Jen Ambrose "One of the things I most enjoy about tutoring in the Writing Center is the opportunity to work individually with other writers. I've had the good fortune to meet and learn from students in a number of different disciplines and the conversations we've had about the writing process and the transmission of ideas have been mutually beneficial. My own work as a Ph.D. student in American Studies centers on the way individuals communicate through artistic means. I'm strongly committed to working with the public and plan to put my degree to use by returning to museum work once I've finished at Iowa. My experience in the Writing Center is an important part of reaching that goal." |
Lisa Angelella "I think we often feel that submitting to writing instruction, writing "rules", is a process of having our originality and individuality reined in, chained up. But ideally, learning how to write is a process of liberation. I think a good writing teacher doesn't so much impose "rules" from without, as points us to the limitations we ourselves have built around our vision, and helps us break out of these. I am a Ph.D. student in English literature. I'm working on a dissertation on moments of eating and the understanding of characters as sensual beings in early twentieth-century literature. In my free time I like to write poems and cook vegetable soups." |
Willie Barbour
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Erica Bazemore "Although all writing does not have to be truthful, it does have to be honest. Therefore, what I value most in the one-on-one student and tutor interaction is the level of trust that has to be established between the tutor and student in order to facilitate the student's development as a writer. I am a graduate student in the English department working on a Ph.D. that focuses on early 20th century American and African American literature. In particular, I am interested in urbanization, architecture, and power relations. When I'm not studying I enjoy traveling, cooking, and meeting new people." |
Courtenay Bouvier "I have found that most students have a huge, harsh internal editor which blocks their free expression by demanding instant perfection. I try, in my teaching, to quiet that editor by encouraging a more natural writing process of expression followed by revision, allowing polish and near-perfection to be the final steps instead of a constant expectation. I am an MFA student in the Program in Nonfiction Writing, and I write about appetite: aural, oral, visual, sensual. In my free time, I prefer to be near the ocean; in Iowa, I make do with lots of dinners with friends, creative conversation, and meditation and exercise." |
Seth Custer "The thing that I enjoy the most about working in the Writing Center is the opportunity to tutor students from so many different places. I feel that my own ability to communicate has improved as I gain a better understanding of how our unique backgrounds influence the ways we interact with one another. I'm currently a Ph.D. student in Music, with an emphasis in Composition and Theory, staying active music performance and education as well. In my spare time, I participate in church functions, as well as outdoor activities including hunting, fishing, and golfing." |
Sarah Dees "For me, the Writing Center is a unique place -- a hub where people from different backgrounds exchange stories and strategies. When I'm talking with students about writing, my favorite part is encountering the great ideas that come out of conversations. I am a Master's student in the department of Religious Studies, and my research interests lie in the history of religion in the United States. If and when I have free time, I enjoy playing folksy music and partaking in the many lectures, readings and arts shows Iowa City has to offer." |
Pat Dolan Rhetoric Faculty "I look forward to teaching in the writing center because it's very pure: my job is to help the people who come write better, not to grade them or fit them into a particular curriculum. For me, this is the best kind of teaching, not least because it allows the students to teach me what they care about and what they know. I am a Lecturer in the Rhetoric Department with a Ph.D. in 16th century English Literature and most of a Masters in Social Work. Professionally, I'm interested in early modern English Literature, narrative, service learning, death and dying, and hospice. Personally, I hike, backpack, run, do lots of yoga and support live music." |
Matt Gilchrist E-mail Tutor "The community in the Writing Center reflects one of the reasons this city and this university are so appealing to me, namely that this is a place where writing, and all that accompanies it, is cultivated and enjoyed. When I teach, I show my students that all writers share a kinship, a bond that puts us more at ease in the process of working a raw idea into a final draft. I am a graduate of the Writers' Workshop and am currently plugging away very slowly on a novel about disc golf." |
Jenna Hammerich "I’m in the Writing Center to help students appreciate writing as a process of personal development and discovery. In the many years I’ve tutored writing, I’ve found (somewhat to my dismay) that I actually enjoy studying English grammar, usage, and citation. When I’m not reading dictionaries or style manuals, I’m writing essays on obscure topics for my Nonfiction Writing Program classes. I also like to read, play sports, and ballroom dance." |
Adele Holoch "For me, the process of writing can be easy and fluid in one moment and incredibly arduous in the next. As a Writing Center tutor, I enjoy learning about students' writing processes and working together to make their experiences as productive and rewarding as possible. I'm a PhD student in the English department, with interests in postcolonial literature and humor. I enjoy reading and writing, being outside, and spending time with my husband, our tennis ball-happy dog, and our two crazy cats." |
Jacob Horn "With every student I tutor, I always look to see what my experience can give them as well as what their writing can teach me--and I have learned a lot from my students. This has helped my writing for papers in the English Ph.D. program, which has ranged in focus from ethics and literature to popular culture and form analysis. Whenever I am not writing papers or reading for class, I like to read science-fiction for fun and especially enjoy comic books, though I am also an avid gamer and enjoy playing adventure and role-playing games." |
Jeremy Jones "I'm a thief. I like the writing process and helping writers work |
