Exercising Your Brain: A Conversation in Two Parts with Wren Singer, Director of Undergraduate Advising

Wren Singer, director of the Office of Undergraduate Advising
Wren Singer, director of the Office of Undergraduate Advising (OUA), is pictured at her office in Ingraham Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on July 1, 2014. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)

Wren Singer recently sat down to talk about both her time as an English major at UW-Madison and her current work here as Director of Undergraduate Advising. See what she had to say about the role of a trusted adviser and the value of a major that challenges you.

Part 1: On Advising

“Advising should be a relationship. The adviser helps the student make the most of their college experience. What kind of courses, what kind of majors, what kind of other activities, what kind of jobs—how are you going to package this all together, understand it, and then be able to communicate it?”

Part 2: On the English Major and Careers

“The English major exercises your brain. So even if you don’t end up doing anything that involves literary critique, your brain just works better than it would have if you only studied things where you had to memorize.”