Staff
What they have to say about working in the Writing Center...
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."
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."
Pat Dolan: "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 (Assistant Director): "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 in addition to writing fiction in my free time, I fish, garden, and take care of my family's historic Iowa City home."
  Ozge Girit: "As a non-native speaker, I spent countless hours toiling with my paper assignments in college wanting to prove to my teachers that I could do better, but I was able to master the language and overcome my fears as a writer and speaker. Working at the Writing Center as a tutor, I look back on the difficult encounters I had with the English language, many of the same barriers and challenges students who come to the Writing Center encounter daily. I enjoy the Writing Center because I see how my students improve their writing skills day by day and I can pay them full attention in a face to face communication. As a PhD student in Communication Studies, I am always open to new ideas, even to those I initially may not agree with. My personality also reflects my interest in new ideas. I am known to be a good listener and I often lend an ear to any strong argument supported with valid facts."
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."
Megan Knight (Rhetoric Faculty): "I think my primary goal as a tutor in the WC is to help students develop a sense of ownership of and control over their composition work. Ultimately, I'd like to make myself unnecessary as a tutor; if I can help students learn to look critically at each writing task they're presented with, to ask themselves hard questions, and to develop effective revision strategies, then they'll end up needing my assistance less and will have become more independent learners. I'm an essayist and poet, as well as a teacher. I travel whenever I get the chance. I enjoy biking and yoga, and I'm a novice rock-climber."
Olga Kulikova: "When working with a group of students, every teacher tends to give assessment by comparing them with each other. I often feel that it is not quite fair. I believe that we should compare the current results of the students' work with the achievements they made before. Writing Center is the right place for that. Besides, communicating with students one on one lets me enjoy diversity of people who come to my session and every student's unique personality. I am a teacher of English and Russian, and a PhD student in FLARE. In my free time I enjoy reading, listening to music, and walking. I like being out in nature and sharing what I see through photographs. I love animals and miss my huge naughty Russian cat."
Rossina Liu: "English was my second language and as such, I have a personal appreciation for language fluency—both spoken and written.  My experiences with spoken and written English have taught me to tutor by way of listening to students and empowering them to write freely.  My goal is for students to leave the Writing Center with ownership and confidence over their art and craft.  This means that by the end of the semester students identify themselves as writers inside and outside of the academic curriculum, that they recognize writing as a process, that they embrace the craft of revision, and that they are in charge of assessing their growth."
Steve McNutt: "My roles as a writing instructor and writing tutor blur together, influencing one another as does a stint in the Peace Corps which gave me a strong appreciation for the challenges in learning a new language. I see my role as one determined by the student: be that a sounding board for ideas or a critical eye for detail on the sentence level--or simply as someone with a fondness for writing, for the punchy sentence, the zesty prepositional phrase. I consider writing a performance art--dance for those with two left feet, and remain dedicated to the idea that language lives and breathes as steadily as the rabbits outside EPB. Degree bona fides: MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa; current PhD student in Language, Literacy & Culture (Education). I do not own any dogs or cats but do have a fish named He Hate Me because he never leaves the flower pot. The feeling is mutual."
Dennis Moore (Rhetoric Faculty): "One reason I enjoy the Writing Center is that the students teach me so much—about the subjects they study, the places they come from, the ideas that excite them. In return, I try to help them share some of my fascination with how language works, how people use language, and how language helps make us who we are. When not reading, I spend most of my free time cooking, listening to music, and watching movies."
Cinda Coggins Mosher (Rhetoric Faculty): "I appreciate the fact that the Writing Center allows me the privilege of on-on-one instruction with students from all over the university--and all over the world. I earned my Ph.D. from the English Department in 2001 and am now a Lecturer in Rhetoric. I enjoy living on a small farm with my husband and our four sons, running, and playing soccer."
Galen Reddin: "Although any philosophy should embrace challenges and collegial friendships, tutoring is informed by our pasts and we should bring our pasts to our practices in ways that enhance the Writing Center's Mission. I'm in the Social Foundations of Education (Ph.D.) Program, investigating early learning related experiences of academics from working class backgrounds. I seek therapy through participation in two local bands, watching stupid movies, and pretending that my cats care about what I say to them."
Carol Severino (Director): "My favorite part of tutoring is getting to know the students and their areas of interest. I love it when students are enthusiastic about their writing topics and teach me about them. As a writing center director, my goals are to reach more student and community populations with our services, or at least with the message about the value of planning and revision in the writing process. I like to keep up with my twin sons, now 27 (!), learn new languages, play the drums, swim and walk by the lake with my dog, and in the summer, cook what I harvest from my garden."
Joseph Steinitz: "I never metaphor I wasn't fascinated by. I also never met a student who was a bad writer. I believe we are literal beings, and my goal is to help others in being literal. My research on metaphors, where I aim to increase our understanding of language, is tied to my work in the Writing Center as I try to help others produce good writing through an understanding that there are not "bad writers." Instead, there are challenges each writer must overcome in order to express ideas with clarity and precision."
Anna Stenson: "I believe that every writer needs a reader.   Writing can be a lonely process, and you can start to feel like you aren't making any sense inside your head.  I love helping students brainstorm for ideas, because some of the best writing comes out of a good conversation.  I also enjoy helping students learn how to craft beautiful sentences using just the right words.  My favorite part of being a writing tutor is getting to learn about all of the interesting subjects my students are studying.  As a tutor, I hope to help students develop skills and strategies that will help them not just for one paper, but for the next paper and the one after that."
Kelsey Thortsen (Receptionist): "I enjoy working as a receptionist because I like to help others out and keep things organized. Also, at the Writing Center there are so many different people to interact with. I am a sophomore majoring in Marketing and International Business. After college, I would love to find a job in Sports Administration. During my free time, I root for the Cubbies, listen to music and hang out with my friends."
Mary Trachsel (Rhetoric Faculty): "Tutoring in the Writing Center gives me a chance to meet all kinds of students and discover how they think and what their education means to them. Learning about what excites and motivates or frustrates and confuses students helps me to be a better classroom teacher because it helps me know my audience. I enjoy the opportunity I have in the Writing Center to know students as individuals. In my free time I like to read, travel, swim, write, and spend time with my family and animals."
Sam Van Horne: "I believe I can be an effective tutor both when I allow the student to guide the direction of the session and when I serve as an audience for the student's writing, not as the person with 'answers.'" Sam Van Horne is a Ph.D. student in Language, Literacy & Culture. His research interests include computer supported collaborative learning and writing center pedagogy. Before Sam came to the university, he taught composition and literature at Kirkwood Community College. His hobbies include fishing, traveling, and running.