Last Academy Prep Visit

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with Academy Prep today as I always have in years past. The middle schoolers are always so eager to learn and love hearing what the tutors have to say. I have loved making personal connections with the students and getting to know them over the years of tutorials. It always hard to say goodbye in the end, but knowing I made a difference by helping them with their writing means so much to me.
This week has been full of exciting tutorials, bursting with conversation and helpful words from the tutors. Thank you to all the tutors who gave up class time and lunch to participate in this wonderful event!
-Emily

Kelsey Serraneau Presentation

Kelsey Serraneau presents during the poster session at this weekend's IWCA/NCPTW conference! 

The students in the pink shirts are our friends from Edison High.

Words From Sabrina Saeed

Presenting was an incredible experience. Perhaps the most meaningful aspect of presenting was the support we received from the schools we have Skyped with. The support we received from Edison and Minnetonka especially, I think, was really indicative of how strong the relationships we are forming with these schools are, and shows that what we do is truly meaningful. It was also amazing to see how much support we received in general. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how many people were interested in what we had to say and were truly engaged in the topic (especially considering that our session was so early in the morning). Not only did our presentation spark questions from the audience, but it also sparked conversation among the audience as well. And I think that really shows that our work has broader implications. Five years ago when my sister was a part of the Self-Study group, Berkeley was one of two high schools (or the only high school) represented at the conference. This year, there were four high school writing centers represented in our presentation room alone. I really feel like the increased representation of high school writing centers has a lot to do with us reaching out and engaging them. I truly feel like the network we are building will help change writing centers around the country.