The end is near....

Since we're not doing a final reflection in class, I figured I might as well write one here. Even though I'm not going to be working in the center next semester (I already have another job), I feel I gained a lot of valuable skills from this class, all the more so because I've been gaining interest in consulting as a career field after I graduate. The non-directive and open question approach is a great skill to have, as is experience working collaboratively but in one-on-one situations. I've also learned to better articulate my thoughts on why something doesn't "work" in a piece of writing, which I think will be valuable whether I go into consulting or editing & publishing (the other field I'm considering).

Aside from the actual skills I gained, I know that I would have never found out what I know about the writing center in any other way. I definitely used to be one of those writing students who never thought they needed help with their writing, and that the writing center was for people who don't know what a thesis sentence is. I thought being a consultant would mean knowing a lot of grammar and just telling people what I saw wrong with their papers, and that these problems would usually be obvious. But after having been in the center in many different roles, I know this is nowhere close to being correct. So far I've actually only completed one of my sessions as a client (I'm signed up for my second on Monday!), but if I'd had more free time this semester, I definitely would have come in more often. Everyone says that writing consultants often act as an outside pair of eyes and can help you with problems that you sense in your writing but can't really explain, and this is exactly what happened in my first session as a client. Next semester I will be available more often, and with two English classes I will definitely try to find the time to bring in other papers that I need help with.

One final thing that I'm glad this class helped me with was my perception of ESL students. I never thought that they were worse writers than native speakers, but my initial assumption about them was that all their problems could be traced to the simple fact that English was their second language. I'm so glad that this class opened my eyes to show me that this is not the case. I had no idea that the essay form and structure that I've been using for almost my entire life was "western" rather than universal. It's fascinating that different cultures view academic work in so many different ways, and to me it's so interesting that I decided to design a workshop to help writing consultants better understand ESL students, their backgrounds, and how difficult it is to try and write with a completely different mentality from your native culture.

To Trixie and all my peers in 395 this semester, thank you so much for everything you've taught me! Happy writing!

-Lauren-