job training and what he’d learned at ASU about synthesizing complex information, writing clearly and effectively, and empathizing with others, Sanders thrived in each field he entered. He pursued finance, commercial real estate and banking, eventually landing a role as a bank vice president. His “soft” skills were his biggest assets.

“Mike came to believe that if you can write and communicate, you can learn almost anything,” said Heidi.

In 2014, when the corporate world no longer felt satisfying, Sanders took a staff job at ASU. He had realized that he wanted to help students who, like him, were compelled to pursue their passions but lacked guidance on a specific path. He started as a career specialist in the W. P. Carey School of Business and eventually joined the career center in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Colleagues said Sanders was known for his commitment to student support. “I’d catch him stopped on campus, giving directions to anyone who looked lost,” one ASU colleague said.

That dedication left a lasting impression on those closest to him. After his passing, Heidi sought a way to honor Sanders’ legacy by continuing the work he cared about most — supporting ASU students — and encouraged memorial gifts to the ASU Foundation for a New American University.

Although Sanders’ career culminated in an engineering department, where he was known for thoughtfully guiding STEM students and graduates, he credited his English degree as foundational to his success. With that in mind, and with the support of family and friends, Heidi established an endowed scholarship in Michael’s name.

Heidi describes her husband as someone who chose the “road less traveled” because he had a passion for people and for stories. She believes he would have wanted to support students, who, like him, struggled a bit to find their way.

“Mike always had a soft spot for kids who were willing to take that path,” she said. “It does make it less obvious what you’re doing next.”

The scholarship aligns with a broader effort at ASU to better prepare humanities students for the workforce. In the Department of English, faculty have emphasized hands-on learning, a focus sharpened by growing attention to how artificial intelligence is reshaping employment. Alongside internships and professional development opportunities, the department has introduced structured programs to help students identify career paths and clearly communicate — to employers and to themselves — the practical value of a humanities education.

At the same time, English graduates have always had a strong employment record. Statistics from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences show that earnings among those with humanities degrees are comparable to those in behavioral/social sciences and life sciences and that job satisfaction among humanities grads is on par with grads from all fields.

A July 2025 Mellon Foundation report laid it out simply: “In short, there is a serious mismatch between the actual employment landscape for humanities graduates and the general perception of it among relevant constituencies.”

This complexity informs the Department of English’s efforts to make career paths legible to its students and their families. The department’s Internships and Career Futures program, lauded by U.S. News and World Report, has more than 300 internship partners across industry, government and nonprofit organizations. And 92% of students who complete an internship in the Department of English report that it led directly to a job (2024–25 numbers).

"It turns out that your parents were wrong,” said U.S. News. “English majors can get great jobs right out of college.”

“More than that,” Powell said, “English majors have the skills and confidence to keep growing and forging new career pathways in the world. Probably no degree can be perfectly ‘future-proof,’ but we’re close.”

In addition to providing hands-on experience, the Department of English’s new required course for all majors, ENG 300: Your Degree in the World, is an intellectual exploration of professional possibilities. It includes modules on everything from interviewing techniques to podcast creation to written self-reflections.

Taught by tenure-line faculty since spring 2023, ENG 300 supplements practical career training and thought exercises with “expert” visits by career specialists, corporate recruiters and successful humanities alumni.

Foundation Professor Jeffrey Cohen has taught several sections of the course over the past few years. This fall, his class hosted visits by Nyasha Stone Sheppard, assistant director of ASU Career Services; LaToya Wilson, a talent acquisition specialist with State Farm; and ASU alum Cassie Blue, '10 BA in film and media studies, now a project manager at the electric vehicle company Rivian. In a surprise to the class, he also arranged a visit by his own son, Alex Cohen, who is the government affairs director at Alaska Wilderness League and was — of course — an English major in college.

Cohen, who is also dean of humanities in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said Your Degree in the World is his favorite class to teach.

“Thirty-six of our English majors gather to learn that humanities study enables them to both lead a good life and forge a successful career. Invariably, at the end of the course, my students tell me they are less certain of what they will do once they graduate but fully confident that they will find success and fulfillment.”

“I found it helpful and reassuring to see English graduates in a vast number of different jobs that weren’t necessarily ‘English-related,’” said Austin Heyden, an English (creative writing) major in Cohen’s class. “Rooted in everything is ultimately a story. This much is true no matter what field you end up in.”

Leo Wilson, a double major in English (linguistics) and computer science and another of Cohen’s students, said he intends to work in software engineering after graduation.

“I’ve quite enjoyed Dr. Cohen’s course this semester," Wilson said, "and it provided me with interesting insights into the career landscape for the humanities.”

Professor of English Lee Bebout, who teaches another section of ENG 300, said he sees real and practical value in offering the course.

“The students really seem to love the class,” Bebout said. “We talk a lot about framing their skills and mindsets based on readings and placing those in conversations with the resources that ASU offers.”

Ava Claus, a double major in English (literature) and sustainability and a student in Bebout’s class, confessed that she initially didn’t see the English major as a career asset.

“Honestly, the initial reason I decided to add English as a second major was just for fun,” she said. “I knew I loved reading and would be happy even if I ‘did nothing’ with the degree. Reflecting back, however, pursuing an English degree has had several tangible benefits toward my future career as an attorney.”

For example, one of the first ENG 300 class assignments was a “wandering map,” that Claus said helped her brainstorm her law school personal statement. And while she knew that her English degree was a good springboard to law school, Claus was also gratified by another bit of insight she took away from the class — that many companies are so keen to hire employees with good communication, writing and analytical skills, that they will gladly offer job-specific training.

“The course helped me see how English majors could be hired in career fields that are less ‘traditional’ because the skills they gain in the major supersede any technical skills they might be lacking. I was also surprised to hear that many jobs are willing to hire English majors and then pay to train them on the technical skills.”

English (creative writing) major Mason Dodds, one of Cohen’s students, said more than anything, his anxiety about his own chosen path and for the future was tempered by what he learned in the class.

“I want to be a writer for all media and to tell stories,” he said. “That job market is competitive. But I know now for sure that I will always have a job and it can be in many many fields.”

For the Department of English, the Michael V. Sanders Memorial Scholarship is both a tribute and a touchstone — a reminder that the uncertainty students feel about their futures is not a flaw but often the beginning of a meaningful path.

Sanders once stood where today’s English majors stand, unsure of what came next but confident in the skills he had gained. His life’s work — mentoring students, building connections and helping others see what was possible — reflects the very mission the department now advances.

In supporting English majors as they navigate their own futures, Sanders’ legacy lives on not only in memory, but in momentum.