Philosophy Alumni Network

Introduce yourself! Please include your name, your degree, and the year you graduated.

My name is Emily Sewell. I’m 24. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (2018) and a Master of Arts in Teaching, Middle-Level Science & Social Studies (2020) both from GSU. I live with my partner Michael and our sweet kitty named Shadow. 😊

What was your favorite or most memorable part of being in the Department of Philosophy at GSU?

It’s an unbreakable tie between serving as the Vice President of the Philosophers’ Guild during my senior year, helping fellow students with Intro to Philosophy (PHIL 2010) material as a Supplemental Instruction leader, attending guest lectures by notable philosophers of our day, broadening my mind in all of the amazing classes the program offers, and simply getting to know fellow Philosophy students and faculty who taught me so much.

What are you doing now? How does a degree in Philosophy help you in your current job?

Right now I hold what they call a ‘desk job’ in the healthcare field that involves constant interaction with patients. In the time of COVID-19, I’m very grateful to be employed full-time.

Put simply, my degree in Philosophy taught me how to think. Its principles are the railroad tracks to my train of thought and my first line of defense in any battle of wits. I’ve learned to process my thoughts in precise sequences, to sort through dilemmas logically to return creative and innovative solutions. I’ve also refined my communication skills. In philosophy and in life, what we say makes all the difference. To do my job, I ask myself daily, “How do I succinctly tell this patient what they need to know in ten seconds?” My philosophy training has my back. The best part is that these skills are beneficial to any job that I (or you!) could ever hold.

 

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current or prospective philosophy students?

Be brave and tenacious. Some of you will shy away from philosophy because you’re operating under the assumption that you just can’t ‘get there’ intellectually – that you can’t grasp what some old philosopher was talking about, maybe because you can’t get past the academic language or struggle to unpack complex reasoning. You might think you’re just not cut out for a Philosophy degree, but you’re wrong. Philosophy (done well) has a precise methodology. During your degree, you will be taught to understand and utilize this – whether that be to digest academic literature, craft your own arguments, or successfully challenge your opponent in a debate. Philosophy is a skill, not a natural talent. YOU CAN get a degree in Philosophy. Also, pay attention in Symbolic Logic class. Work through those logic problems whenever you get a chance, then do some more. Then some more. Trust me.

 

Introduce yourself! Please include your name, your degree, and the year you graduated.

I’m Paul Drevenstedt, I double majored in Philosophy and Spanish and I graduated in 1999.

What was your favorite or most memorable part of being in the Department of Philosophy at GSU?

My favorite part of being in the Philosophy Dept. was the breadth of classes on offer. I could learn about Kant, the ancient Greeks, and Eastern Religion in the same semester. The teaching was also excellent and I enjoyed every class I took.

What are you doing now? How does a degree in Philosophy help you in your current job?

I am the Assistant Public Defender for Ventura County, California. I concentrated on Ethics at GSU, and I continue to be interested in “The Good” – how a public agency with limited funding can maximize its ability to serve the community, especially the most vulnerable among us, such as those with mental health issues, substance use disorder issues, and histories of trauma.

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current or prospective philosophy students?

Study what you are passionate about! I was discouraged from studying Philosophy because it was not a “marketable” degree. But, I loved the classes and didn’t want to study something boring just to get a job. Later, in law school, I found I was passionate about trials and representing those without a voice and became a public defender. I never went the “marketable” route, and I have nevertheless enjoyed a fulfilling career that rewards my intellectual curiosity and allows me to serve my community.

Introduce yourself! Please include your name, your degree, and the year you graduated.

My name is Todd DuBose.  I graduated with my B.A. in Philosophy Department in 1984.

What was your favorite or most memorable part of being in the Department of Philosophy at GSU?

My favorite experience with the Department was actually working as a student assistant in the Department.  I focused on the philosophy of religion and took many classes with Jamie Price, and my favorite class was the Philosophy of Religion course with Dr. Bob Arrington.  I really enjoyed getting to know many of the professors, particularly Jamie as well as Linda Bell and Bob Almeder.  It was a very meaningful time for me and my life and I had wonderful friendships with fellow students, some of which have become lifelong friends.

What are you doing now? How does a degree in Philosophy help you in your current job?

I am currently a Distinguished Full Professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and teach existential, hermeneutical, and phenomenological approaches to psychology.  I have done extensive international work teaching these subjects.  I am also very interested and involved in the integration of the postmodern philosophy of religion and theology with human science psychology.  I also do a lot of work critiquing ideologies of practices of care in a hunt for who gets left out when we posit who a person is, what it means to suffer, what care is, and what is considered the good life.

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current or prospective philosophy students?

I am a believer in the engaged practitioner and public scholar model of education and scholarship, and I am continually looking to how philosophy can help me/us care well for others.  I have found my education in philosophy invaluable and would major again in it without question were I just starting out in college.  The major speaks to everything and is translatable to everything. Just risk allowing it to pulse through your life story and listen to where it calls you to get it expressed.

Introduce yourself! Please include your name, your degree, and the year you graduated. 

My name is Matthew Hutcherson, II. I graduated with an M.A. in Philosophy in December 1988. In addition, I received the following degrees:

Ph.D. - The Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, OH, M.T.S. - Emory Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, GA, M.Litt - Drew University, Madison, NJ, A.B. - Point University, East Point, GA. Additional Studies at The University of Georgia and Morehouse School of Religion.

