EWM alumna Olivia Brooks brings impressive academic skills, strong work ethic to Rhetoric and Composition master's program

By Aiden Wood

A good synopsis to describe Olivia Brooks would be that she is a North Florida native with an exemplary academic career, an enthusiasm for language, an impeccable work ethic, and a keen sense of adventure.

Of course, like anyone, she is more than a 25-word summary.

Brooks graduated from Florida State University at the end of the Spring 2024 semester with her Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Editing, Writing, and Media, with a minor in communication. She enrolled at FSU under the Degree in Three Program, which is set up for students who earn enough college credits in high school.

English Associate Professor Tarez Samra Graban met Brooks when she took Graban’s Introduction to Rhetoric course in the Spring 2023 semester.

“I invited students to understand rhetorical theory as a series of principles that are related to human consciousness but embedded in living practices and concrete events,” Graban says. “Olivia worked exceptionally hard in that class, often thinking outside the box and responding creatively to our in- and out-of-class assignments.”

Graban adds that Brooks “thrived on the challenge of tracing rhetorical concepts across culture, geography, and time, and she was able to articulate with great clarity the types of assignments and the kind of instruction that benefited her the most.

“She was also just a joyful and joyous presence in the classroom, and a great collaborator to her teammates on the final project.”

With her focus on teamwork, Brooks is a good example of the kind of students who major in English at FSU. For the internship that is required for her EWM degree, she worked with the English department from Spring 2023 until she graduated, first as a writer/editor and then as the coordinator for the department’s student media team.

“Working with Olivia was so easy,” says Jack Clifford, the English department’s media specialist and intern supervisor. “I never worried about her work, and she always spent time with the other students in the internship group to build their confidence in writing.”

That naturally supportive character led Brooks to be the kind of editor that most writers appreciate having on their side. She provided encouraging, critical, and insightful feedback on articles, along with swift and consistent communication. One of her responsibilities was to check in weekly with the interns, and a student from the Spring 2024 group shared this email from Brooks:

Hi there! I hope you had a good spring break and time off!

I'm just checking in to see if there is anything I can do to help as we get into the thick of the semester and the final month coming up.

Thank you for everything you've been doing in the internship!

Best,

Olivia

Brooks herself enjoys being a student at FSU: “Friend life and social life is easy to get into at Florida State. A lot of my time is spent around great people I have met at Florida State,” she says.

The appreciation she has for her undergraduate alma mater influenced Brooks’ decision to earn her master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition at FSU.

“I knew I always wanted to get my master’s in English,” she says. “Having one is important for the career field I want to pursue, so I figure doing it now is the best choice.”

Her choice for graduate school was between FSU and New York University, and Brooks ultimately chose FSU because of the supportive faculty within the department. Transitioning into graduate school at an institution and department she is already familiar with is likely easier as well.

As an undergraduate student, Olivia worked effectively with her peers, demonstrating attentiveness, empathy, tenacity, persistence, and problem-solving. I think she will bring these same strengths to bear on this next chapter of her life as a student in our M.A. program.

— Tarez Samra Graban

Recalling the type of student Brooks was in her class, Graban says she was not surprised by how well Olivia took to the course material or to the questions guiding the course.

“But I continued to be surprised by how much she built intellectual character from every experience she had inside and outside of the classroom,” Graban adds. “This is one of several qualities we look for in graduate applicants, and I think it is a quality that Olivia will readily bring to our program. Also, as an undergraduate student, she worked effectively with her peers, demonstrating attentiveness, empathy, tenacity, persistence, and problem-solving.

“I think she will bring these same strengths to bear on this next chapter of her life as a student in our M.A. program.”

Brooks says she is excited about how different and more in depth her graduate classes are going to be for her. Throughout her time as an undergraduate student, Brooks enjoyed her EWM core classes, such as Rhetoric and History of Texts and Technologies, which taught her how to engage with historical artifacts and ways to discuss different mediums.

“I am excited to see how the structure and specificity of the coursework changes as EWM kind of encompassed the department as a whole,” Brooks says. “It will be nice to get familiar with a certain wing of the department and get to know those faculty members and class types.”

Her choice in a college major has been “a good companion to my outside life because I love to read, and I love to write. I love anything that involves books.”

She also enjoyed being able to take English courses that were not EWM specific, such as literature and creative writing electives that expanded her knowledge in the degree. The Medieval Literature class she took as an elective stands out to her as a favorite. She also completed an internship with Southeast Review, the nationally recognized literary journal published by FSU English graduate students.

Her hobbies are not all reading related, however. Brooks is also an avid runner, and she enjoys the competition aspect of long races. In February 2024, she ran in The DONNA National Half Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer in her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, finishing in a time of 1:56:56. On June 1, Brooks competed in and completed the Newport Marathon, running along the Oregon coast and finishing in 3:57:33.

“Running was never in my workout regimen until about eight months ago, and now it consumes me,” she says, emphasizing how much time she commits to the sport. “I’ve run two half marathons, a 15k race, and now a marathon. It’s such a great community and helps fuel that competitive nature that sports taught me growing up. I’m always trying to challenge and better myself when running.”

Her professional work experience is extensive as well. Since August of 2023, Brooks has worked with Black Thoughts Editorial Services, as an assistant editor, an editor, and her current position as managing editor. Black Thoughts specializes in dark fantasy and gothic horror fiction, and being with the company has been a favorite experience of hers because she works one on one with clients.

She also is an editorial assistant for Thin Veil Press, an online literary magazine based in London that publishes annually at midnight on Halloween, with dark fiction and poetry posts throughout the year as well.

“I always try and work with different companies that involve reading and writing,” Brooks says, adding that she especially enjoys fact checking, copy editing, and line editing. A

s for dark fantasy and gothic horror, Brooks says she has always read fantasy fiction and was drawn to other fiction as she got older.

“I branched out into every genre to test waters and see what else I’m interested in,” she says. “Editing gothic horror and dark fantasy is such a niche experience because the authors of these genres are always so inquisitive and have such cool backgrounds as to why they write the abstract stories they do.”

With her strong academics, accompanied by a big heart and exceptional ambition, Brooks is a successful student and leader at FSU. Her career aspirations are to find a full-time position as an editor.

Through her classwork and her professional experiences and internships, Brooks discovered an enthusiasm for editing, while finding out that she is good at what she does.

Aiden Wood graduated from FSU in May 2024 with his Bachelor of Arts in English-Creative Writing, with a minor in education.

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