Our Staff
Our tutors are trained to see themselves as reflective and intelligent readers who -- by asking questions and reporting accurately their reading reactions -- can help you discover what you have said, what you might want to say, and how your readers are likely to understand you.
Though they are trained to be able to help you develop organizational and editing skills, they are not "correctors" or editors. Everything about the interactions between tutor and writer supports the OWRC's central goal of helping you achieve autonomy in your learning and writing. What does that mean? It means that, at the OWRC, our staff might help you best by discussing with you the appropriate information for supporting an argument or laying the foundation for a claim. We can also help you with high-level, transferable skills like understanding the nature of information and its relationship to writing, thinking, and learning, or refining your understanding of the roles research and information literacy play in successful scholarship.
EMILY CERNAK (EMMY) - Undergraduate tutor
A junior majoring in Business Administration and International Studies, Emmy plans to work in microfinance after graduation. In the meantime she enjoys all sorts of academic writing, including research papers for her international studies core, essays for classes in the college honors program, and responses to scholarship prompts. As a marketing student, she has also become quite friendly with briefs, business letters, resumes, and cover letters. She has worked as a research assistant in the history department and is familiar with campus databases, archives, and libraries for the social sciences. As a tutor, Emmy prioritizes argument and organization over grammar and sentence structure and works with students to develop a strong, well-supported thesis. She is a big fan of outlines and especially enjoys helping students who are still in the brainstorming/rough draft process. When not at the UW, Emmy can usually be found either working for a local development organization or trail riding with her retired thoroughbred racehorse and her Labrador retriever.
KATIE CORCORAN - Graduate tutor
Katie Corcoran is a 5th year Ph.D. graduate student. She has her M.A. degree in Sociology and is currently working on a second M.A. in Comparative Religion and a dissertation in Sociology. She has taught sociology for the past four years and aspires to be a professor where she can combine her two great passions: research and teaching. Although she enjoys helping students with writing and research in any discipline, she has extensive experience with social science and humanities papers. She is particularly qualified to help students with research/term papers, abstracts, literature reviews, honors or Masters theses, conference papers, journal articles, and dissertation chapters. She believes the best way to develop a strong argument at any stage of the writing process is through discussion. Consequently, she enjoys helping students at any stage, whether it’s understanding the assignment better, brainstorming ideas, or giving feedback on drafts. On the rare occasion where she is not studying or grading, you might find her at the bowling alley, listening to music, or curled up at home with a good book.
AUTUMN CUTTER (on leave: returns Winter Quarter 2010) - Undergraduate tutor
Autumn is a double major in Sociology (Honors program) and Women Studies. Though especially knowledgeable about research papers, Autumn has experience with a wide variety of writing styles, formats, and subjects. She is well-versed in an array of sociological and feminist topics including poverty, homelessness, race, gender, disability, social activism, and class struggle. Autumn believes that writing, when done in partnership with a tutor, can be a liberating experience, and she is available to help at all stages of the writing process. When not in the writing center, Autumn can be found cooking-up some delicious vegan grub, practicing yoga, or watching her all time favorite TV show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
MARK FORMAN - Graduate Tutor
Mark is a graduate student in the College of Education’s Master in Teaching program, where his ultimate goal is to become a high school English teacher. He also attended UW during his undergraduate career, earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Bachelor of Art in English, graduating cum laude in 2008. Mark has extensive experience in quite a few styles of writing and is especially adept at both literature-based and science-based papers. He is also very familiar with both MLA and APA styles. Mark’s approach to writing involves ensuring that each person he works with sees him or herself as a successful writer; therefore, he emphasizes the fact that there is not simply one correct style in which to write but instead many different forms that are all correct at different times. Outside of school, Mark enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, hanging out with his friends, running with his dogs, reading, traveling (he’s been to 40 out of 50 states so far and intends to get to all 50 by the time he is 25), and all sorts of sports.
ALLISON GROSS - Graduate Tutor
Will post her bio soon! Allison is one of our new graduate tutors on staff.
JENNY HALPIN - Director
Jenny is a PhD Candidate in English Language and Rhetoric, currently working on her dissertation on the 1974 Resolution "Students' Right to Their Own Language". She has taught introductory and intermediate composition for the past five years as an instructor for the UW's Expository Writing Program. She also recently completed a faculty fellowship at Seattle University. But before she was ever a teacher, she was a tutor; Jenny worked for three years as a tutor with the English Department Writing Center and for a year as a tutor at the Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE). Those years, and the one-to-one work of teaching writing, have given her a strong appreciation for how much writers benefit from close interaction with and immediate feedback from focused, critical, committed readers. She is happy and at ease working with writers from all sorts of backgrounds on projects in any field and genre. When she's not dissertating (love that that's a verb), tutoring, or helping run the center, you'll find her in her garden or the kitchen, indulging her gourmet cooking hobby.
JOHN HOLMES - Reference Librarian and freelance tutor
John is a reference librarian at Odegaard. His specialties include writing and information literacy (the ability to interact effectively with information from defining needs and finding relevant sources through evaluation, use, and management of sources.) He has a strong understanding of the ways in which critical thinking, reading, conversation, research, and writing converge in the process of learning and enjoys helping students develop a strong understanding of their own uses of these abilities as writers. A Michigan native, he has a B.A. in English and an M.S. in Information Science. Away from his job, John is a movie, theater, and popular music fan, as well as a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan who has reluctantly transferred a few ounces of his loyalty to the Mariners.
CHELSEA JENNINGS - Graduate tutor
Will post her bio soon! Chelsea is one of our new graduate tutors.
