Center for Writing alumni—Heidi Jones

read another alum's response

11 Questions for Center for Writing Alums

• Your name: Heidi Jones
• Your email: hjones@uwlax.edu
• When did you work with us? 2010 to 2013 
• What was your role? writing consultant
• What education and/or occupation(s) have you pursued since working with us? I graduated in May 2013 with a PhD in Literacy Education and a Minor in Literacy and Rhetorical Studies. I am now an Assistant Professor of English Education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Reflections on your center experience:

• Did your work with us influence your educational or occupational choices? If so, how?  I am constantly aware of how the C4W helped prepare me to work with first-year writers, and I have used my tutoring experiences to assist me when conferencing with them while they are brainstorming/drafting each writing assignment. In addition, I teach pre-service teachers, so I have referred to my experiences in the C4W many times to provide examples of what to do (and not to do!) in certain situations when working with student writers.
• What are the most significant abilities, values, or skills that you developed in your work with us? Listening to writers in order to understand what they need at that very moment.
• In your personal and professional life today, how do you find yourself using what you learned from working with us?  The biggest take away for me has been to listen to people, to really LISTEN to them. I may disagree with her viewpoint, but I first need to listen wholly before I voice my response. This applies to my interactions with students, but more importantly, this type of interaction is very important in dealing with colleagues.
• Anything else you want to tell us and your fellow Center alums?  I tutored during the 2012 Dissertation Retreat, and I recently co-led a Writing Hunker (based off the Diss Retreat and the Hunker put on by the C4W for UM faculty) at UWL. It was a hit!
• Provide a link to your personal or professional website (if you’d like to). http://www.uwlax.edu/english/html/faculty.htm#jones