Students of WKU English

On why she chose to continue her education:

“I knew I wanted to be a professor and that takes a masters for teaching college level. I also knew I wasn't done with school. I love being in school, I never want to stop learning so I just always knew that I would go on to my masters."

On choosing her current internship:

"I want to know everything and to be able to talk about everything. So [with] English you can choose any topic…I can research for writing, I can I read student papers across majors, I just like that it's kind of the only area that lets you get a taste of all the disciplines."

On embracing the unfamiliar in subject matter she writes about:

"It really taught me to like get down to the bare-bones of English…but as for the major thing [it] would be doing some research on a topic entirely new to me. I’ve done vascular access, roofing, tree removal, pharmacy, just all kinds of broad topics I'm not versed in. [I’m] researching and then having to display confidence and credibility in an article even though it's the first time I've ever written about it.

I actually wouldn't have agreed to my internship if I hadn't taken her editing and publishing class. So that really helped me prepare for the other form of writing I can do, it's not all creative.”

On teaching:

"I've been teaching forever. I taught my friends when I was in high school; they would come to me before a test. I helped my classmates or my

friends in college with papers, I used to edit papers for friends or help them get started on assignments, I was a special education tutor for 4 years, [and] I

us for like five minutes and then I was like, ‘Why are you nervous you’ve done this before it's just a different setting."

On continuing her education:

"It took me two years to get into a master's program and those two years knowing I could have been in school it was really frustrating. I wanted to be back in that setting. That's another reason why I want to continue teaching, I can't leave the college campus. I want to be surrounded by intellectuals and people that will debate the oxford comma. It's the environment I see myself in so I just feel like I've always known this is what I wanted so any complaint about that would hinder my experience.”

 

On what it means to be a first generation American:

“[M]y whole family is Bosnian, and my parents were refugees. So I am the first Bosnian-American in my family. English is my second language, actually. It’s not my first language.”

On her decision to pursue tertiary education:

“A lot of the teachers that I had in high school that inspired me to pursue English went to Western [Kentucky University] and I wanted to be [like] them.”

On her mentor, a Physics teacher named Dr. Smith, who inspired Mehmedovic to pursue a Creative Writing degree:

“When I doubted my abilities, she’s the one that helped me realize my worth. Even today, I still go to her for advice. She inspires me to be the best writer and person that I can be.”

On her choice of major & minor:

“I’ve always been drawn to storytelling, which is why I do Creative Writing and Film. I like that you tell stories in different mediums and different ways. I want to get my MFA in Creative Writing. I want to be a professor; I want to do a lot of things.  I want to get my MFA so I can be a professor, but I do want to pursue writing as a career as well, and I also want to do some things with film.”

On working at the WKU Writing Center:

“People come in and I help them with any part of the writing process. I can help them with creative stuff, academic stuff, anything that involves writing in any way. I can help in the beginning stages [with] brainstorming, organizing and planning, figuring out where to go with a piece or paper.”

On the benefits of the WKU Writing Center:

 “I think having another perspective on something is beneficial. Because when you’re writing something, whether it is a creative piece or just an essay or paper, you’re kind of biased towards yourself. You know yourself as a writer and you don’t notice things that other people might notice - mistakes or things like that. So having another person read it, and work through it with you will help you see it in a different perspective. “There are people who come in and their papers are perfect, if not perfect, then really good, and I’m like, ‘Why are you here? It’s already great,’ but there’s always stuff to improve - even if they are a talented writer.”