Accomplishing one’s dreams is something a person can only hope to do. For Sophia Considine, the University of Iowa has brought her closer to her dreams than ever.

Considine, a senior at the UI majoring in English and creative writing with minors in communications studies and news and media literacy, wanted to be an author since she was young. Her love of writing was sparked very early on, in her kindergarten class in her hometown of Macomb, Michigan.

“My kindergarten teacher, the best person ever, gave us these blank Little Golden Books, and we had to write our own story. I wrote a bunch of little books when I was young, but I really love the first book I wrote. It’s called the ‘Christmas Princess and the Mean Guy,’” Considine said.

Since then, Considine has changed her direction, wanting to break into the publishing side of writing after she published a collection of poems. To help make her decision, she took an intimate class with seven other students that detailed the entire marketing process, from submissions to reading manuscripts to hosting launch parties for the authors.

Now, Considine plans to move to New York City, and she hopes to work for one of the big five publishers while working her way up to an editorial position. When she is publishing, she wants to publish fantasy, romance, YA, sci-fi and coming of age novels.

As for her own work, Considine enjoys writing poetry, and she is currently, and slowly, working on her own novel. If she were to publish a poetry collection, she would like to self-publish, but publishing her novel would hopefully be done in a more traditional fashion.

To gain experience for her future career, Considine was heavily involved in many student organizations on campus, including several literary magazines, Earthwords, the English Honor Society, and Hallyu at Iowa. At these organizations, she served as executive editor, vice president, secretary, and membership officer respectively.

Of these organizations, her two favorites were Earthwords and Hallyu. Earthwords is an undergraduate student literary review  through the UI’s Magid Center for Writing  in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The publication allows for students to showcase their own works and learn how to produce a literary magazine.

Hallyu is a student organization at the UI dedicated to Korean Pop Culture and Entertainment. The organization hosts activities  centered around history, fashion, and entertainment.

“In two different ways, they’ve been such a source of inspiration … Earthwords helped me develop a lot of skills that I’ll need in the rest of my life since I want to go into publishing … Hallyu was just a place to have fun and get some exercise and just really enjoy the music and perform,” Considine said.

Elana Walters, a friend of Considine’s who she met while working at literary magazines her freshman year, talked about her contributions to the magazine.

“I think she should be way more appreciated than she is,” Walters said. “She takes on so much work, and you would never know because of how flawless she’s doing everything.”

Considine and Walters worked together on Earthwords as executive editor and managing editor, respectively.

Besides her student organizations growing her connections, just being in Iowa City was enough for Considine.

“We came here my junior year, and I went on a tour, and I basically fell in love with Iowa City and the closeness of everything and the excitement for writing … it was perfect,” Considine said.

At the university, Considine said many experiences helped her to grow her confidence, including poetry, fiction and nonfiction seminars, study abroad opportunities in Ireland, attending the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, and growing relationships with professors and advisors.

Similarly, Considine participated in a launch party at Earthwords, an experience she felt encapsulated her time at the university.

“It was such a welcoming, comforting, and beautiful atmosphere to have so many people who care about art and literature be in the same space and be celebrating the work that is published but also having this inspiration to do it yourself or to continue and support the people that are creating. I believe that’s a lot of what Iowa stands for,” Considine said.

For those hoping to break into the English and writing scene at the UI, Considine leaves a piece of advice.

“At the core of it all is just trying to get involved in any way you can because everyone wants to support you, and everyone wants to help you succeed,” Considine said.