Is it Worth It to be an FYS Writing Fellow?

Coe College's Writing Center Consultant's have many opportunities to engage with students outside of the CWC, but these opportunities require more commitment and effort. Every year, Writing Center Consultants can work as Fellows for First Year Seminar (FYS) classes. Is it worth it to be a Fellow? Although every Consultant enjoys working at the Writing Center (duh), below are the highlights of being a Fellow and why Consultants love the work they do with FYS students.

Myah Eggert, a senior, says, "My favorite part about being a writing center Consultant/Fellow has been getting to move into campus early during the summer as well as getting to know all of the new freshman/students coming to Coe."

Andrea Glandt enjoys "...the communication that happens between me the students and the Professor. I love to be able to talk with the professors about what students are struggling with in their writing and why they might be. I feel these conversations are important both for the Professor and the students and that my input could help both parties to improve."

Lincoln Johnson's favorite part of being a Fellow is "...helping out people who need assistance as well as getting to meet new and interesting people."

"I would say the best part of being a Writing Fellow is probably getting to work closely with a professor you really like. I'm going to be a Fellow for Luke Lovegood in the fall, and we have already met with him to discuss what his course is going to look like. I think it is cool to closely see how a professor plans the course, especially when my FYS was not the greatest... His is going to be AMAZING," states an excited Olivia Stansbery-Dobbs.

Avalynn Morse comments on the growth of her students, stating, "I’d say that I love being a Writing Fellow because I get to see how these new students are continually growing in their writing and their confidence."

"I think my favorite part of being a Writing Fellow is getting to do repeat conferences- both throughout their first fall semester and in the ones following it. You get to see a lot of growth. Some of the students I Fellowed for when I was a sophomore still come meet with me and I’ve really like getting to watch them become the writers they are today," remarks Megan Norris.

Karla Silva says her favorite part of being a Writing Fellow is "...the opportunity to do in class-workshops. Being invited to the classroom to work on papers right then and there is different from having students come into the writing center. I get to see students in a different environment, it's refreshing!"

    

Each Fellow has had a different experience with their assigned FYS class, but every Fellow has had a takeaway from their time with their students. Helping students with their assignments from the FYS professor is great, but so is the personal development that each Consultant has experienced- whether it be increasing confidence or verbal communication. So yes, being a Fellow is worth it to every Consultant for their own reasons.

Adventure Shift Party

 Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy roleplaying game that allows you to be anyone you want to be and do anything you want to do. The world is in your hands. For ease of use, the creators of Dungeons and Dragons made races, classes, and alignments to help create the basic design of characters. 

The race of a character gives the character natural skills and advantages as well as some disadvantages. Classes are like jobs, it's the path that the character has chosen to take in life. Alignments are the base of a character's personality, are they good? Evil? Lawful? Chaotic? Completely neutral?

Ava Shrank

Neutral Good Human Ranger (3rd level)

Ability Scores:

Strength- 16

Dexterity- 15

Constitution- 16

Intelligence- 16

Wisdom- 15

Charisma- 15

 

Humans are a very common, but adaptable race. This allows for one to do well in a number of things. Ava takes advantage of this and uses her high intelligence to major in Biology, Chemistry, and BioChem. Last we heard there might even be French and physics minors added on. It's a good thing she loves reading, because I can sense a lot of that in her future. Not everything she does is academic though.

 Ava does dancing and kickboxing which are two very different sports, but both contribute to one's skills as a ranger. The dexterity and grace of dancing paired with the strength of kickboxing makes for a deadly combination. Thankfully for us, Ava is of a good alignment, enjoying helping people however with no particular penchant for following or breaking rules. This played a big role in her decision to join the Writing Center Guild, though apparently, she also likes to have opinions that no one can tell her are wrong so... there's that. 

Having only joined this year, not only is she new to the guild, but to also to Coe College. As Ava is only a freshman, we get to hear new stories about just how she came to be here with us. She competed in the Writing Center Fellowship competition which earned her an invitation to join. Her previous experience helping people prepared her well for this.

Gabby Collins

Neutral Good Human Bard/Wizard (1st/ 1st level)

Ability Scores:

Strength- 11

Dexterity- 11

Constitution- 11

Intelligence- 15

Wisdom- 12

Charisma- 11

Gabby's high intelligence score contributes heavily to her skills as a wizard and to her chosen field of study. Being a history major and art history minor goes along nearly perfectly with her two classes. Wizards rely on intensive study and Bard are known for their knowledge of items. Gabby went on quite the adventure before joining the Writing Center Guild. 

The story starts with her like of writing. Nothing extraordinary about that but beating out every other member of the freshman class to win the portfolio contest is. Upon seeing this accomplishment our guild leader, Jane Nesmith, extended an invitation to the guild. Gabby has been with us ever since, enjoying the feeling of helping others.

AJ Jensen

True Neutral Halfling Bard (2nd level)

Ability Scores:

Strength- 9

Dexterity- 12

Constitution- 9

Intelligence- 15

Wisdom- 13

Charisma - 12

Halflings are a very curious race. This natural tendency may play a role in Aj's wide range of interests. Having chosen to major in english and political science with minors in both theater and creative writing, she's got her work cut out for her. As a bard, she is very creative and knowledgeable about items, these traits lend themselves well to her high intelligence, wisdom, and charisma skills. When not working Aj can be found working on her newest art piece of art or relaxing while playing video games.

