Nataly Terry

Meet Terry

English, B.A., NDSU, 2020
Neuroscience, Minor, NDSU, 2020

I currently work as the Lead Grants Administrator for Sanford Health. In this role, I support the full range of grant management, which includes identifying grant opportunities, writing and applying for grants, and various post award activities (preparing reports, answering compliance questions, reviewing agreements, managing subawards, etc.). There is a lot of writing and information synthesis required in this role, as well as reading to interpret regulations and grant opportunities.

How did your time as an English major prepare you for your current role or your career?

One of the most advantageous parts of my time at NDSU was that I was encouraged to use internships toward required credit hours. I completed an internship with the NDSU Press, which I really enjoyed in addition to the other classes I took related to publishing. I also completed a grant writing internship with my current employer, which both led to additional credit hours and eventually a full-time role.

I also benefited from having Dr. Maylath as an advisor for my Capstone project, through which I gained a better high-level understanding of how I approach writing and how that differs from other approaches. This has helped me lean in to my approach rather than work against it.

What advice would you give to someone considering an English major?

If you are pursuing an English degree because you like writing, this skill is required in many, many more roles than you may initially be imagining. Any type of job that requires the generation of reports such as evaluation, fundraising, or marketing needs someone who can communicate clearly. I would recommend spending time thinking about the type of company you might be interested in writing for (nonprofits, local government, start-ups, healthcare, education agencies) and trust that most jobs involve more writing than others are prepared for. And, internships are really, really helpful!