{"id":22971,"date":"2023-05-01T14:06:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T18:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/?post_type=cu_people&p=22971"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T16:24:39","slug":"amber-rawson","status":"publish","type":"cu_people","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/people\/amber-rawson\/","title":{"rendered":"Amber Rawson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amber Rawson has built a strong and steady career within the federal-public service, establishing herself as a writer with the Department of Justice Canada. Since she started to work for the Department of Justice, her role has expanded in both scope and responsibility as she has gained experience and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Rawson\u2019s work involves drafting, editing, and refining complex legal and policy documents, often translating highly technical information into language accessible to the public (no small feat, especially when legal jargon seems determined to resist clarity at all costs). Her ability to make dense material accessible highlights one of the most valuable\u2014and underrated\u2014skills developed through an English degree: saying complicated things in a way that people can follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rawson notes that while her university essays may not have been about legislation, they trained her in the same core practices she relies on daily: close reading, strong argumentation, and adaptability in writing style. The biggest shift has been learning to adjust tone and structure depending on the audience, something that becomes very real, very quickly when your reader isn\u2019t a professor, but a professional who needs clear information fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a quiet confidence that has developed over time. Early in her career, like many graduates, Rawson focused on proving she could do the work. Now, she\u2019s more focused on refining how she does it\u2014bringing both efficiency and clarity to her writing in ways that only come with experience (and, likely, a few trial-and-error moments along the way).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She initially chose Carleton for reasons unrelated to the school itself, such as the fact that Carleton offered the best scholarship packages. However, during her undergraduate degree, she made so many close connections, not only with colleagues who became friends but also faculty members who became mentors. Carleton opened so many doors and offered so many opportunities that she ended up choosing to pursue a Master\u2019s degree at Carleton and then a Ph.D. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in the Department of English at Carleton and is the recipient of a S.S.H.R.C. doctoral award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Carleton? What specific experiences or opportunities did you benefit from while studying English at Carleton?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I initially chose Carleton for reasons unrelated to the school itself. Out of all my choices, Carleton offered the best scholarship packages. Additionally, during my undergraduate degree, I formed so many connections, not only with friends but with members of the department, that I just couldn\u2019t leave it. As a result, I ended up applying for my Master\u2019s here, too. These connections only continued to grow through my Master’s degree. The English department welcomed me and encouraged my success. Eventually, my connections were so deeply rooted in the department that I decided to do my Ph.D. here as well. The people in the department were truly what made the experience for me and informed my professional path. During several meetings with professors who encouraged me, I was able to decide that I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. above all else. They highlighted my strengths (and my weaknesses), which kept me grounded and helped me decide where I wanted to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22972,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cu_people_first_name":"Amber","cu_people_last_name":"Rawson","cu_people_initials":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_people_type":[26],"cu_people_expertise":[],"class_list":["post-22971","cu_people","type-cu_people","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_people_type-alumni"],"acf":{"cu_people_job_title":"PhD Student and Writer at the Department of Justice Canada","cu_people_degree":"BA Honours English (Carleton, 2022); MA English (Carleton, 2023)","cu_building":"","cu_people_office_num":"","cu_people_pronoun":"","cu_people_designation":"","cu_people_email":"","cu_people_phone":"","cu_people_phone_ext":"","cu_people_linkedin":"","cu_people_bluesky":"","cu_people_twitter":"","cu_people_instagram":"","cu_people_facebook":"","cu_people_website":"","cu_people_orcid":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/22971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_people"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/22971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28302,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/22971\/revisions\/28302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_people_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people_type?post=22971"},{"taxonomy":"cu_people_expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people_expertise?post=22971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}