Kira Birkett

Political Science, Russian

Reading is wonderful and I love it to death, but I never seem to get to read what I want to this time of year, only what other people tell me I have to read. But, when I do manage to sneak away from my textbooks " and the associated guilt I feel for not looking at them when I should " into my own literary world, I always tend to reach for the Classics, such as Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, and The Aeneid; books about travel and cultural experiences, such as In a Sunburned Country and The Things They Carried; and anything by Fannie Flagg, which takes me back to my not-so-distant childhood filled with the best possible Southern food. I much prefer reading over writing, mostly because sadly everyone seems to write fiction better than I ever can. But I love that feeling you get after you've finished writing and you can be really proud of what you've written.

Prairie Brown

American Literature and Developmental Writing

It was a dark and stormy night... Wait. That's a different story, not mine. I suppose if I were going to write my life history down for you, I'd most likely begin something like this: It was a sunny afternoon in November, a rare sort of day in autumn in Seattle, the day Prairie Brown was born. Then I'd skip a bunch of uninteresting stuff about learning to walk and talk and pick up the story again after I'd become a full-fledged member of society. This societal membership, at least, the membership into the society that interests me, the society of readers and writers, began when I was four years old and noticed that I could read along with my mother as she chanted the words to Fox in Socks. Since that point, hardly a day has passed that reading wasn't a vital part of my life. Of course, the books have changed a bit over the years, from Dr. Seuss to Roald Dahl to L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott, gradually becoming the novels of the Bronte Sisters and Jane Austin, with some Shakespeare thrown in there for good measure. Lately, I've been finding my reading tastes running a bit toward the weird and macabre. My graduate thesis, written in 2003 at Central Washington University, focuses on the writings of Shirley Jackson, most commonly known for her short story The Lottery, a classic example of American gothic writing. Since graduate school, one of my favorite reading-related activities has been building my Stephen King collection. He's a writer whom I scorned as an undergraduate English major, but for whom I gained admiration when his name came up in my thesis research and I learned that he'd dedicated one of his novels to Shirley Jackson. My professional life for the past seven years has involved teaching reading and writing, starting at CWU and moving to North Seattle Community College and now back again to CWU. I won't bore you with the rather unremarkable details of the rest of my life. If you want to know more, stop by the University Writing Center and ask me in person. We can have a cup of tea and talk.

Kevin Coelho

Creative Writing, Literature, Fencing, Coaching

Nuno Fernandes

Philosophy, Psychology

Reading and writing are, in a way, the infrastructure of my personal, not to mention public, biography. Forgive me if I try to entertain myself while meeting this requirement; I've been asked to perpetuate this past of mine too many times. Why must we carry our histories around like a snail with his shell? Okay, as the story goes, I, for many reasons that I have never understood to my satisfaction, was forced to "teach myself" to read and write after graduating from high school. No, by "writing" I don't mean "decoding," because I could do that well enough to fill out a job application at, say, the local plastic bag factory, but I do mean that I could not read anything that could make me, oh I don't know - dangerous, maybe. Isn't that what we "the uneducated masses" always want? Anyway, to make a long story short (I'm 38), after spending about ten years learning to read I had to spend about another three or so years learning to write. And no, I don't mean filling out an application. But I do mean to say that I know what it is to find writing inexplicably hard, and to need a little help. In other words, the only thing that really matters about my history is that it has motivated me to really want to help you.

Arlo Fleming

Literature

If we're talking books and films, I don't play favorites. But Woody Allen's Annie Hall may well be the movie that's made me laugh the hardest, as in rolling on the floor, crying, feeling-my-sides-splitting laughing. Reading and discussing literary and film theory/criticismwas enjoyable for me when I was a graduate student and would be now (really) if I had more free time. As for writing, I must be the slowest living composer. I take pleasure in the finished product, but my writing process is torturous. Even grocery lists can give me writer's block! Still, I do love writing amusing e-mails, with my original "punny" subject lines: Subject: Indi "jest"ion. Messsage: Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

