Goodbye Grads, Pt. 1

Since its beginning, the Mississippi College Writing Center has always felt more like a family than a group of co-workers. We are an eclectic community who has bonded over a shared appreciation and love for writing, and our tutors have served the Mississippi College student body with an unbridled enthusiasm.

As such, it's always sad to see veteran tutors graduate and move on to new, exciting adventures. While they'll be sorely missed, we'd like to take a moment to spotlight our 14 recent graduates in order to honor their talents and time invested in the Writing Center.

We asked 7 of our grads to share with us some of their favorite parts about their time spent in the Writing Center. This is what they had to say.

(P.S. Stay tuned for our next post in order to hear what our other grads have to say!)

1. Charlie Bell

"My favorite thing about working at the Writing Center was learning new things from the writers' papers. I've read papers about what life is like in different countries, how vulture populations are going extinct, and even one about playing cricket!"

Charlie will be attending the University of Alabama to pursue a Master's Degree in English Literature, and he is "super excited" about the program because it focuses on English Renaissance Literature which means he'll be spending lots of time studying Billy Shakes!

2. Megan Cole

"I loved working in the Writing Center because there was always an opportunity to learn. Whether it was for me, the writer, or another tutor, the Writing Center continually fostered growth in a creative and loving way."

After graduation, Megan married Former Tutor, Garrett Windham, on July 17th (Congrats, you two!). They are both moving to New Orleans to begin Masters of Clinical Health programs at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

3. Courtney Crockett

"I have enjoyed being a part of the Writing Center community through having the opportunity to get to work and grow alongside so many great tutors. The adventure of working and connecting with a variety of fellow MC students has been one of the best learning experiences and definitely worthwhile."

In the fall, Courtney will be doing student teaching placements. Afterwards, she will graduate in December with an English Education degree and go on to become a secondary English teacher!

4. Anna Pearl Decker

"I have enjoyed my time at the Writing Center because I think what we do changes lives. We facilitate, construct, and shape communication and that is really important. I have loved being a part of something as important as cross-cultural communication."

Anna Pearl has accepted a position by Holland America-Princess cruise lines to be a server on a train car in Anchorage, Alaska!

5. Nolie Ramsey

"Tutoring gave me the opportunity to contribute to the empowerment of others, challenging them to think of themselves as capable: as writers. I found that experience to be extremely meaningful. Furthermore, I got to work by the sides of some of the most passionate, hilarious, encouraging, and kind people. How can you not enjoy that?"

Nolie will be moving to Seattle, Washington, in August. In September, she will begin the English Language and Literature Masters/PhD program at the University of Washington.

6. Daniel Savell

"I really enjoyed my time in the Writing Center. The tutors are fantastic; Lingshan and Dr. Price were super friendly and helpful. I enjoyed the workshops that we had, especially those related to working with international students. Working alongside international students were always my favorite sessions."

Daniel recently got married, and is now living in Gainesville, Florida, where he will be attending the University of Florida for his PhD in History.

7. Corinne Shuford

"My favorite thing about the Writing Center was that I had the opportunity to help people think. If you know me, then you know I am always asking questions about anything and everything. I would ask my "clients" leading questions, challenging people to dig deeper than what they had previously thought possible. The best part of the experience was watching their eyes brighten as two thoughts converged, creating something entirely new, something that had not originated from a teacher's lecture. In that moment, their paper became truly theirs. The excitement on their faces was so beautiful to me."

Corinne is currently working at PORTICO Magazine as an Accounts Executive. Her goal is to continue to work at PORTICO for a few years; after that she hopes to get into book publishing, specifically children's books.