Senior Spotlight: Ariel Hammerash

Ariel Hammerash is an English and French double major who plans to be a novelist and flight attendant for American Airlines.

What drew you to English when you arrived at UMD?

I've always been interested in creative writing and writing stories has always been an escape and something that brings me a lot of joy. Going into college, I knew that that was something that I wanted to continue to hone and continue to learn about. So I chose to major in English with a creative writing track.

What was your favorite English class?

I’ve taken ENGL 498: “Advanced Fiction Workshop” several times, and my favorite was with Professor Fuentes, who had us writing flash fiction. I found out that I could explore things that I wasn't comfortable with and go outside of my comfort zone, and she was a professor who really gave us a lot of individualized attention and feedback. I grew a lot as a writer in that class and it was really satisfying seeing our final piece come together. 

How was your experience double-majoring in French?

I started learning French when I was in middle school. I have family in France and my mom took French, so it's a very nostalgic language. It's a beautiful language and I just feel so blessed to be able to communicate with people all across the globe with my French knowledge.

Can you tell us about your future career plans?

I've always known that I wanted to write novels, but being a pragmatic person, I wanted to have something to support me while I worked on my writing. Being a flight attendant is a job where I can use my French skills. I enjoy connecting with people and helping people, and seeing the world is something that I've always dreamed of doing. While being a flight attendant is completely different from being a writer, I think that my experiences as a flight attendant will give me more inspiration to write. So that's why I decided to apply, and it all worked out.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

I’m currently working on my first novel, so hopefully, in ten years, I will be published. It's my dream to get it published with a big publishing house. And in terms of flying, I would hopefully have more seniority by then, and I would love to be put on routes that visit Francophone countries.