Cody Tracy '19

How did your Knox experience help prepare you for what is next?

As a transfer student, Knox has prepared me in so many areas to be ready for what's next in my educational life. The level of difficulty that this school, especially the English Department, puts into its courses has been fundamental to my acceptance into a graduate program. Though, even without graduate school, I think I would easily be well prepared to enter the job market with plenty of options for gainful employment. Knox asks for a lot out of students and, in turn, gives a lot back to students. I'm so pleased to have been able to attend this college. I couldn't imagine having finished my undergraduate anywhere than at Knox, and in Galesburg.

What are your long-term plans post-Knox?

In the long future, I hope to be potentially working in public radio in places like NYC, or working on film sets in NYC or L.A. These two years of creative writing studies have given me an advantage in a field full of storytelling, documenting, and always writing. But of course, I'd be more than happy to be living in Middle America studying poetry again.

What's the most important thing you learned at Knox outside of the classroom?

The most important thing I learned at Knox was to learn how to love being an academic and loving the work in front of me. I also learned quickly that I can’t be perfect at everything and we have to make choices as students to find what best suits us.

Cody won The A. Eugene and Ella Stewart Davenport Prize in Creative Nonfiction in 2019 and had multiple pieces in Knox College’s Catch Magazine.