Meet Tamia Davis (’22) and Raevianna Davis (’21): developing communications professionals
by Debayudh Chatterjee, Graduate Assistant, HPRC
Meet Raevianna Davis and Tamia Miller, English majors nearing graduation and former ATLAS interns who worked with the HPRC.
Raevianna came to the University of Illinois from Quincy, Illinois. She was drawn to studying English because she was looking for something versatile that would not limit her job prospects. She also wanted to use her flair for close reading and writing. Classes on the long eighteenth century, medieval studies, and Black women writing enhanced her expertise in communication as well as training her to grapple head on with difficult existential issues. Raevianna also took a course on business and technical writing after joining the ATLAS internship program. In her internship, she handled the marketing and communications aspect of the HPRC and learned to create and execute social media marketing strategies to improve brand awareness. She also gained skill with Canva, a graphic design platform. Raevianna was able to use the skills she gained as an ATLAS intern to get a subsequent internship with Motorola in Research Park. Living in the multicultural milieu of Urbana Champaign acquainted her with people from different countries and backgrounds and taught her to adapt to varying circumstances and cultural differences.
Tamia comes from Park Forest, Illinois. Her lifelong love for writing pushed her towards studying literature. Tamia wrote poems, songs, and short stories in high school but experimented with longer forms, such as blog posts and personal essays, in college. Tamia emphasized that getting a degree in English is no longer only about canonical literature. She fondly remembers a course on culinary cultures where the students had to try their hand at different forms of writing every week along with visiting various restaurants and watching cooking shows from all over the globe. As an ATLAS intern working with the HPRC, she learned to analyze social media trends within HPRC’s feed to boost the number of followers and increase outreach. She specialized in developing content. Tamia mentioned how a life in Urbana-Champaign, with all its options of relaxation and entertainment, help one combat the stress and occasional boredom of student life. Tamia got an internship at Hallmark after finishing her internship with ATLAS, and she will be starting a full-time job with the company upon graduating!
Raevianna and Tamia demonstrate that English majors are not simply proficient in interpreting cultural texts, but they also learn valuable skills for the job market. Their trajectories demonstrate how humanities disciplines prepare students for a successful future.
