Michelle Kurilla, Class of 2022: Journalism, Book Writing, Research

I graduated from Harvard in May 2022 with one of the college’s only joint concentrations in English and Government. As I wrote in my application for the Literary Careers Summer Award, I thought that I would have to choose between a career predominantly in literature or government—not one that employed the skills I gained in both fields. Yet, my job this summer was a testament to my ability to draw on both fields simultaneously as a working professional. With LC’s support, I worked full-time as a book researcher for New York Times National Security Correspondent and Harvard adjunct lecturer David E. Sanger on his latest book project. (The subject of the book has not been publicly announced yet, so I cannot discuss specifics, but the book is scheduled to be released in early 2024.) Building on my previous experience working on my senior thesis, the project gave me insights into managing a multi-year project.

I gained hands-on experience in national security research and journalism – a natural coupling of my undergraduate studies in English and Government – while also learning how to meaningly connect long-term projects to a rapidly changing news cycle. For example, when the book was first started in 2021, Russia hadn’t launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine; since then, the invasion of Ukraine has played a major role in shaping the book’s narrative arc and driving the story.

My work varied throughout the summer, ranging from answering quick research questions with short memo-like responses to managing months-long chronologies of major national events. I also had a hand in steering the direction of book chapters by researching key national events, interviewing experts, sequencing scenes in chapters, and ultimately, drafting the chapter. I learned the most from the “storyboarding” process, which involved sketching out the details for each chapter and then fitting each chapter into the book’s longer narrative. No day was the same. Whether I was attending an in-person lecture at a think tank downtown or spending several hours in the office updating a previously drafted chapter to reflect new policy decisions by the Biden administration, my days varied based on the needs of the project.

When I first inquired about concentrating in English in my sophomore year, I was told to study English at Harvard if I wanted to become a better writer. Since my early days as a sophomore, the English department has provided me with every opportunity to better my journalistic abilities and my writing skills. I furthered development as a writer in Darcy Frey’s “The Art of the Personal Essay,” James Wood’s “Consciousness from Austen to Woolf” and “The Essay: History and Practice,” and Charlie Tyson’s junior tutorial on J. M. Coetzee. At the same time, courses in the Government department nurtured my interest in international relations and national security—especially Graham Allison, Derek Reveron, and David Sanger’s “The Central Challenges of American National Security, Strategy, and the Press” and Eric Beerbohm’s “Public Policy and Ethics.” At the end of my four years at Harvard, LC’s Summer Award continued my academic interest initially fostered in the English department, while also setting me up to use what I learned in my future career. I am incredibly grateful to the English department for their continued support of my intellectual and personal growth.