Nora Schultz, Horlick High School, Class of 2020
Where did life lead you after high school?
After graduating in 2020, I attended college at the University of Chicago, majoring in English and Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of Chicago and graduating summa cum laude, followed by a one-year master’s degree in English at the University of Cambridge.
What are you doing now?
I’m now a first-year PhD student in Literary Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, interested in the reception of the nineteenth century into the present, particularly in immersive physical spaces such as museums and theaters.
How did your high school experience help prepare you for the next steps?
My time at Horlick truly helped me to become a well-rounded person. Knowing such a diverse range of students from all sorts of backgrounds and with all kinds of dreams and aspirations has helped me keep a sense of perspective within the sometimes socially daunting atmosphere of higher education. Horlick is where I first learned the importance of putting myself out there, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and getting as involved as possible in the community around me, wherever I may find it!
What are your plans for the future?
My current dream is to become a tenure-track professor of English at a university hopefully not too far away from all my friends and family in the Midwest! Being realistic about the academic job market, however, I am also deeply interested in pursuing a career in a wide range of adjacent fields, such as museum, library, or archive work, or finding alternative outlets for my passions for writing, teaching, and research. For the time being, my PhD is set to take me until 2031, so I look forward to seeing how these plans shift between now and then!
What advice would you give to current high school students?
Don’t be afraid to try new things and make new friends! I entered high school as a very shy and introverted freshman, and it took me a while to come out of my shell—with hindsight, I wish I could tell my younger self to simply be herself and to not back down from social challenges. Show interest in other people, and more often than not, they’ll show interest in you!