Daniel White, English Writing Faculty

It was early December, and my first semester at MC was     coming to a cold, wet close. I loved MC: new colleagues, excellent students, and exposure to new pedagogy. All I missed was the writing center.

I'd worked for Mississippi State's WC as a graduate student for around five years, and I felt a palpable longing for one-on-one tutorials and the camaraderie that developed between WC staff. Still, I had great new friends, and Kerri (Dr. Jordan) and Steve (Dr. Price) had asked me to join them for coffee to chat about MC's WC and a spring course, so I bundled up and headed toward the weathered house that doubled as the Writing Program's annex: Cups.

"If you're not a tutor or administrator, you're not WC," I thought as I shuffled through the arched exit to campus and toward the library. Writing center work only fit in those two boxes, and since leaving State, I'd missed seeing the word writing center on my annual contracts and the community it represented.

We settled in with warm cups of coffee; I'm not certain, but this might have been my first cup of Blueberry Cinnamon. Blowing through the open mouth of the cup's top, I felt steam flood my face as I learned what they had planned.

If you know Dr. Price at all, you know that intentional is a big word for him. Plans are always made in advance. Agendas prepared. Notes recorded in a black Moleskin. This focused preparation had already surprised me. State's WC taught me to frantically juggle into fruition as many ideas as possible, rarely considering the consequences of implementing a new plan before the last settled. I admired this new approach as much as I was confused by it, so when Steve asked me to take on a WC focused special topics course in the spring as a possible precursor to teaching ENG 398 in the fall, I knew this was part of an intentional strategy.

The rest of the meeting is lost in my memory, but as I walked back to Jennings through the cold, holding a lukewarm cup of what was once great coffee, I wanted to yell, "I'm back in!"

As I passed the library's side entrance, I looked on the then closed MC Writing Center and reflected on my new relationship to our WC community and the larger one it represents, realizing this was something different. I had some new role to fill, but I didn't know what to call it.

Two years and more than a few cups of Blueberry Cinnamon coffee later, I've learned my place. I'm neither tutor nor administrator; I'm a Friend of the Writing Center. Working outside the official space, I support the center and those in it as needed. These days, I train new tutors and help with special projects like Nathaniel's venture into online tutoring. I don't know how I'll support the center tomorrow, but I'll be ready to offer a hand to my friend.

Back in Cups for a Writing event, I look around and realize my role is one most of us will eventually share since we all plan to graduate. A few will return as a Dr. Price or Lingshan, cultivating a WC somewhere, but twenty years down the road when we've traveled diverse paths, we can all still be Friends of the WC, finding our own ways to support the community that gave so much to us during our time as tutors.

Knowing I'm a part of an ever-growing group of writing center alumni from MC and campuses across Mississippi, makes me proud to tell folks "I'm a Friend of the Writing Center," and I hope you find comfort knowing you will be one too.   

We have some fabulous tutors-in-training in our practicum class, ENG 398. This class introduces future tutors to the different approaches to tutoring in the Writing Center and connects them to current tutors and faculty. This connection between students, tutors, and faculty facilitates the environment of the Writing Center, which is shown in our newly revised mission statement:

These prospective tutors have been visiting the WC for the past couple of weeks, gathering intel on how things operate through observations and interviews. Below are a few experiences from their visits. Enjoy their perspectives!

"Past the terrifying Quiet Room and the Learning Resource Center on the main floor of the library lies the Writing Center.  Surrounded by bookshelves, students and tutors work together to improve pieces of writing for various classes and personal projects. 

The welcoming atmosphere of the Writing Center pairs with the community of one-of-a-kind tutors to create one of Mississippi College's greatest assets.

In addition to being knowledgeable and helpful, Writing Center tutors are also some of the kindest, most hilarious people to be found on the campus of Mississippi College. A large white board calls your attention with the phrase, "If you don't like coffee, you're a MUGGLE."  That phrase is a pretty accurate summation of the Writing Center community.  A little coffee, a little fandom, and a little sarcasm thrown together in a productive, focused environment create a beautiful place.  -Alexa

The mission statement of the Writing Center is not to mass produce writers or help you regurgitate something onto a piece of paper. Rather, it is to help a struggling student understand and learn how to write well. The Writing Center meets each student where he or she is, identifies the problems, and aids the personal reflection to let the student see why he or she feels a certain way. Intentionality and mutual comprehension are the driving factors beneath the smiling faces of all those who work at the Writing Center. -Mkay

When people hear "tutoring," they often flash back to the merciless red pen of their 7th-grade English teacher. Others envision bowtie-clad dweebs with no life outside of the library stacks. But the WC isn't like that at all. Tutors want you to succeed on your own, and be the best writer possible. As such, they don't scrutinize papers with grammar books in hand, ranting about comma splices, nor do they simply lecture about the mistakes in a paper. Rather, WC tutors seek to help by empowering students to improve themselves.

I didn't realize it until later, but the WC staff had just helped me to help myself. That is, they gave me the tools I needed and allowed me to use these resources as I saw fit. -Andrew

I ask Hannah what her goal as a tutor is (besides helping people with their papers), and she responds that building relationships with those who come to her for tutoring is her main goal. She clarifies that relationship building encourages individuals to come back to the Writing Center not only for help, but also to come and study or simply hang out in a familiar place.  

Finally, I ask Katie what most people think the Writing Center is all about, an editing buddy or a serious revision partner? She confessed that many students come into the Writing Center expecting a proof read. However, they go out seeing that they are wrong. The community atmosphere catches them off guard. The tutors stand at the desk chatting amongst themselves like nothing is happening. Then, when their subject comes in, they get down to business, but a very nonchalant way, as though they were your best friend helping you with your homework. And they love watching their new friends succeed.  -Olivia