Alumni Spotlight: Mary Agrusa earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Clayton State and Discovered a Dream Job After Retirement
(July 7, 2026) - Mary Agrusa retired about 10 years ago from a career in graphic design and day trading and pursued her passion for lifelong learning by taking online classes at Clayton State University. Mary had a passion for English and History, but when she explored college degrees, she decided on an English major with a writing concentration because of her interest in blogging. Slowly but steadily, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of Arts & Sciences.
Mary describes her pursuit of a degree at Clayton State as pure enjoyment. She said, “I really wanted to enhance my writing skills. It was all online, and I wasn't in any hurry to earn a degree. I told myself that I'm going to do this for the joy and the benefit of learning. So, I never took a full load. I would maybe take two or three classes a semester, with a couple of summers off because I wasn't in a rush. This was just fun for me. And it was a great experience.”
Mary shared that as she neared completing her degree at Clayton State, the Savoy Automobile Museum opened and put out a call for anyone who wanted to volunteer. Well, I love cars. So, my husband and I both applied. And one of the things that the volunteers do here is on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we do what's called a highlights tour of five different galleries. You walk visitors through the ones they want to tour, and you'll pick out a few cars from each gallery, and you talk about them in depth.”
The volunteer position at the museum eventually turned into a part-time writing position. Now, in addition to giving tours, Mary writes up “reader board” descriptions of all the classic cars on display. “I was thrilled because I really didn't want a full-time job. So, I'm here in a sense doing my dream job. Thank you, Clayton State, for the background in writing; that really helped a lot. I really refined my skills. I wrote to Professor Stansbury and told him everything that I had learned about writing really paved the way for me getting here.”
Mary said that because of her previous work experience, she has expanded her role beyond writing. She said, “I work for the curator, and I'm his research assistant. Any car we acquire or that comes in for exhibit, I gather all the background information on it. Because I was a graphic designer, it also helped that I could use Illustrator. I not only write the copy that is on it, but I also build the reader board by working on all the artwork for the displays.”
With all the experience she has gained working in the gallery, and her writing skills, more opportunities have come her way. Mary shared that “I was interviewed by The New York Times and now participate in a weekly local radio show talking about cars. I have also been invited to appear on a Houston, Texas podcast called In Wheel Time as a guest commentator two or three times a year. I've worked with Fox 5 Atlanta on segments they broadcast from the Savoy Automobile Museum. In March of this year, I was interviewed about one of our exhibits, and on July 9th they are planning to broadcast from the museum to highlight another special exhibit themed to coincide with an upcoming local NASCAR race.”