{"id":5765,"date":"2015-11-17T14:15:27","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T19:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bsuenglish.wordpress.com\/?p=5765"},"modified":"2021-11-18T18:15:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T23:15:48","slug":"stars-to-steer-by-dustin-tipton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/blog\/2015\/11\/17\/stars-to-steer-by-dustin-tipton\/","title":{"rendered":"Dustin Tipton on finding your passion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dustin Tipton graduated from Ball State in 2012. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English with a focus in Creative Writing and Literature. He is the Chief Engineer for Hilton Garden Inn West Chester and KB Hotel Group. He lives in Cincinnati with his fiance, and they are expecting their first child, Zoe Loraine.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Prior to Ball State, I worked at the local manufacturing \"TiptonBioPic\"facility in my hometown. That\u2019s where I gained a love for what most employers recognize as \u201ctechnical skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, really, I just loved the process of taking something apart and putting it back together. I think it\u2019s that aspect that also made me love studying literature and writing. The act of taking apart a story, trying to understand why something in the narrative is or isn\u2019t working, truly isn\u2019t all that different from taking apart a complex piece of machinery<\/strong> and understanding why <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> isn\u2019t working.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most people will say that communication is the biggest advantage in being an English major in today\u2019s job market\u2014and, for obvious reasons, there is a lot of truth in that. English majors do possess an ability to communicate much more effectively than those who graduate in an industry-specific field. It is <\/strong><\/span>critical thinking<\/i><\/strong>, however, that really sets us\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>apart.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no greater companion to critical thinking than creativity.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

The ability to think creatively opens up an endless amount of ways to come up with a solution. Once you become known as the go-to person for a quick, creative solution, then you\u2019ve already set yourself apart. David Foster Wallace spoke about this (and did so much<\/span><\/i> more eloquently) in his <\/span>This is Water<\/span><\/i> speech. English majors are being taught <\/strong><\/span>to <\/i>think rather than being taught how to <\/i><\/strong>think,<\/strong> and I\u2019ve found the former to be a distinct advantage over the latter in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

I majored in a number of areas before realizing that I had to follow what I truly love. Somewhere beyond the halfway point of a business degree (and hating every minute of it) I decided to enroll in an intro to literature course. I believe it was a 200 level course designed specifically for non-English majors who may \u00a0be interested in English studies. That course was with Dr Rai Peterson.\u00a0In the classroom, the discussions, the learning environment, I felt so at home\u00a0<\/strong>that by the third class meeting, I walked from the classroom to across the hall and picked up a \u201cChange of Major\u201d form.<\/span><\/p>\n

That course made me realize not only could<\/i><\/strong> I study what I love, but it was imperative.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\nI was a silent fixture in the corner of Rai\u2019s classrooms for the next few years until graduation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s my advice:<\/strong>\u00a0Do what you love, but don\u2019t be afraid to try new fields (careers) to figure out what you love. Whatever you do, do it with passion. You have every right to bounce around until you find something that brings you passion.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dustin Tipton graduated from Ball State in 2012. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English with a focus in Creative Writing and Literature. He is the Chief Engineer for Hilton Garden Inn West Chester and KB Hotel Group. He lives in Cincinnati with his fiance, and they are expecting their first child, Zoe Loraine.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":17060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1973],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardinal-directions"],"yoast_head":"\nDustin Tipton on finding your passion - Ball State English Department<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/blog\/2015\/11\/17\/stars-to-steer-by-dustin-tipton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dustin Tipton on finding your passion - Ball State English Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dustin Tipton graduated from Ball State in 2012. 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