Tasha Hacker '99
Major: English (writing)
Profession: Senior Layout Designer, English Curriculum Development Project, Doha, Qatar

“I was never one who knew clearly what I wanted to do with my life,” says Tasha Hacker. “St. Lawrence was perfect for me because it allowed me to explore many interests, both academic and extracurricular. But what made my college experience particularly valuable was the faculty members who took a personal interest in my work and in my direction.”

As illustrations, Hacker cites her experiences as a Cultural Encounters student, where she explored cultural issues, art and music, while focusing on creative writing and literature; being a writing tutor; learning the basics of journalism and newspaper layout by working on the student newspaper; her London semester; and her senior internship in communications.

“These led me to join the Peace Corps as an education volunteer after graduation,” Hacker says. In the Russian Far East, she taught English and creative writing, and used her writing, layout and communications experiences to help design and launch an English language newspaper. After her two-year stint, she moved to Qatar , where she works on a long-term project designing specialized English as a Foreign Language course books and multimedia materials for employees and trainees at Qatar Petroleum.

“When I graduated from St. Lawrence, I could not have foreseen where my varied experiences would lead me, and I never would have guessed then that they would land me in the Middle East ,” Hacker says. “However, I knew that I was equipped with the skills and, most important, the confidence to pursue any of the paths that were laid during my undergraduate study.”