With a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, experience as a mediator, and a background teaching Adult Basic Education, St. Paul, Minnesota resident Karl Blakely has known for some time that he wanted to continue his education at the graduate level. When he learned about the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program at WNMU, he knew he had found a good fit for his diverse interests, but since starting the program, he has also found that his education has helped his career.
Blakely is employed by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), where he works as the supervisor of the Member and Audience Services Department. His department provides general customer service as well as technical services, and his position also involves technical writing. He is currently developing training manuals for the staff on his team, a responsibility that has been aided by his WNMU coursework.
“I took a course called Professional Writing with Dr. Heather Steinmann, and that course is really a bread and butter type of class because it was very thorough,” said Blakely. “It gave me a lot of ideas about how to construct my training manuals, as well as the other professional communications that I have to do in the organization.”
Some of the other courses in his program are also directly connected to the work he does. “I am scheduled to take a class next spring on Proposal and Grant Writing. Given my work in public radio, I wanted to make sure I got some training in that,” he said.
In addition to a concentration in writing, Blakely’s MA program also includes courses in literature and bilingual education, which he has found equally relevant to his work.
One of the classes in his master’s program that stands out to him as a favorite is Native American Literature. Blakely said that he learned a lot about the interconnectedness of indigenous peoples and about how Euro-American ideas of individualism undermined the collective. This is something that he reflects on in his job.
“At my job, I am working hard to be the liaison, so that I can get information from people, create my manual, and make these connections.” The class, he said, brought home ideas about “how to relate to each other and how important that is.”
In addition to working at MPR, Blakely has also worked as a WNMU Teaching Assistant. “When I was a younger man, I wanted to be a professor, and along the way, some bumps in the road kind of got in the way of that, so when I got the opportunity to be a TA, I jumped on that,” he said.
As a Teaching Assistant, he said, he especially enjoyed his experience with the Applied Liberal Arts and Sciences course, taught by Dean of Arts and Sciences Kate Oubre. “I have a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, so I had a great time chatting with people in the class,” he said.