“Every professor I’ve had, every student that I worked with, they gave me something that I don’t think I could have gotten somewhere else. It just feels like home because it has everything I want and the encouragement that they gave me to study what I wanted. ”
Korbin Jones
Writing with an emphasis on creative writing and publishing; Spanish
Graduating Class: 2018
Hometown: Clearmont, Missouri
Major: Writing with an emphasis on creative writing and publishing; Spanish
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Korbin earned a fully funded seat in a prestigious Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing and credits that opportunity to the mentors and experiences he found at Northwest.
Using the skills he learned in a publication skills course and his work with the Green Tower Press, Korbin published a book of poems and created a literary magazine.
“I discovered my love of designing books and type-setting, and so I was able to take what I learned from publication skills and Green Tower Press and put into work my own collection of poems and photography. They encouraged my creativity and my art and I’m always going to be grateful for that.”
Having taken Spanish classes as a high school student, Korbin enrolled in additional classes while studying international business as a freshman and enjoyed them so much that he stayed with it, eventually adding it as one of his majors. As part of his literary work, he translated poems and collections by poets from Spain and Paraguay.
Looking to expand his cultural knowledge, Korbin spent a summer at Idipar, a language school in Asunción, Paraguay. In addition to studying at Idipar and teaching at Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano, he earned additional academic credits by completing a travel writing course he created through Northwest Online.
Looking ahead, Korbin has hopes of pursuing a Ph.D. and becoming a college instructor. Or he may work in publishing, designing books and magazines.
“Northwest allowed me feel like what I had to say and what I wanted to do mattered, especially in terms of being queer and being someone who is an activist or wants to do things that change the world. It’s really easy to leave your mark on Northwest, but it’s so much easier for it to leave its mark on you.”
