As many people know, I am a tutor at the Wake Forest University Writing Center and I absolutely love it.

I have been tutoring in English & Writing for three years now and it has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my college career. Not only am I doing what I love by writing, reading, teaching, and mentoring, but I am also able to challenge myself and apply my education in incredibly rewarding ways.

I was recruited to work in the Writing Center when I had an appointment there my freshman year. I had scheduled a session during finals week to get a second opinion on one of my papers and the tutor who read over my work told me that he was so impressed that I should apply to become a tutor as well.

While I had previous experience peer editing papers before, this was an incredibly exciting yet daunting notion. What I soon learned was that the Writing Center is more than just an editing service, in fact, it is not an editing service all.

Our mission is to teach students how to express their ideas through writing at any stage of the creative process. Most people who come into the Writing Center already face some degree of anxiety and self-doubt, and it is my job to shift their mind to a more focused and meditative place in which they can breathe, ask questions, and learn how to formulate their thoughts. I find that students whom I tutor leave the Writing Center with more confidence, enthusiasm, and passion for their work, and for this I feel incredibly proud to make a difference in their daily life.

Through my work at the Writing Center, I am also able to meet students who I have never had a chance to interact with on this campus. I learn about the different backgrounds that these students come from, as well as the remarkable paths that students have taken to get here.

I have read some of the most resilient, raw, and personal stories that I have ever heard through my work at the Writing Center. Since I first began tutoring, I truly believe that I have developed a deeper sense of empathy and sensitivity to everyone in the Wake Forest community because I now know from firsthand experience that there is always more than meets the eye.

Over the last three years in particular, due to the influx of undergraduate international students, the Writing Center has also shifted its focus to accommodate these students for whom English is their second language. This has challenged me and my fellow Writing Center tutors to explore parts of our language with a different perspective so that we can best help students express themselves.

I love being able to transform a student’s relationship with writing into a positive expression of their feelings and thoughts.

Whether it is an analytical literature essay, an application to professional school, or a creative writing piece, I feel incredibly proud when I end a session and I can see that the student has a renewed sense of confidence and pride for their work.

Although I may be graduating this spring, the Writing Center will always have a place in my heart and I hope that it becomes a meaningful part of your time at Wake Forest, too.