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Fall 2017 NewsletterUniversity of Illinois Springfield Department of English and Modern Languages
This fall the UIS English department welcomed Jennifer Whalen as the newest literature and first-year composition instructor.
Whalen felt particularly drawn to teach at UIS when she discovered the UIS English department's progressive first-year composition program. She appreciated the focus on public rhetoric and civic engagement in ENG 102: College Writing and Civic Engagement, which she will teach this spring.
“The composition classroom is important," Whalen said, "because it’s where students learn healthy dis-course . . . it’s where students learn the power of their voice.”
To help students discover their voice, Whalen teaches through group discussion, peer workshops, and in-class writing practice. Class discussions often interrogate common writing practices. In Whalen's class, students learn how to make careful rhetorical choices about their writing.
Before arriving at UIS, Whalen taught undergraduate composition courses and attained an M.F.A. at Texas State University.
Once after a class discussion about linguistic inclusivity, a student told Whalen, “I think English is so cool because we can have conversations like this.”
Reflecting on that exchange, Whalen said, “my favorite moments teach-ing are when I do something that I really enjoy, and then it surprises me that [the students] also enjoy what I enjoy.”
As she transitions to UIS, Whalen is determined to learn as much as she teaches. "I'm trying to grow as an instructor," she said, "to do things differently than I ever have before."
Volume 6 Issue 1
Upcoming Events
UIS English Welcomes Instructor Jennifer Whalen Professor Spotlight
English Open House: Celebrating Student Work and Research
PAC Restaurant @ 4-7:00 p.m.
February 12
Shelterbelt Reading Series: Eloisa Amezcua
Brookens Library @ 4:00 p.m.
April 19
English M.A. Priority Deadline
Contact Dr. Stephanie [email protected]
April 01
Sigma Tau Delta Application Due
International English Honor Society
March 01
Nick Dabbs, a senior undergrad-uate English major, brings diverse disciplinary knowledge to the tutor-ing table with minors in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies and an interest in queer theory.
"Working within English studies is definitely one of the biggest perks of this job," Nick said.
As a writing peer tutor, Nick spends significant time in first-year com-position classrooms. Nick presents a friendly face to the students and facilitates classroom discussion.
Writing Specialist Sarah Collins said that Nick "does a great job creating relationships with students."
After graduation, Nick plans to pur-sue an M.A. in English and someday extend his tutoring knowledge to a classroom of his own.
"There's definitely a writer in everyone. I know that's kind of cliché . . . but I really just want people to see that everyone has potential."
Sidney Deleonardo believes that tutoring appointments should be a safe place for students to talk about their writing. As a tutor she's most passionate about "helping students find their voices and confidence as writers."
A first semester graduate student, Sidney recently joined the Learning Hub as a teaching assistant.
Primarily interested in film studies and literary theory, Sidney chose the UIS English M.A. so she could study texts' social impact, and she brings this passion to her tutoring appointments.
Acknowledging that some students express their ideas more easily through conversation, Sidney asks questions to help students discover new insights about their compositions.
"My role isn't to write the paper for [students]," she said. "it’s to help them say exactly what they want to say."
Daymon Kiliman brings years of tutoring expertise to his appointments– before returning to UIS for his M.A. in English, Daymon tutored at various community colleges.
Now Daymon's M.A. studies focus on writing centers. For his master's thesis project, Daymon plans to create a website that hosts resources for tutor education programs.
Daymon uses the tutoring space to help students align their personal goals and ideas with classroom expectations.
Students "take their experiences, perspectives, great ideas, and form that into a composition that also meets the expectations of their instructor and university," Daymon said. "That's always an exciting moment."
"The Learning Hub is for everyone. It's a good idea to start visiting the Learning Hub early and often," Daymon advised.
English Students, Writing TutorsThe Learning Hub at Work
"Our English majors have a strong grasp of the bigger picture" –Sarah Collins, Learning Hub Writing Specialist
UIS English alum Felicity White is transforming the digital literacy landscape in Omaha, Nebraska.
White recently served as Community Learning Specialist in a new Omaha community center called Do Space. A modern twist on the traditional library, Do Space provides free and equitable technology access and learning resources to people of all ages across the city.
Do Space offers technological support for anyone in the community. One Twitter user said, "there's always a spot for you to sit down at a computer." The space prides itself on how it "removes the limits of what you can accomplish."
White witnessed this digital literacy revolution firsthand.
"I was giving a tour of the 3D lab, which included 3D printers and
a laser cutter, to a group of cub scouts," White said. "As I described the way the laser cutter worked . . . one of the boys exclaimed, 'What? Lasers are real?' He was thrilled to discover that the future was right before his eyes."
At Do Space White created a program called Little Ones that introduces preschoolers to a range of digital technologies to promote early literacy.
Through this program children interact with apps, robots, digital microscopes, and other advanced technologies. By intervening early in children's development, Little Ones makes a long-term investment into Omaha's future literacy.
After working at Do Space, White transitioned into a position as Adult Education Program Facilitator at a college that partners with the community center.
Throughout White's education and successful career in literacy development, her passions have remained the same: "I am passionate about education. I believe each of us has the opportunity to be better if we are willing to learn."
White graduated from UIS with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2010. The English department's online learning program allowed White to attend UIS while raising children miles away in rural Missouri.
Despite White's remote location, she still met several students and faculty in person through special events hosted at UIS. White called the coherent integration of online education "a true strength of the UIS program."
White said that without the English department's online program, she would not have attained the bachelor's degree that set her on this journey.
White's advice to English majors: "Be open when you look at your post-grad career options. When I started at Do Space, none of the full-time employees had degrees in tech . . . We were hired because we could think about a problem critically and creatively."
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