Writing Center Magic
As I reflect a day after my last ever Writing Center shift, it’s strange and exciting how my journey to the Writing Center began and ended. I remember walking the narrow, long halls of Donnarumma, when the Writing Center was still located there, timidly asking a tutor to read over my paper for religion. I would make the walk to Donnarumma’s second floor at least once a month (though in all honesty, probably more), bringing a new assignment each time, but always leaving having had an “aha” moment. I kept thinking to myself – how could I become one of them?
These students – so selflessly devoted to helping everyone, from timid freshman like myself to graduate students in engineering. The spectrum they encountered was wide, and never once did they show a sign of faltering. Even for the most complex subject or for the most disorganized student, the Writing Center tutors created a calm and welcoming space. It was you, them, and your writing; the anxieties one came in with were not of relevance for at least one hour. That, for me, was the magic of a Writing Center appointment.
My journey from there forward matched a majority of our seniors. In my sophomore year, I enrolled in Writing and Responding with Dr. Boquet and got a “behind the scenes” look at the magic I was amazed by in my freshman year. But, each tutor’s path becomes unique after their first ever session, and even an infinite amount of training (though entirely helpful), will never be enough to mold you to become the perfect tutor. And what I learned from working in the Writing Center is you don’t have to be.
The tutors I went to my freshman and sophomore years weren’t perfect, and they weren’t magicians. But they were: students who cared about helping other students; students who were skillful in reading and responding to language; and students who made the magic possible. In two years I never had a “perfect” session, but I’ve had sessions where I’ve made magic happen. I’ve read and responded to graduate-level nursing literature reviews; I’ve helped a student overcome her struggles in writing as an English language learner; I’ve been the tutor that has helped a freshman for an entire semester with her EN 11 papers; and even on days where I didn’t feel up to being at the Writing Center myself, working with these students – all of whom are my peers – reminded me that the magic of a Writing Center session is all created in the present moment.
It’s you, me, and you writing. And whatever happens during that hour is always a beautiful thing. So thank you, Fairfield University Writing Center, for showing me the magic and allowing me to spread it to others.
