Alpha Nu Fireside Reading

Every year Alpha Nu hosts a Fireside Reading.  We pick a theme and then tell campus to come to the Clark Alumni House to read stories and drink apple cider.  Anyone can bring anything that fits the theme: either something they've personally written or something they haven't written.  This year the theme was Horror on the Homestead.  We had a lovely turnout, lots of English faculty, Dr. Bob (he's from the Rhetoric department), and students!  Ann Struthers (Professor of poetry) read some of her poems, Kobe read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, Whitney read a poem she had written, and Colin read A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner.  It was a fun, literary night.  Check out some photos taken by Emily, a fellow Writing Center consultant.      

Kobe

Whitney

Ann being festive!

Colin

Playground of Science

Alison and her cochroach

So the ninth annual Playground of Science happened Thursday night.  Peterson opens its door for the Cedar Rapids community and kids and their parents come for a night of science.  Each floor (Physics, Biology, and Chemistry) does demonstrations and there are treats and Halloween decorations and general FUN.  I wasn't able to go last year but I made sure to go this year with my friend Alison W.  We saw a lot of neat things, mainly on the Physics floor because Alison is a Physics major.  We also ventured up to the Biology floor because Alison wanted to hold a cockroach.  All the kids were having a fantastic time; it was fun to watch them literally sprint to Peterson because they were so excited.  Their eyes grew wide as they watched "crazy" things happen and then zone out as the students and professors tried to explain the science behind the crazy.  

Craig juggling fireballs.

Nicki and her Van de Graaff Generator (static electricity)

     

Plans for May 2012: MADE

So I got the confirmation email last night that I'm a proud member of the Lake District 2012 May Term Trip.  YESSSS!! 

I am so pumped.  I can't even explain it.  The excitement probably matches my 100th Post Celebration.  This is going to be so much fun.  Including myself, there are nine students and Dr. Bob traveling to England to see London and the Lake District for 26 beautiful May days.  There will be a ton of writing and so many fun adventures.

I even have my passport all ready to go.  Now I just have to wait until May.  

I'm Been Promoted to Tutor

So let's say that you're struggling in a class.  You try a ton of different study strategies but nothing seems to be working.  You think all hope (and your GPA) is lost.

Think again.

At Coe, we provide an AWESOME (and free) service to all our students who want a little extra help in their classes.  The Academic Achievement Program (AAP) partners with our faculty to hand pick students to be tutors.  So if you're struggling in a class, you simply have to go to the AAP office (located in Lower Voorhees) and ask for a tutor.  AAP will match you up with a tutor and you can meet with them up to three times a week.

Sweet, right?

Well, this past week I was asked to be tutor for my Introduction to Psychology class.  I LOVE my Psychology class because I think it's a fascinating area of study.  It's not something I'll major in but I love being able to know why we think and do certain things.  Also, I enjoy learning about how Psychology and various schools of thought have evolved over time.  As my friends can attest, I do find many many many ways of slipping psychology terms into everyday discussion.  Sure, it's a bit nerdy, but hey, I remember those terms really well.  So it's a win.

On Tuesday I met my tutee.  We're going to meet two times a week and I'm excited.  This is such a great way for me to help someone while reviewing the terms myself.  I love finding ways of making terms relateable to others.  I met with him to study psychology tomorrow.  Wish me luck!      

UW-Madison Overview

I'm back safe and sound in Cedar Rapids after a fantastic trip to my home state.  Since the last time I posted, I attended multiple sessions all about Writing Centers in the Midwest, ate dinner on State Street, spent Saturday morning taking in UW-Madison, and finally returned back to Coe on Saturday night.

The Pyle Center from UW-Madison Campus Photo Library

The conference was held at the Pyle Center, right near the Main Memorial Union.

I also just finished typing up a ten page report for Dr. Bob with my observations on the conference.  Here are some of the highlights.

I attended seven sessions and during one of those sessions I was a presenter.  I presented with Haley and Dr. Bob and we talked about the culture and community of the Writing Center.  I'm sure I've said this before, but the Writing Center is such a fantastic culture.  Over the past year I've started coming to the Writing Center more when I'm not actually working.  It's a great place to get in a few minutes of studying (if you can ignore all the conversations going on around you) or to say hello to your fellow consultants.  The people I've met through the Writing Center are great people spread across all the majors at Coe.  I've probably learn most of what I know about Coe through them and all their experiences!  It's been a great source of pride to show prospective students the Writing Center when I'm working for Admissions.  I love taking them down to the Stuart-Peterson Tunnel and showing them what our Writing Center is all about.

But back to the conference.  Last year in Baltimore, I felt I discussed English as a Second Language (ESL) conferences a fair amount; it was the theme in my mind for my first Writing Center conference.  This year, I felt the theme was all about finding the writer's voice and creating strong and solid relationships with the writer.  This was a particularly interesting topic because as a writer, my voice is pretty crucial.  We mainly talked about academic voice -- how to find it and how to keep it alive when the paper isn't the writer's favorite cup of tea.  At this conference, I also met a lot of graduate students who were presenting on their papers.  Hearing about their experiences only made me excited to attend graduate school.  Yes, I know that's still a ways off, but hey, I'm allowed to think about it!

Memorial Union Lakefront Cafeteria

When I wasn't learning about Writing Centers, I was exploring parts of campus.  I did some homework on the Education Building Pavilion, ate Babcock ice cream at the Memorial Union while looking out at Lake Mendota, ate dinner on Friday night at Parthenon Gyros, walked State Street on Saturday morning, and saw the newly remodeled Chazen Museum of Art. I also saw a few friends from high school who go to UW-Madison.  It was nice to see them and tell them about my Writing Center and Coe adventures and hear about theirs!

But sadly, the trip did have to end.  We made the trek back to Coe on Saturday afternoon.  I'm lucky to have been able to go; I learned a lot (hopefully will use some of these ideas in our own Writing Center) and had a nice time.