Laura Vernon

Name:

         Laura Vernon

MSU Degree:

         MA in English, 2007

Any other degrees:

BA English with Teacher Certification, Mississippi University for Women, 2005

Current Position:

         Studio Owner, Instructor, and Fascia Stretch Specialist

Organization:

         Studio Pilates

When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future?  Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way?

I had an advisor as an undergraduate who, when I said I wasn’t sure what to major in, talked with me and said she thought I sounded like an English major.  I did major in English, and if I could I’d still be an English major—reading books and spending time in the library.  

All through my undergraduate and graduate studies I also taught Pilates and yoga classes—at MUW’s rec center, at the YMCA, at Fitness Factor, Firefly, and Bliss Yoga (where I was also Studio Manager).

Teaching Pilates was what I loved, but teaching English seemed like the “grown-up” job I had worked so hard to prepare for.  I taught English Composition as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at MSU while I completed my MA.  Then, I taught English at Columbus High School.  It had always been my intention to stay in my community and to have a schedule that would work with my children’s school schedule—so this fulfilled those goals.  Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before I moved to a position teaching English at EMCC, which I held for several years.  After teaching as many as seven courses in a semester at EMCC, I was burnt out.  Just as I was realizing that teaching English was not what I wanted, Covid sent our courses online, which took all remaining joy out of it for me.

That’s when I realized that I wanted to teach Pilates full-time.

What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of?

In January of 2020, I had been taking classes from the only Reformer Pilates instructor in Columbus, MS, and I had become certified so that I could sub for her when she needed me.  When she told me she was moving away, I knew immediately that Pilates was in demand enough that someone was going to fill that gap and open a studio.  I decided I wanted to do it, and my husband was 100% behind that decision.  I was terrified, but I didn’t doubt it was what I wanted.  

We looked at so many downtown spaces, and when we walked into ours, we knew immediately it was the right one—spacious and airy and open.  The Pilates Reformers and Pilates Chairs we ordered arrived in May of 2020, and Studio Pilates opened in July of 2020.

The Covid lockdown meant that Studio Pilates never had a “grand” opening—rather, we got the word out that we could offer much-needed exercise in a sanitized space with physical distancing and optional masking, and we were able to craft our class schedule around clients and their “pods.” 

Now, Studio Pilates offers classes all morning, at noon, and late in the day, and we have offerings seven days a week.  I and nine other instructors offer Mat Pilates, Reformer Pilates, Barre, Yoga, and other studio classes.  In addition to exercise classes, I offer Fascia Stretch Therapy.

Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job?

I still use the skills I learned as an English major—especially effective communication, close reading, annotation, and rhetorical analysis.  I’m a life-long learner, which is one reason I was attracted to the English major.  Now, I’m earning new certifications in my profession all the time and learning in fields I had not expected, such as anatomy.

What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them?

I am a Level 3 Specialist in Fascia Stretch Therapy, a certification I earned over the course of about three years through a program in Chandler, Arizona.

I am certified through Balanced Body as a Mat Pilates I, Reformer Pilates I, and Chair Pilates I instructor.

And I have a 200-hour Yoga RYT certification.

Are there common misconceptions about your career field, which current English majors might share, that you have learned the truth about?

I thought I had to teach English, but I realized I could appreciate the time I had studied for my English degrees and the skills I gained doing that, and I could move on to something that fulfills me more.  I thought that if I wanted to be a teacher then I should teach English, but I realized that that teaching Pilates is what fulfills me.

In what ways does your career enrich your life and help you to achieve your personal as well as your professional goals? 

I love being in the studio—it’s not unusual for me to be there from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and when I’m not there, I can’t wait to get back.  I enjoy making connections with the community, and I meet a lot of new people.  So many great women come into the studio whom I would not have known otherwise, including some who teach me about new areas of health and fitness.

What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did?

To current undergraduate English majors, I would hope that you are embarking on a path of becoming a life-long-learner. Maya Angelou says that when we know better, we do better. It might sound cliche, but devouring knowledge, being curious, and learning new things are all tools that you are sharpening now, but these tools will serve indefinitely, even if you might have no idea where your path is taking you.

[Updated September 2024]