Like many others, Aj has only been with the guild for a year, having applied on recommendation from her admissions counselor. Being of true neutral alignment, AJ has no particular preference for good or evil, laws or chaos. She's a true wildcard in this way.

If you want to learn more about D&D here are some good places to start:

Free Basic Rules | D&D 5th Edition on Roll20 Compendium

Roll 20 is a good site with lots of information.

What is D&D | Dungeons & Dragons (wizards.com)

This is a site run by Wizards of the Coast who own D&D so you can find some good information, but not everything is there.

Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e) - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)

D&D Beyond works with Wizards of the Coast to provide an online platform where you can find the basic rules and character creation elements. They have an online character builder you can use to get start where they walk you through every step. Be warned while almost all of the D&D books and information is available through them beyond the basics you will have to pay for access to the book they came from.

Sources:

What kind of D&D character would you be?. What D&D Character Am I? (n.d.). https://easydamus.com/character.html

Revitalizing The Coetry Quarto

Poetry. Kohawk writers. Fun pamphlet structure. The Coetry Quarto has it all. 

There are many bygone relics from the Coe Writing Center's former years. One such artifact that slipped through the cracks a few years ago is the Coetry Quarto, a consultant-led celebration of student poetry at Coe. 

But consultants are not letting all of the past remain in the past. 

This school year, volunteers from the team of The Pearl—Coe's Writing Center-produced student literary magazine—took on the project. I had the opportunity to be at the forefront of our endeavor. 

What is this mysterious pamphlet, you ask? What secrets does it hold? Where can I get one? 

Never fear! In an attempt to immortalize our effort, I plan to deliver this record of our process out into the void. Let it be known that I, Beth VanDyk, (and my wonderful colleagues), did indeed invest time in this long-forgotten project! And should it disappear back into the ether in the years to come, I will know, and you will know, that it was here.

Bringing the Coetry Quarto to Life:

How to make a pamphlet out of nothing

It began as a memory. A spark crossed Jane's mind one day, and she caught hold of it. (Forgive me, Jane, for this artistic romanticization). The pamphlet was originally founded by the school's old literary society, Alpha Nu. Though Alpha Nu is long gone, the literary ambitions of current consultants are alive and well. 

Would some of us underlings from The Pearl team take it on, Jane asked? Yes, we would. 

Emails were sent. Submission guidelines drafted. Enter your poetry here! we hawked. Publication and fame for all!

Slowly but surely, the poems came rolling in. 

Of the student poetry submissions we received, every single one of them ended up getting published. We had just enough for two editions: seven poems in a fall 2023 pamphlet, and seven more to be released in January. My two colleagues, Kylie and Adele, created a masterful spreadsheet with authors, titles, dates and all the other relevant information. 

But the formatting, ah, the formatting! 

It is safe to say we did our best. After all, you try collaborating on a document in Microsoft Publisher between several different people when none of said people's shifts overlap! Older generations, props to you. In the end I did the bulk of the formatting. When spring semester rolled around, I knew what had to be done. The January 2024 Quarto was produced from a Google Doc template, designed by yours truly, with guidance from my lovely and Google Doc-savvy sister. So that was all right.  

  

What will I find in the Quarto? 

Originally, the old Quarto aimed to publish student poetry written at Coe, about Coe. The pamphlet was founded in 2001 and advertised itself as "poetry across the curriculum at Coe." 

 

But in order to refound the pamphlet, our aim for outreach this year necessitated widening the net! 

Welcome Coe undergrad authors one and all, with any poetry written during the time you have been at this school. The pieces in our two editions range in topic from what to expect as a new college student to speculation on the studious nature of bugs. 

While we love such diversity of creative exploration, one hopes that in the future we may be able to implement a more effective screening process that determines which submissions actually make it into the finished pamphlet. 

At least, I do. 

So if you happen to come across one of our lovely pamphlets, you will be able to enjoy both lengthy and brief, thematic and out-of-left-field poems that are sure to blow your socks off.  

And that brings us to the question...  

 

Where can I find the Quarto?

Ah, yes. you would want to know.

Do you know where the Writing Center is? No? Wend your way through the front doors of Stewart Memorial Library, wander to the back left corner, and grab a Jolly Rancher out of our visitor jar. Hello there!

But before you come in... 

Take a look at the table outside our door. There lies the Quarto for your perusal. And if we are out of copies on the table, keep an eye out for the pamphlet sprinkled throughout other academic buildings. I hear the English Suite in Hickok Hall particularly has a few copies. We like to get the word out to our fellow writers, after all.

While you are here, feel free to browse a copy of The Pearl as well. It is another excellent showcase of student work that I feel I must plug!

 

As For the Future...

Perhaps next year we will be able to put more consultants on the project. Perhaps we will create a lasting pamphlet with a legacy for years to come.

Or perhaps Coetry is simply a lost art form.

Either way, our shining proof of existence lies here with our cute little printed copies (aren't they cute?). And with readership or not, I am satisfied.