Welcome to the UCWbL Origin Stories Blog Post Series! To celebrate International Writing Centers Week, which runs from February 10-16, we are putting up a new blog post every day detailing how different tutors first learned of the UCWbL and got involved.
In college, a lot of us take classes with in the hopes that it’ll help us one day get our dream job. For these peer tutors, that dream was a reality! Many current UCWbLers learned about this opportunity to work here through their classes.
Tutors Riley M. and Isabel C. both learned of the UCWbL through their Hon 100 class. “Last year, my good pal Allie J. told me about her job at the writing center and how much she enjoyed it and encouraged me to apply,” says Isabel. “I then took HON100 with Jen Finstrom, the UCWbL Queen, who also talked about how awesome the Writing Center was and encouraged many of us in the class to apply.”
Isabel also says, “I did some research on the Writing Center by checking out their website. Their slogan, ‘Nice People, Good 
Writers’ as well as the core values and beliefs made the UCWbL seem like a good fit for me and so I applied! Now I am here and very happy! This is a joyful, supportive, and passionate community and I feel really lucky to be a part of it!”
Patricia H. also connected with the ‘Nice People, Good Writers’ slogan, and she also learned of the UCWbL in HON100 with Jen. “I was in Jen Finstrom’s HON 100 class freshman year. Jen ensured our class that we were all ‘nice people, good writers’ and that we all should apply,” she says. “Jen’s support is definitely a HUGE factor as to why I’m here now!! Thanks, Jen!!!”
Taking classes with Jen was also what got Head Writing Center Tutor (HWCT) Laurel J. involved in the UCWbL. “In fall quarter of freshman year, I took Jen’s honors class, Rhetoric and Critical Inquiry. In that class, we had a Writing Center presentation, which is where I first learned of the UCWbL,” she says. “The following quarter, I took another class that Jen taught called Mentoring and Social Identity. Since
this class actually involved providing feedback on student poetry, Jen encouraged everyone in the class to apply to work as a Writing Center tutor, and I ended up doing so!” Laurel adds, “My spring quarter of freshman year, I actually met Kaitlyn at the Honors Research Conference, and we ended up working together and both being HWCTs!”
Other tutors, like Jacob N., learned of the UCWbL through WRD 104. Jacob, who was in Katie Martin’s WRD 104 class, recalls a funny experience shortly after being hired: “Katie Martin roasted me for being 7 minutes late to my shift.”
For Sahi P., it was the Writing Fellows program that ended up sparking her interest in getting involved with the UCWbL. “All through freshman year, I had never even considered going to the Writing Center, but when I was a sophomore, my Reading and Writing Fiction class had Writing Fellows and it Changed. My. Life,” she says. “Now, I can’t get enough of the Writing Center! It ended up being so helpful for just those few appointments for that class that I’ve been coming back ever since!”
Stay tuned for more UCWbL origin stories tomorrow! Tomorrow’s post will cover tutors who first got involved with us through friends or through writing groups!
Happy writing!
Savy