I didn't plan on being a teacher. But a life without students is not one I particularly wish to experience. After the Cavaliers won the NBA championship (yes, a highlight of my 2016 summer), Lebron James commented that if you give everything to the game, it gives back--and so I have found it with teaching. The sentiments expressed by my students--and the assessments by those who have observed my relationship with my students--capture moments of an ongoing journey that is more profound than anything I could have hoped or planned for.
I cannot say I’m overly proud of my writing yet, but the motivation to move beyond old scars was something I could not produce myself. In a strong way, this course saved me as a writer. As I write this, a tear attempts to overtake my vision. There are many emotions I have not properly dealt with that stem from my poor childhood education. Being in a situation such as this course, I felt uneducated and pathetic. I was afraid to go to the writing workshops, too embarrassed to discuss my writing issues with others. The peer review workshop was a day I feared on some sad level. I’ve felt lost and alone, but every time I tried to give up or put myself down, I was faced with your constructive comments. No matter how unsure of myself I was, you convinced me to carry on. I will never be able to explain how much that means to me. I am forever in your debt.
College Writing 1 student
I had found myself falling into a trap where I was not sure of whether I had any motivation left to make it to graduation day. I was filled with anxiety and left with no feeling of appreciation for the work being done. For the first time, I felt as though my hard work and motivation was finally being recognized by a professor who truly took the time to get to know me. I gained a new sense of excitement and motivation when thinking about what the future holds for me. I am walking away with this newfound confidence, not only through my writing but as a person, and for that, I thank you.
College Writing 2
My professor has been one of few strong enough to give me the kick in the ass I needed, but also kind enough to understand my fragile soul.
Writing in the Public Sphere
2015 Annual Review
Syracuse University
Fall 2015 Classroom Observation
Syracuse University
Spring 2014 Classroom Observation
Kent State University
Fall 2011 Classroom Observation
Kent State University
Fall 2011 Classroom Observation
Kent State University
At the job fair, every time that I nervously walked up to a potential employer and said “Hello, my name is Jake and I am interested in the job opportunities at your business” and handed them a copy of my resume, I always got complimented on how professional and clean my resume was. Now that’s all fine and dandy, but what I was happiest about was the fact that I got 9 phone calls from potential employers…I honestly think that a big reason these employers reached out to me was because my resume turned out so good from the critiquing I got in class on it!
Business & Professional Writing
Not a lot of professors do what you do. Not a lot of professors like their students to know anything about them. For you, it worked in your favor and I thank you for pushing me, for the Finding Nemo inspirational quotes, and for having faith that I can do more than I think I can.
Argumentative Prose Writing
Ever since we received feedback from our cover letter, I made all the edits that were necessary, and I used that cover letter for an internship with the company, Gogo. Once I sent in my newly revised coverletter, I received a call from the company, after which they flew me out for an interview. After the interview, I found out that I had received the position as the Marketing and Information Systems intern. From primarily learning how to be concise but still manage to get my point across, I was able to use this method in my interviews, and I noticed that I was able to do a much better job in answering interview questions…I’m more confident than ever in my business writing abilities, due to this class, and I cannot wait to actually use this in the business world this summer with my internship.
Writing in Business
I feel that I have learned a lot about myself from taking this class, and can honestly say that it is the only class I have taken thus far at Kent State that has really had an impact on my life, and that I feel I have learned things from that I can use in every single one of my classes… I was excited to get my papers back, not so much to see what my grade was, but to see how Miss Corey reacted to my thoughts, and to read the things she shared with me in the margins of my paper… She explained to us that to get really in depth and to add meaning to a paper, you need to ask yourself “so what?” or “why” after every statement you make. I remember being really interested in the lesson because adding depth and meaning is something I used to struggle with, and this tactic she taught us has helped me in every paper I have written since.
College Writing 1
I just recently had an interview for a marketing internship at a small company and I was able to apply what I have learned in this project to try to meet the needs that they were searching for. In my interview, I was able to tell them that I am familiar with making a small video, using narration, music, voice recordings, etc., and they were impressed that I had learned all of that in a writing class…The freedom of [the service learning] project is challenging but liberating. As a teacher, you did a great job of guiding us in the right direction, but letting us have the freedom and will to do what we please when creating both of our marketing products. That alone is a rare form for a classroom setting.
Business & Professional Writing
This class has shaped me into a confident, willing, and eager person because of the challenges that I was able to overcome. I am now able to look beyond the surface, have goals and accomplish them. A quote that I consider one that summarizes my feelings and experiences about this course is, “challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful” (Joshua J. Marine). I am truly thrilled to have taken writing 105, and am exultant to leave with meaningful advice, tips, and experiences that I will carry with me in the future whether it’s an essay, a job application, or even just another class assignment.
Practices of Academic Writing
I loved this class this semester. It was more challenging than I thought it would be, but it
was a good kind of challenging. I am leaving this class feeling as though I am a different writer, researcher, and student, which is a good feeling to have. I feel as though I learned so much and am proud of the work I put forth. I hope and plan to take what I learned from this class and apply it not only to other classes I take, but to my life as well.
Critical Research and Writing
I was initially frustrated by the notion of making such significant changes to my writing assignments, but I am appreciative that you made yourself so accessible and I respect your dedication to helping make me a better writer...I can see the importance of having a professor who wants to see students improve, who is willing to spend a significant amount of time providing constructive feedback, and who is dedicated to helping students implement the suggested improvements. I certainly never imagined that one of the things I would learn from this class is how much I want (and need) to be challenged and how grateful I am for the
opportunity to push myself to improve my skills and become a better and more thoughtful
student. While it’s certainly nice to get good grades, I realize that it is much more
satisfying to know that I have really learned something.
Practices of Academic Writing