Meet the Tutors of the SWC, Part 1

Hi, again, Roxy Readers! As you know, I spend my time helping students at the Stone Writing Center at Del Mar College. It’s mid-term around here, and everyone is busy, busy, busy getting their papers done. It takes a village to keep things running, and I don’t do it alone. My next few entries will be devoted to introducing the talent of the SWC. Everyone - I’d like you to meet the tutors of the Stone Writing Center!

Laura 

Hi everyone! My name is Laura. I graduated from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV…formerly UTPA) with both my bachelor’s and master’s degree in English Rhetoric and Composition. I’ve always enjoyed writing, so it seemed like the best fit for me.

I’ve actually loved to write since I was five. Back then, I wrote mostly about princess mermaids and PowerPuff Girl fan fiction. When I started learning about teaching writing, I began to learn more about the struggles that people have with writing, and now, I really enjoy helping students with their writing. I like that it always changes, it’s never the same from student to student, and it’s a form of expression. Plus, I love to read!

I love to read!

People need guidance, but I think students especially need guidance. If I could go back and tell my younger student self anything, I would tell myself that it’s okay to stumble through obstacles as long as you keep working through them. I would also tell myself that it’s absolutely, perfectly OKAY to ask for help. Being a student is hard, and I learned very late that professors are there to teach you; they want to help. I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long to ask professors to re-explain something or guide me through starting an assignment. I only hope that my younger student self would listen to me because I know I never listened to my mom!

Getting ready to write!

The one thing that I did listen to my mom about was when she said that I would, in fact, be a writer. I do think I’m a very strong writer both in academic writing and in fiction writing. I love to write stories, and I’ve actually submitted and published two short stories on the Young Adult Review Network; one of which was a humor contest winner. In the spare time I do have, I enjoy working on short stories and (potential) novels. Hopefully, I’ll write for the rest of my life. 

Jenny

This is me!

Hello, Del Mar Community!  My name is Jenny.  I am a born and raised Californian with a passion for culture, outdoor activities, arts, and languages.  I received my bachelor’s degree in English from California Baptist University and my master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Arizona State University. 

From technical writing to poetry, I have always loved how language and writing could do so much.  As Professor Dumbledore stated in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”  When we know how to use language correctly, there are endless possibilities for what we can do and who we can help. 

Besides my passion for language learning, something that people might not know about me is that I play the ukulele.  I started playing about 6 years ago, and it has quickly become my most relaxing hobby.  After a long day, playing a few songs on my ukulele instantly relaxes me.

If I am not working on some form of language arts or playing my ukulele, you will find me running.  I love to run. It is the way I start my day, and the thing I look forward to most in the mornings besides my big cup of tea. To me, it is the most therapeutic activity I have ever done. On good days, I run. On stressful days, I run. Whatever type of day it is, my run always makes my day better. 

Toby

Toby

My name is Toby, and I earned an Associate of Arts in English from Del Mar College in 2017. I continued my education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certificate.

One of my areas of expertise, at Stone Writing Center, is helping students get started on writing projects when they say they don’t know how or where to start. As a student, I learned the hard way that prewriting and outlining are excellent for getting started writing, and I am now passing this knowledge on to others.

There are many things I like about writing, but I especially like the feeling of

accomplishment that comes with a well-written piece. I have always enjoyed writing, and I considered myself a good writer before I came back to college. Prior to returning to college, I enjoyed writing informative articles for the SWCHR Bulletin, a quarterly publication of Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research, which can be found at southwesternherp.com. In sophomore classes at Del Mar, I discovered that I was not as great at writing as I had believed, and there was a lot that I needed to learn. This discovery piqued my interest in writing; I worked hard to become a better writer, and it fueled my desire to pass on what I had learned to new writers. At TAMU-CC, I continued to hone my writing skills, and I found my voice in poetry and fiction while attending creative writing classes.

My hobby! Can you see him?

It's Roxy, again. That's it for now! You'll get to meet more of my friends soon! See you next time the sun is up, the breeze is cool, and the waves roll into view. ‘Til then, hang ten!