Literary Advances

Cogan Fellows embody versatility of an English degree

March 20, 2007

Nicole Dispenziere-Pitcher '99 (left) and Alison Taylor '76 shared their career journeys with current students in late February.

Alison Taylor '76 worked in public relations before becoming a lawyer. Nicole Dispenziere-Pitcher '99 taught high-school English in England before moving on as a caseworker for children with special needs.

Different generations. Different career paths. Same core educational background. The duo majored in English while at Dickinson, decisions that, in late February, brought them back to campus to share their experiences with others as Cogan Alumni Fellowship honorees.

An emphasis on literature in college can reap rewards years later in a wide array of careers, the two explained to current Dickinson English majors.

"If you want to learn to communicate, read good literature," said Taylor, adding that her college courses paid off regularly, particularly when she had to decipher some early 20th-century legal "opinions no one can understand" because the writing style was impenetrable by today's standards.

During her public-relations career, Taylor said she wanted to do more with her life than pitch cereal, kitchen countertops and the nutritional value of beer. She studied to become a lawyer and is now deputy general counsel for the Pennsylvania Governor's Office of General Counsel.

Dispenziere-Pitcher said her degree in English made it easier to absorb complex material and communicate well with parents of children with special needs. "I have to write a lot of difficult correspondences and make them accessible," added Dispenziere-Pitcher, who is continuing her studies in England to become a speech and language therapist.

The Cogan program is named in honor of Eleanor Cogan, who received her master's degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1932 and, after a career in science and as a homemaker and mother, returned to Dickinson as a continuing-education student in fall 1979. Cogan took 52 courses at Dickinson, 32 in the English department. In 2003 she received an honorary doctor of letters from Dickinson for her commitment to lifelong learning and the liberal arts.