JESSICA JUNGWIRTH - Undergraduate tutor
Jessica is a double major in English Literature
and Anthropology with a possible minor in Near Eastern Studies. A broad
interest in academics has introduced her to writing within a variety of
disciplines, ranging from History to Creative Writing. She is skilled in the
analysis of literary and cultural texts and believes that asking strong
questions and investigating basic assumptions are key to developing a deeper
understanding of any material, and that these questions are best formulated
through dialogue. Unsurprisingly, she enjoys long conversations over coffee
and in her spare time can be found catching a good film or concert, spending
time in the fresh air, telling lame jokes, and failing at knitting.
KAYE KOVACS - Graduate tutor
Kaye is a graduate student in Library and
Information Science, with a B.A. in English and Political Science. As an
undergraduate, most of her academic writing centered on political or
literary theory, and Kaye finds it refreshing to explore other areas of
study. During her time at UW, Kaye has also served on the Common Book
Selection Committee, and the Library Student Advisory Committee. This year
is Kaye's third year tutoring at OWRC, and her other experiences involve
working privately, as well as a volunteer with the National Honor Society,
to tutor a variety of students, from those in advanced placement programs to
those with learning disabilities. As a tutor, Kaye focuses on the strong,
central ideas of a paper, and believes that solid structure and good
organization are the key to an awesome paper. In her spare time, Kaye plays
the piano and the violin, dominates at scrabble, plays her Wii, gives into
her coffee addiction, goes to metal concerts, and sleeps a lot.
LAURA PIERSON - Undergraduate tutor
Laura is in her fourth year at UW and is a double major in International Studies and Spanish. She is most experienced as a writer and reviewer of research and social science papers, but she loves discussing papers from other disciplines as well as personal statements and cover letters. Laura believes that the key to all good writing starts in conversation and so she loves the chance to help writers brainstorm and organize their ideas. She is also always looking for ways to help writers add clarity and specificity in later drafts. In her spare time, Laura is plotting her next trip to the Caribbean or watching an excessive number of Beyonce music videos on YouTube.
PAMELA SAUNDERS - Assistant Director & Undergraduate tutor
Pamela Saunders is a double major in English and Music with emphasis in Flute Performance. She has played flute for 12 years, and has been reading books for even longer. She's also a newly minted FIG leader here on campus and will be applying to Graduate programs in Composition and Rhetoric this fall. Pamela has completed an internship with author David Shields and has been a legal intern for Seattle Attorney Melissa Huelsman. She is skilled at writing literary analysis and research papers, and also personal statements and scholarship essays. She has a laid-back approach to writing, believes in the economy of words, and encourages “baby steps” towards improving one’s writing technique. Born and raised in San Diego, California, Pamela's hobbies include running, hosting and/or attending lavish dinner parties, performing in local music gigs and recitals, reading trashy teen novels, and eating all of the center snacks. Pamela’s musical taste runs the gamut from Kodaly to Kanye, and she has never heard a Michael Jackson song she didn’t like.
COLIN STERLING - Undergraduate tutor
Colin just graduated from UW with an English major and Environmental Science and Resource Management minor and will be starting the Masters in Teaching program next spring. Having rambled for several years through the humanities and social sciences departments, Colin has become well-versed in the conventions of academic writing in many diverse fields. He loves offering his assistance to students working on everything from poetry to scientific reports, and feels like conversation can bring clarity to a work in progress. Colin believes that focusing on the ideas and reasoning behind one’s writing is the most important step in creating work that not only sounds good, but really has something meaningful to offer the reader. In his free time, Colin enjoys biking, playing folk music, preparing and attending feasts, and journeying through the forest.
CRAIG WILEY - Undergraduate tutor
Craig is pursuing a double major in Comparative
History of Ideas and
Comparative Religion. From a young age he could often be found buried in
books; his discovery of Powell’s City of Books in Portland ranks
embarrassingly high on the list of happy moments in his life. Craig often
gets wrapped up in debates about what he’s read that last ‘late into the
night,’ and can recall several occasions where those around him have
requested that he stop talking about Kierkegaard. He views academic writing
as often similar to this sort of dialogue – it must be written with a keen
eye set on the audience’s expectations, in order to build an effective case
to them. The idea of wrestling with ideas professionally, by discussing with
students the development of their arguments, appealed to him immediately. He
also loves doodling in the margins of his notes, argyle socks, and the smell
of recycled paper.
CHRISTINE WOODWARD - Undergraduate tutor
Christine Woodward is a double major in Latin American Studies and Geography, with a strong affinity for archaeology and literature. Unable to put down any book, Christine has spent many sleepless nights with Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and, of course, Harry Potter. As a tutor, she believes that a paper is the sum of the processes that made it. A session should be a conversation aimed at building a strong central claim supported by solid research and reasoning. Captivated by the beauty of words, she is always excited by the prospect of discussing any piece of writing from any discipline. When not reading, writing, or schooling, Christine enjoys scaring herself with horror movies, tutoring ESL students, and jamming to wizard rock.
CHRISTINE YANG - Undergraduate tutor
Christine is pursuing an International Studies major and a minor in either History or Comparative History of Ideas. That being said, Christine holds a fascination for all things classical and medieval history, and finds herself deeply captivated by existentialist philosophy, which she feels to be both provocative and beautiful. Her approach to strong academic writing is largely grounded in the basic structuring of a paper. She believes the development of strong writing skills begins with a focus on a central argument, claim or theme that anchors the cohesion between all parts of a paper. Her writing experience includes History, Philosophy, Art History, International Studies, Geography and English Literature. In her free time, Christine enjoys spending time with friends, watching period films and baseball games, indulging in haagen-daz and doing a healthy dose of ruminating about the meaning of life. She would love to someday travel the world of course, and in the process touch as many historical ruins as possible along the way!
Go to the Sign Up Page to make an appointment with one of our tutors.