Where are you now? What are you doing, and what does your work involve?
I'm just beginning a dual degree program at Penn between the School of Social Policy and Practice and the Graduate School of Education. I'm simultaneously pursuing a Master of Social Work and an M.S.Ed. in Reading/Writing/Literacy.
How have you drawn on your experience in the Writing Center since graduating?
After graduation, I worked as a Writing and Speaking Fellow at NYU Shanghai for two years. I was able to draw directly on my experience as a Writing Center tutor, expanding old skillsets while also growing new competencies.
How did you come to your current position? What have you done since graduating?
What I loved most about working in the writing centers at Haverford and at NYU was the one-on-one collaboration between tutor and student. I enjoyed having the opportunity to tailor each consultation to a student's individual needs and concerns about writing. My interest in wellness, broadly defined, and volunteer work with a crisis hotline in Shanghai got me thinking about how literacy skills could be applied beyond the classroom and academia. What else can I do with the individualized coaching approach that I used in my work as a writing tutor? How might the teaching of critical thinking and narrative empower people in a variety of settings? A dual degree program in social work and education feels like a perfect fit to me; I can't wait to get started!
What role does writing have in your daily life and work?
I feel like I'm constantly "writing," even if I don't have a pen in hand and even if I'm not actually typing anything. I'm always thinking about the best way to convey meaning, to communicate. On a more literal note, I expect I'll do a fair amount of writing for my classes! I hope, too, to make more time for personal and creative writing in my daily life as a graduate student. During my two years in Shanghai, I had the opportunity to pursue, with institutional support, a personal writing project. Before that, I had never made much time for myself to do any writing besides that which I did for my academic work, and it was enriching to write differently than I had written anything before.
What’s something you’ve learned about writing that you’d like to share with Haverford writers?
Whether you're writing poetry or term papers, the first step to writing well is always engaged and attentive reading.