Graduating Class: '17

Casey Crownhart

Chemical Engineering (10) & Literature (21L)

“Literature was such an integral part of my undergraduate experience. I am so immensely grateful for the support I received from the students, faculty, and staff in the section. I learned so much from both the classes I took and the people I met about how to communicate and how to see the world through a different lens. I don’t know what I would have done without Literature Tea, Pleasures of Poetry, or running into professors and staff members in the hallway! Thank you so much for brightening my life during my time at MIT.”

Why are you a literature major? I’ve always loved reading, and after trying out a Literature class at MIT I realized I really love studying literature. I like the balance of my double major: I study engineering to be able to solve technical problems and I study literature to remember to be a person.

If you could teach one literature class, what would it be? I would teach a ‘bad’ film class, I think it would be really fun

What advice would you give your freshman self? You should try your best to enjoy every moment, even when it’s tedious. Take a step back and remember that you love what you’re doing.

What did you want to be when you were little? The first female president (Crownhart 2032?)

What is your most memorable moment from a Literature class? In Professor Tapscott’s poetry seminar, he told us a story from when he was just starting at MIT. The whole class was enthralled for the entirety of the story (it was a slight tangent from modern poetry), and just I remember thinking how undeniably awesome the literature faculty are.