Shale is the University of Kentucky's own undergraduate literary arts journal. Comprised of fiction, poetry, and visual art from talented UK students, Shale is published once a semester to much fanfare. Part of that fanfare is the traditional reception, an event that is free to attend to an art-loving public. Students published in Shale, fans of the magazine, and a number of faculty members meet to celebrate another successfully assembled issue, as well as share their work in a public reading.

This summer took a different turn for Nathan Moore, an English undergraduate student with a minor in African American and Africana Studies, as he headed to New York City as a Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute Fellow.

English courses introduce students to skills beyond analyzing novels - teaching them how to interact and connect with other students and improve their skills of analysis. This skill set is useful beyond the classroom, helping former students to succeed in their occupations and as they continue their occupation.  In this podcast, Rachael Gilley, an English undergraduate student, and Jaclyn Spraetz, a 2009 Secondary English Education graduate, discuss how Spraetz's background with English courses impact her daily life.