My name is Layla Wofsy. I am a Senior at Emory University, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Rhetoric, Writing and Information Design. I am from Westport, Connecticut but currently live in Atlanta, Georgia.
I like to think that my interest in writing and politics started at the same time. After the 2016 election, like many others, I was extremely disappointed. However, I was more disappointed in the fact that I had not done anything to help Hillary Clinton win. Yes, I was too young to vote, but I also didn’t volunteer or do anything to help influence the results. It was in that moment that I decided I would no longer sit and watch the world change around me, without doing anything about it.
So, that year, I joined my high school newspaper and wrote news stories and opinion pieces about the political issues I cared about. I soon became the opinions editor for the paper in which I worked on the layout for that section and edited stories. I also became an intern for a 22-year old who was running for State Senate in my district. I was one of ten other high school and college age interns and was able to do various jobs on the campaign. I door-knocked with the candidate, worked on the campaign website, helped with social media, and led various campaign events. He ended up wining against the Republican incumbent who had been in office longer than he had even been alive.
Flash forward to my freshman year at Emory, I was able to find classes that fit my political interests, but struggled to find courses that fit my passion for journalism. For the next two years I indulged myself with various political science classes that I loved and enjoyed but still was missing the journalism instruction that I had in high school.
In the Fall of 2021, I and come across the Rhetoric, Writing and Information Design (RWID) minor and enrolled in two ENGRD classes- Writing for Publication and Oral Communications. Both of these courses made me realize that finally I found an area of study that fulfilled my writing interests.
I have spent the past two years completing the RWID minor and developing my rhetorical skills.
