Student Profiles: Emily Mook
Literature major Emily Mook is the third woman in her family to attend VT,
following in the footsteps of her mother and older sister. Although
she initially decided on Tech due to its proximity to home (Salem, Virginia),
she has since come up with what she calls “better” reasons for
being a Hokie, namely the school’s “unbreakable spirit, community
support and teamwork, and [its] most remarkable English Department.”
Emily’s love of English was apparently sparked by her mother’s determination that she read – much against her will – Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. “I used to dread reading anything besides Babysitter Club books,” she says. Clearly, though, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy did not turn Emily against literature irrevocably because she notes that it was during the “soul-searching period between middle school and high school that I began to appreciate and embrace literature. I didn't realize until my senior year in high school that not everyone enjoys writing papers; as for me, few things made me happier. I can't imagine studying any other subject.”
In fact, when asked whether she prefers reading or writing, Emily responds in a way that marks her as a true English major: “The satisfaction of writing something I feel passionate about,” she says, “is matched only by the satisfaction of reading a book in which the author expresses himself or herself passionately.”
This past summer was not a typical one for Emily, but she says she “could not be happier about that.” Her older sister got married, and although Emily says she will miss her sibling, she also thinks that “her moving on has helped me loosen my own roots.” As for work, Emily juggled working at a new Barnes and Noble bookstore with interning for a local newspaper. At both locations, she indicates that “each one [of the people she has met] has taught me a bit about myself and what I can do to make this life worthwhile.”
Emily says she looks forward to the challenges of the new school year. “I feel like I am growing in some unexpected direction,” she admits, “like I'm being lifted to new destinations.”
Emily is set to graduate in Spring 2008.