Who We Are

Dr. Candace Stewart, Coordinator (stewarc1@ohio.edu)
Part-Time Staff:
Rachael A. Ryerson, PhD Student, Associate Coordinator (rm389311@ohio.edu)
Samuel Stinson, PhD Candidate, Assistant Coordinator  (ss742013@ohio.edu) 

Student Writing Center Tutors

Alex (Undergraduate): I am currently in my junior year at Ohio University, majoring in English Literature and Writing and minoring in Business Administration. I began working in the Student Writing Center in August of 2014. Some areas of special interest of mine include American and English literature, history and culture, music, movies, and Russian Studies. I hope one day to continue my education at the graduate level and find work in academia. In addition to my fields of study, I have experience writing in a range of academic subjects and have worked with a wide variety of students and their writing.

Farzaneh (BA, MA): I am from Iran. Years ago, when I first traveled to the United States, I had no idea what the future had in store for me, but I willingly intended to thrive and achieve more than I had before. Working as a writing tutor has exceeded my expectations since it opened up new opportunities in which I find myself benefiting both as an educator and a learner. While I enjoy the experience of working with both native and non-native students, I realize how challenging the task of writing could be for any writer, and how demanding it could be for a second language speaker to tutor writing. I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2013 with a Master’s degree in English Literature and started a second Master’s program at Ohio University in Linguistics. This shift in major has roots in my blooming interest in language disorders from a research and clinical perspective. While doing my Master’s in Linguistics, I am slowly making my way towards becoming a Speech and Language Pathologist. inguistics, ESL, Educational Psychology, Persian Studies.

Ivars (BA): Ivars has a BA in English Literature with a certificate in Journalistic Writing from the University of Cincinnati. Semi-retired now, he has worked as magazine editor, publicist, publications manager, and media specialist for more than 30 years. He is an award-winning poet and creative nonfiction writer, and has written several historical plays and monologues. Other areas of interest and practice include sustainable development, oral history collection, activism, and community organizing. *Accepts free-lance work

Jake (Undergraduate): I am currently majoring in Creative Writing. I write both poetry and creative nonfiction, and I’m also interested in Anthropology, Classical Studies, and Philosophy. I have over a year of experience with tutoring writing. Before joining the Student Writing Center, I tutored writers at the Math and Writing Lab at Ohio University’s Lancaster campus. In addition, I have some experience with freelance writing and tutoring.

Jordan (Associate’s Degree, Undergraduate): I am a double-major in my junior year in the programs of English (Cultures, Rhetoric, and Theory) and Women’s and Gender Studies. I have two short stories and one academic essay published in two editions of the OU-Chillicothe annual literary publication, Glass Enclosures. I also helped select and edit several works for the same publication. I have been an English tutor for two years at two Ohio University campuses (Chillicothe and Athens). I enjoy working with rhetorical writing, creative writing, and WGSS-related works. I hope to be an English professor one day, work in publishing, or work as a professional writer.

Kathy (BA, MA, ABD PhD Work): I have taught at universities, colleges, and community colleges: composition and writing skills, speech writing and performance/communication skills, theatre, and voice. As a Faculty Associate for OU’s Center for Teaching Excellence, I offered workshops in diction for multilingual students, coached multilingual graduate students and faculty in diction and speech skills, coached multilingual students in teaching skills, and created interactive plays for education and social change. My areas of interest are creative writing, communication, speech/performance skills, theatre, acting, directing, performance/theatre as a tool for social change, first-person living history and theatrical readings (period sources and history interwoven with narration, music and song). My doctoral work at the University of Michigan was a dual emphasis: acting/directing and theatre history/dramatic criticism/theory. I have two master’s degrees: University of Michigan in Theatre and the University of Pittsburgh in English. I am an independent applied theatre consultant, have worked privately with multilingual and ESL students on writing and diction, and have tutored writing privately with undergraduates and graduate students.

Lana (BA, MA, PhD): I am a postdoctoral fellow in English at Ohio University. My research focuses on transnational feminist rhetorics, and how they challenge and broaden our understanding of cultures, texts, and identities. I am also interested in multilingual composition, especially in the linguistic and cultural negotiations of multilingual writers and teachers. In addition to teaching classes in rhetoric and composition and women’s and gender studies, I currently serve as the Assistant Coordinator of the Student Writing Center at Ohio University.

Megan M. (Undergraduate): I am a junior French major, English minor, and linguistics minor with a TEFL certificate.  Last semester I studied abroad in Paris, and it was an incredible experience.  I plan to teach English abroad when I grow up; if travelling the world were a job option, I would sign up for that in a heartbeat.  Unsurprisingly, studying abroad only served to deepen my appetite for world travel.  I love everything about my job at the Student Writing Center.  Grammar is interesting to me, and I greatly enjoy helping other students improve their writing from not only a grammatical standpoint, but a content and structural standpoint, too.  In short, I love reading, writing, travelling, food, and reading and writing about travel and food.

Megan V. (BA, MA, MEd): I am a 2008 (M.A. English) and 2014 (M.Ed. College Student Personnel) graduate of Ohio University. I have taught first-year and junior composition courses here at OU for the past 9 years, and have worked at the SWC since 2011. My courses cover such topics as the rhetoric of the apocalypse, women and horror, monsters & American culture, humor, gender & sexuality, and social justice issues.

Looking to hire a freelance tutor or editor/proofreader?
Contact <mj726011@ohio.edu> or <balkits@ohio.edu> to inquire about availability and rates. NOTE: Freelance work is NOT associated with the Student Writing Center policies since freelance tutors/editors/proofreaders make their own policies and are paid by an outside party.