First-Year Seminar Shaped 佩奇穆雷’s DU Experience

Four years ago, 佩奇穆雷 came to the University of Denver an avid reader. She graduates in June — with a bachelor’s degree in 性别与妇女研究 — just as passionate about reading as ever but equally as keen about writing.

So keen, in fact, that she’s determined to make writing a central part of her future. “我想教写作,她说。, 带着这个目标, she’s eyeing graduate 项目 that will prepare her for the challenge.

从她ca88登录正确网址的第一个学期到最后一个学期, Murray spent much of her time at DU putting words into service 和 honing her thoughts 和 ideas.

但那是第一年的研讨会，被称为 FSEM, that played a formative role in her DU experience. “My FSEM (Feminism 和 the Romance) was a cross between writing 和 性别与妇女研究. 这真的激发了我的灵感,她说。, noting that it not only inspired her choice of major, it got her thinking deeply about how gender issues are addressed in popular culture.

“We had a lot of great conversations about writing 和 feminism,” she recalls. Those conversations — along with subsequent work in her major — paved the way for her senior thesis, allowing her to graduate with distinction 和 honors. Her work explores reimagined fairy tales in young adult literature, zeroing in on Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thorns 和 Roses” 和 its reworking of the original Beauty 和 the Beast fairy tale, 首次出版于1740年.

Murray didn’t confine her love of reading 和 writing to course work. 她在杜克大学找了份工作 写作中心, helping international students improve their academic writing. “I just tried to provide a perspective about DU’s expectations,她说。. 辅修英语和传播学, 她精通如何清晰地沟通, 认为很有说服力地, 和 support abstract ideas with rhetoric 和 research.

When she wasn’t refining her own papers or helping others with theirs, 默里在忙她的博客, 的Paige-Turner, where she reviews — often with a feminist perspective 和 always with friendly, 非正式散文-小说, science-fiction 和 fantasy works created for the young adult (YA) audience. “I really like that YA tackles a lot of different topics, 和 talks about them in a way that is really relatable,她说。.

“It has really turned into this place where I can talk about things I love,” Murray explains. 这种爱似乎是会传染的. 她的博客现在有成千上万的读者, so many that publishers regularly provide her with review copies, hoping to get their titles in front of her audience. Many of the blog’s followers are of high school age 和 still new to feminism 和 gender issues. Murray uses the blog to take on some tough topics — 和, 通过评论部分, 与个别读者进行讨论. 例如, 在她的帖子“荆棘和玫瑰的法庭”中,” she criticizes the book for normalizing date rape, an observation that prompted one high school freshman to lament the prevalence of homophobic 和 sexist comments in some classrooms.

Murray credits her DU courses 和 professors with challenging her to think critically. 那, 反过来, gave her the confidence to share her interests 和 opinions on the blog — even when those opinions might challenge the conventional wisdom.

来自加州波莫纳., Murray decided to enroll at DU after visiting campus on a Colorado trip that took her to several other schools. 只要走一走，她就被出卖了. “这就是我需要去的地方，”她回忆说. “校园感觉很有人情味. 每个人看起来都很放松.”

Her choice was confirmed after she visited some friends at other campuses with tens of thous和s of students. Returning home, Murray says, “I just felt at DU that there was always a place for me.”