What was your favorite or most memorable part of being in the Department of Philosophy at GSU? 

Dr. Robert Arrington challenged me to reconsider a worldview inclusive of diverse cultures, religions, and political ideologies. I also appreciated Dr. Linda Bell who chaired my thesis committee along with Dr. Tim Renick and Dr. Mark Woodhouse. My favorite memory of GSU philosophy was the freedom to think and respect for innovative ideas.

What are you doing now? How does a degree in Philosophy help you in your current job? 

I am a retired professor of philosophy teaching philosophy part-time at Clayton State University. My prior career vocations involved teaching philosophy at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Western New Mexico University, Dekalb College, Morris Brown College, Clark-Atlanta University, and Paine College.

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current or prospective philosophy students? 

Yes! Particularly for Afrikan American students, trust the wisdom of your professors at GSU, rely upon the study of philosophy to widen your scope on all matters of thought, and remember that the goal of philosophy is as much self-critique as it is a critique of the other.  Learn from your professors the art of embracing the Other.

Introduce yourself! Please include your name, your degree, and the year you graduated.

My name is Counsel McCullen. I graduated in 2011 from GSU with a BA in Philosophy and a BA in Political Science. (I was a dual major.)

What was your favorite or most memorable part of being in the Department of Philosophy at GSU?

My favorite part of the Department of Philosophy at GSU was the community it provided. It felt equal parts social and intellectual. The classrooms themselves fostered such great discussions between all participants, including professors, graduate students, and undergrads. It seemed like those conversations poured into the hallways. I fondly remember the friendly debates at Pizza Fridays, Ethics Bowl, and even in the computer lab that we had. Two fellow classmates, John Michael Yurchesyn and Jamie Bernhardt, and I started the Philosopher's Guild in 2009 to build around this community, and those are my fondest memories.

What are you doing now? How does a degree in Philosophy help you in your current job?

I am an attorney based in Atlanta. I made partner earlier this year at Busch Slipakoff Mills & Slomka (https://www.bsms.law/counsel-w-mccullen). I represent small and mid-sized companies and their investors in negotiated transactions. I typically handle capital raising transactions, business formations, mergers and acquisitions, and direct lending. My Philosophy degree helps me because my job requires creating, structuring, explaining, and negotiating abstract concepts. My job is essentially to take business arrangements and realities and reduce the concepts to paper while adding the necessary legalities. Working with smaller companies usually means more creative deals (and personal connections), which creates challenges for the lawyer. I'm very thankful for my Philosophy degree and background and think it helps me every day. It isn't talked about enough, but philosophy students make excellent transactional attorneys.

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current or prospective philosophy students?

My advice for current and prospective philosophy students is to engage as much as you can in your community and college. I strongly recommend studying philosophy because, in my view, it will make you better at just about any career you eventually pursue. In my opinion, the best way to determine what to pursue is to network and take as many opportunities (internships, jobs, volunteering, random projects) as you can to hone in on what you enjoy doing with your time.

Introduce yourself! Please include your name, your degree, and the year you graduated.

I’m Jeremy Sakovich. I earned my MA in Philosophy from GSU in 2016.

What was your favorite or most memorable part of being in the Department of Philosophy at GSU?

I really enjoyed teaching and most of the reading I got to do as part of my coursework and preparation for my thesis. It’s hard to dedicate as much time to reading as I was able to at GSU, and I’m grateful for that time.

What are you doing now? How does a degree in Philosophy help you in your current job?

I work for the Law School Admission Council as a Test Developer. What that means in practice is that I develop questions used on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). It’s a really interesting job and having a degree in philosophy is helpful for a few reasons. The primary one, for my job, is that it requires at minimum an MA in one of a few disciplines including philosophy. So without the degree, I wouldn’t meet a qualification for what I do. Otherwise, one aspect of high stakes standardized testing that is very important is fairness. On the LSAT that means making sure the questions are developed, as best we can, to avoid really sensitive issues for test-takers. We don’t want a test question to be about a subject that flusters someone and then makes it difficult for them to finish the test to the best of the ability, for example. This is related to philosophical problems of justice, but it’s a real-world application rather than a theoretical problem. Also having training in logic and a lot of experience thinking about arguments is really useful. Knowing some logic, which you learn in the MA program, also really helps with the deductive questions on the LSAT.

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for current or prospective philosophy students?

Maybe. Although I don’t know if what I say rises to the level of advice, nor do I know if it counts as wisdom. But I would say to carefully weigh the opportunity cost of graduate work in philosophy. It’s a lot of time and potentially money. Even if it’s funded, you would make more money doing a lot of other things. So do the math. Also, I would say that nothing prevents you from reading and writing philosophy without an MA or a Ph.D. in it. And that work requiring an MA or Ph.D. in philosophy is rare. I do think an undergraduate degree in philosophy is a good decision. But at the undergrad level, I would seriously consider a double major, if for no other reason than that most people don’t hold philosophy in high regard and there’s a good chance that one of those most people will be making a decision about hiring you, or not, for some job or another. I double-majored in philosophy and history as an undergrad, but if I could do it over again I would probably study philosophy and something in computer science, physics, or engineering.