Nina Ligman, English Honors Major
English is a unique major to see in the Honors College, but 3rd year student Nina Ligman is a unique student! While majoring in English, Nina also minors in Communications to enhance the skills she learns in her major. Nina has always enjoyed reading and writing, so she was excited about the creativity and job flexibility that an English major offered.
Learn more about UToledo's English B.A. Major
Nina is no stranger to creative exploration. In her free time, utilizing the Notes app, Ligman recently took it upon herself to redevelop curriculum for high school level English courses such as Creative Writing, American Literature, and British Literature. Thinking of class structures that had been effective in the past was both enjoyable and helped her with this mental exercise.
With the aim of providing a more well-rounded education, Ligman was careful to select books for her curriculum by a diverse range of authors while also keeping some of the classics because they "teach important lessons and are referenced frequently in modern literature." She even went to the lengths of coming up with essay prompts, allowing her to look deeper into the books' themes and meanings! Pursuing this endeavor helped Nina sharpen her own English skills in return, giving her the opportunity to sit down and read several of these classic books for the first time over break.
Nina’s favorite course that she has taken at the University has been Multicultural Literature with Dr. Parama Sakar. She says that it has developed her passion for reading further and helped to expand her worldview. It's a class that Nina highly recommends to anyone interested in English or reading.
Outside of academics, Nina is very involved on campus with extracurriculars. She is the President of the UToledo Ballroom Dance Society as well as the Secretary of Hillel. Nina is also a member of H.E.A.R.T. and the International English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, as well as a Resident Assistant at the Honors Academic Village.
Major Reflection: “The English major is the butt of a lot of jokes, but I love my major and I do not regret it at all.”