Feliciti Fredsti

Physics, Astronomy, American Sign Language, Mathematics, Women's Studies

"Have Space Suit, Will Travel." Well, I guess in my case it would be more like, "Have Book, Will Travel." My relationship with literature has always been a strange one. When I was a child, I loved listening to my mom read to me, but when it came time for me to begin reading-I refused. I guess I used to think that if Mom can read to me, why should I have to learn to read? By the time 4th grade rolled around, I changed my mind. My mom had just given birth to another one of my siblings, so she wasn't able to spend much of her time reading with me anymore. Being addicted to stories, I quickly began to devour any book that looked interesting to me. I became immersed in my stories, so much so that they became my memories. I don't remember reading for hours on end; I remember walking in a moonlit sultan's garden with the fragrance of jasmine, citrus, and cinnamon, braving sea storms and feeling the pain of the icy black waters tearing all the warmth from me, riding out to a final battle gripped by the fear of not knowing if I would come back to see another sunrise. As a master storyteller from the streets of Bagdad once said, "People need stories more than bread itself. They tell us how to live-and why" (Arabian Nights 2000).

Octaviano Gutierrez

Literature, Math

O Muse, tell me of Octaviano Gutierrez and his grand adventures! Octaviano with his many wiles is pursuing a master's degree in English, the most noble of subjects. His long journey has carried him thus far across many of the seas of literature, from the gentle rivers of the classics to the stormy waters of postmodernism. Some of the safe harbors along the way include The Princess Bride, by William Goldman, and A Cool Million, by Nathanael West. Along the same lines, the movie The Big Lebowski, has had a profound influence on his life. He hopes to one day reach the island of PhD and start a new adventure in teaching. He also hopes to one day be less of a dork.

Jason King

Communications, Creative Writing, Literature, Japanese

If you're reading this, you probably want to know who's going to be reading your work when you come in to the writing center, and whether what he or she is interested in matches up with what you're bringing in. As for me, well, I'm always interested. I don't remember when I started reading, but I do remember frequently leaving my local library with a stack of books a couple feet high. Back when I used to have oodles of time (homeschooling gives you that), I'd spend all day reading - older books my mom had liked as a kid, fantasy books set in foreign worlds, mystery books, sci-fi books, and just about anything that looked interesting. I'd frequently get scolded for reading during meals, or for staying up 'til 2 or 3 in the morning to finish a book. Time isn't as abundant as it was when I was a kid, but I still enjoy reading whatever comes my way. Being an English major has given me the opportunity to read all kinds of works, and I've especially enjoyed some of the works that my peers have presented. Reports and analytical papers are interesting, too, for the learning opportunities they present, and meeting (re-meeting) authors is an enjoyable experience in itself. Regardless of the reasons that brings you to the writing center, I look forward to meeting you and your writing.

Teresa Joy Kramer

Creative Writing, Rhetoric, TESOL, Spanish, Journalism

Little House on the Prairie is the first book that really pulled me in -- you know, when you get so lost you live inside the book and resist any other reality. I don't know exactly how old I was, but I remember reading all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, back-to-back, like a chain-smoker. I particularly remember long afternoons play-acting that I lived in the 1800s, on a prairie in the middle of nowhere; that wasn't too hard to imagine because I was growing up on a farm (albeit in woodsy, hilly Ohio) and summers could be lonely and slow. The first time I actually saw a prairie was in mid-life, though, driving through the Plains on my way to this job. As a child, I had no notion that things as wonderful as the mountains and lakes and cycling routes of the Pacific Northwest could even exist. As an adult, I have grown a bit impatient with text on a page. If what I'm reading does not draw me in, fairly soon, I put it down or skim the rest. I rarely do that with the work of poets Sharon Olds, Molly Peacock, Allison Joseph, Yusef Komunyakaa, or Rodney Jones. They do that very difficult thing of making art out of an imperfect medium: words.

