Tutor Week: Meet Anna

To round out our tutor week, we've chosen to profile the lovely Anna!

Name: Anna

Major: Nutrition/Dietetics

Year: Junior

What do you like doing best in your spare time?

I like to read and I like to run, but not at the same time. ;)

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you about writing?

        The best advice about writing I have ever received is to set aside time to write the paper and then get it all done at once. I like to concentrate on one paper at a time so I can remember what I am trying to say.

What has been the most rewarding part of your job at the Miller Writing Center?

        I have really liked working with people who are stuck on their paper. By the end of the appointment they have a direction and a place to start working to complete their paper.

Is there anything challenging about your job in the Writing Center? If so, what is it?

        It can be challenging when people come in the same day that their essay is due. Start early!

When and where do you work at the MWC?

        I work Wednesdays 11-3 in Athletics and Thursdays 4-6 in RBD.

Hidden talent?

        My hidden talent is that I play the piano. I haven’t been able to practice much at school (pianos aren’t very transportable…), but I play when I can.

Any good book recommendations?

        I recently read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. It is fantastic!

Continue Reading

Tutor Week: Meet Haley!

Name: Haley Petcher

Major: English (Literature)

Year: Senior

What do you like doing best in your spare time?

My friends and I like to hang out and do art projects. Not the challenging kind, though. The throwing-paint-filled-eggs-at-a-canvas kind.

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you about writing?

When I write I’m a perfectionist, which means that I hate admitting that my first drafts aren’t perfect. Many people have reminded me that it’s okay to have a bad first draft because you can edit it later. If you don’t put your ideas on paper, you’ll never finish.

What has been the most rewarding part of your job at the Miller Writing Center?

Writing papers can be nerve-racking, so I love it when a student leaves feeling better or knowing that they have the tools to improve their paper.

Is there anything challenging about your job in the Writing Center? If so, what is it?

Explaining articles is tricky.

When and where do you work at the MWC?:

I work Tuesdays from 12:00 to 3:00 and Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 in Athletics.

Hidden talent?

I can solder small wire sculptures, like trees or birds. It all started when my 9th grade English teacher asked us to make dragons for a project.

Any good book recommendations?

Confession: I’ve both read Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and listened to it through Audible. Morgenstern is a painter who loves to create different textures, and I’m not sure if this makes sense, but her writing really reflects that. It’s my current favorite contemporary novel.

Continue Reading

Tutor Week: Meet Murali

Continuing our Tutor Week festivities, we sat down with the hilarious Murali to get to know a little more about him! 

Name: Murali Dharan

Major: Electrical & Computer Engineering

Year: Every year

What do you like doing best in your spare time?

Free time?? I'm a graduate student in Engineering, I signed away all my free time to Beezelbub in the vain hope for a real career but if by a stroke of good fortune, I get an hour or two between sustenance and slumber, I play video games, catch up on TV shows, or just offer snide remarks when hanging out with friends.

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you about writing?

Don't use 7 words when 4 words will suffice.

What has been the most rewarding part of your job at the Miller Writing Center?

You mean apart from Cha-Ching? Well then, I guess it would have to be access to the disparate thinking of our vastly diverse clientele and the kind of writing I get to read and help people improve. I love to learn about new stuff and this keeps me on my toes with the volume of stuff I get to read and learn which I would've never read on my own.

 Is there anything challenging about your job in the Writing Center? If so, what is it?

Working with rhetorical and literary analysis papers. As an engineer, I am used to writing an objective conclusion based on solid facts and figures not one based on feelings and inferences where it can change depending upon the viewpoint. A couple of times during my initial days, I have accidentally skewered my client's papers trying to understand the point and objective of their paper. I have learned very quickly from those transgressions and have ensured it doesn't happen again.

When and where do you work at the MWC?

Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Athletics

Hidden talent?

A penchant for double entendres and an innate ability to find humor in any situation however awkward it might be.

Any good book recommendations? 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Continue Reading