How this humanities grad is thriving in the Huntsville STEM scene right now

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Annie Hallman defies all stereotypes—she’s taken her English degree and transformed it into a killer STEM career.

Read on to learn why she decided to change her career path after the events of 9/11 and how she was recently featured on a national podcast.

Meet Annie

Originally from Fayette, Alabama, Annie has lived in Florence and Washington, D.C. and now in Huntsville for four years. She graduated from The University of North Alabama (UNA) in 2000 and played right field for The Lions softball team.

In addition to being on the softball team, Annie enjoyed playing at singer-songwriter showcases in Muscle Shoals during her college years. She even recorded a CD!

Now, her hobbies include roasting small batch coffee beans, playing guitar, coaching her six-year-old son’s tee-ball team and spending time with her wife, whom she married in 2013.

Falling in love with literature

When it came to declaring her major at UNA, Annie had a complete 180 moment. After originally starting as a pre-med major, she couldn’t deny how much she loved her English classes.

Eventually, she decided to pivot and declared English with a minor in Journalism. This decision is what ultimately led her to the path she is on now.

Podcast guest speaker for the National Humanities Alliance

After graduating from UNA, Annie went to a Division Two university in North Carolina to begin working on her master’s while coaching softball. But after the events of September 11, 2001, she felt called to serve her country.

She enlisted in the military, joining the Army as a Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Analyst. In this role, she began to use her English major skills in a more technical sense—delving into tech writing, science and data analytics.

Through pivoting to a STEM role and learning technical writing skills, Annie found the key to thriving as a humanities major in a STEM world.

Recently, she was a guest speaker on the National Humanities Alliance podcast, where she examined the intersection of humanities and STEM.

“The stereotype is that you get an English degree and become an English teacher. But there are different types of writing and various career paths you can take with an English degree.

My major taught me to analyze, think critically and communicate well. It’s what empowers me to be the bridge between the engineers and scientists who speak one sort of language and then the end users which may be soldiers, operators or commanders.”

Annie Hallman

Program manager at Areté

Annie worked as a Department of Defense Contractor for over 20 years. Her various roles included technical writing on geospatial intelligence, imagery science and analytics.

Now, she’s the Senior Scientist and Program Manager for Areté—a leading-edge science and engineering company with an office right here in Huntsville. Annie continues to strategize how to incorporate the storytelling power of the humanities into her technical role:

“Every technical person still has to tell a story. When you’re delivering reports, you have to tell a story about what you’ve done and why it’s important and beneficial. Everything is driven by narrative.”

Annie Hallman

Start your success story at UNA today

Ultimately, Annie’s success started in college. Her decision to attend UNA was easy—nearly her entire family graduated from the university, and she was offered a softball scholarship.

But she never could have imagined that her decisions during these years—like changing her major to English—would lead her to the success she’s found now.

“Because UNA has a smaller campus, my professors were able to really invest in me. I could stop by their offices and have great conversations. There were so many opportunities to get involved and discover my true passions and interests.

The skills UNA gave me resulted in the tools I have to be successful today.”

Annie Hallman

Ready to begin your success story? Apply to UNA today.

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