“I want to teach at a school where I can make an impact,” said English major Lindsay Koza ’26. Koza talks about leading her own classroom and her confidence shines. She hopes to land a teaching position in a Milwaukee school and continue growing as both an educator and lifelong learner. “I will have the privilege to go into classrooms and get to know students from different walks of life,” she said.

Courses that combined learning in both practical and theoretical ways, along with critical thinking and analysis, helped Koza develop the skills and confidence she will carry with her. Co-curricular activities strengthened her leadership skills and connected Koza to people and opportunities that enriched her college experience.

Relevant Curriculum for an Evolving Subject

“Courses like Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners helped me understand diversity in the classroom,” she shared. “Guest speakers provided insight into their experiences. We talked about what teaching is like, we met with groups that represented diversity in La Crosse. We made connections at Viterbo and in the community,” Koza said.

She is quick to point out her appreciation for Viterbo faculty who each brought something different to the classroom. “I studied with all of the faculty,” she said, as she lists them by first name. “Vicki (Victoria Holtz) is a J.R.R. Tolkien scholar,” Koza shared. “I had never read his works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings,” so it was such a great opportunity to take a whole course that featured this author.”

The Grammar and History of the English Language course helped shape her thesis. “My senior thesis is based on A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, focusing on understanding modern linguistic culture and how society can help us be divided or brought together by language,” Koza explained.

Koza named career opportunities with English as a background: medical writing to artificial intelligence, creative, ghost, or report writing, library studies, social justice work, credit analyst, and teaching, to name a few. “It’s a continuously evolving subject area,” she said.

Writing, Tutoring, and Leadership on Campus

Valuable co-curricular experiences supported Koza’s English major and her passion for writing. She was an assistant editor for the student newspaper, the Lumen, where she enjoyed sharing her opinion and honing her editorial writing skills. Koza was literary editor for Touchstone Magazine, Viterbo’s literary art magazine that features students’ creative works of poetry, prose and artwork. Her first year, Koza was a writing peer tutor, and now she is a lead peer writing tutor.

She found the Honors Program a meaningful experience that strengthened relationships among college peers. She was part of the Honors Leadership Board and Koza took on leadership roles in the Education Club.

Koza is from just south of Kenosha, Wisconsin and she lived in Massachusetts for a time when she was growing up. She learned about Viterbo from family. “It represents my values,” she said. “I liked that Viterbo was founded by women as a teaching school.”

Explore the Program

At Viterbo, English students explore the power of words while finding their own voice. Through a mix of literature and writing courses, you’ll study great storytellers and build skills in creative writing, editing, critical thinking, research, and communication.