Yuanxia "Laura" Liu

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Chinese

I'm happy to be helpful to others and pleased to see others happy. I'm working on my M.A. in TESOL at CWU. I taught English to Chinese college students for many years, and I chose the TESOL program (Teaching English to the Speakers of Other Languages) at CWU because I wanted to be a more qualified language teacher. I observe teachers here applying wonderful, excellent, and effective pedagogy which is so interesting to me. I enjoy school life, as a teacher or as a student. Everybody here is eager to learn something new. People around me are so smart and learned that I'm sure I can learn much from them. I always believe that everything is possible. I like nature, and I like to travel, especially to remote locations. I have been to many fascinating and awesome places in China. How wonderful it is to be immersed in the kindness and friendliness of the local people and to enjoy the beauty of nature at the same time! Enjoy every day! Enjoy every moment!

Sean O'Mera

Creative Writing, English Education, American Literature, Coaching, Playing Golf

… and generally living a "Self-Reliant" life (see Emerson and Thoreau for further explanation) … My aspirations include teaching English at the high school level, coaching golf and basketball, and more; I have always loved kids, and my favorite part-time job so far was at a at a Kindercare center, where I was an after-school teacher for children in preschool through sixth grade. Interacting with those kids made me not take myself so seriously, and it also showed me how much I enjoy being a part of others' lives. I realized that I enjoy the responsibility that comes with being a role model. Since coming to Central and choosing to study English education, my love for reading has really grown. While normally struggling to keep up on reading for class, my favorite authors so far include Robert Penn Warren, Jack Kerouac and all the rest of the Beats, John Feinstein, and the poetry — specifically "Smokey the Bear — by Gary Snyder. Creatively, I have yet to write anything that I want to show off, but I hope to change that the more I refine my writing. I look forward to working with other readers and writers in the Central community!

Margo Parker

Annie Scanlon

Psychology, Creative Writing

I got into trouble a lot as a kid. Whether it was for teasing for my little brother, tattling on one of my older ones, tracking mud on the freshly mopped dining room floor or sneaking chocolate chip cookies, I spent a lot of time in my room pretending to ruminate on my wrongdoings. How little my mother really knew... While she entertained images of me confessing my sins to the Lord and begging for His forgiveness, I sat in my room, happy and guilt-free, as I read page after page of whatever book I could get my hands on. I loved reading as a kid, and I love it just as much today. And while the fervor I felt when the latest Baby Sitters Club book came out drastically differs from what I feel when I open up my Research Methods in Psychology text, my appreciation for the written word remains the same. I've been working as a Writing Consultant since last spring, beginning at Highline Community College and continuing at the University Writing Center since I transferred this fall. I love what I do here at the Writing Center. I enjoy seeing relief wash over a student's face after a particularly productive session, and I like knowing that what I'm doing has a positive impact in so many students’ lives. I see my work now as practice for my future profession: clinical psychology. I've got quite a bit of schooling left before I obtain that degree, but as long as I'm a student here at Central, I will continue to serve my peers to the best of my ability.

Celeste Wendler

Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, Creative Writing

I am a graduate student at Central Washington, currently working toward my master's degree in mental health counseling. I received my bachelor's degree in psychology from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. When I was in the fourth grade my passion for writing was ignited by my teacher, Mrs. Ball, and I still remember my favorite short story from her class; it was about mountaineering in the Himalayas. Little did I know at the time that I would come to love books on this subject. My favorite author is James Ramsey Ullman; the majority of his work concentrates on mountaineering and the great outdoors. I know personally what it is like to struggle with reading and writing. My family moved to the United States from Scotland when I was eight years old. After being in the Scottish school system, I was behind in the American school system in every way. It was only through assistance from tutors and my wonderful second grade teacher that I was able to catch up to the other students. I believe that anyone can become a writer; they just need the tools and practice to get there.

Rob Zakula

History, Social Studies, Education

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Iwent to Lock Haven University, a small state school, for a BS inSecondary Education Social Studies with a minor in History. Afterteaching overseas last year, I moved to Washington. Here at Central, Iam working on my Master's degree in History, studying American ForeignRelations, and writing my thesis. My foremost interest in reading andwriting is on U.S. policy during the Cold War, particularly as itrelates to the Third World. As both a teacher and graduate student, Iwant to help students (and myself) appreciate the learning process, value independent and critical thinking, as well as become better writers. Aside from academia, I love worldtravel, outdoors sports, music, and movies..

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