Energy from first-year students and writing fellows buzzed more than the supposed bees in the historic Pilling Room on Drew’s Day of Writing. 131 first-year students met to work on their first papers, Oct. 13, in the Rose Memorial Library. The sheer number of students set the record for the best attended Day of Writing ever.
The Day of Writing is a semi-annual event held every fall semester by Drew’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program. Since May 2014, the writing program has hosted days of writing. In 2015, when Drew Seminar was introduced to the Drew curriculum, the event became ingrained in the first-year experience.
Now the event is hosted for the first-year class just days before their first Drew Seminar paper is due. Writing fellows from each Drew Seminar take two hours on the Sunday prior to the paper’s due date to convene with the first years and work through the first major paper of their college career.
The Director of Writing Across the Curriculum, Dr. Sandra Jamieson, greeted students as they entered the library with a bowl of candy and a raffle. Though Jamieson is currently teaching as a part of the London Semester, many students were excited to see her in person at the event. She flew in especially for the occasion.
This October, a record-breaking number of students gathered at every table on the library’s first floor. Writing fellows were easily recognizable, adorned with bright green shirts, and students could work with their own or other classes’ writing fellows on the first paper.
The library transformed into a lively space that encouraged help-seeking. For many first-years, this was their first experience using Drew’s resources.
“It definitely was very beneficial for all of my students and I had so many that came to me for help that never had before,” commented writing fellow Skylar Anderson (‘27), “It seemed to really help them.”
Anderson described the atmosphere of the library. “It was a really positive environment and the energy was really high and that also was really beneficial for them.”
This is Anderson’s first semester as a writing fellow and like many new fellows, the Day of Writing was Anderson’s first experience working with students on their writing. “I truly felt really overwhelmed and unprepared because it was the first time that anyone had ever come to me for help with writing, and then I had nine people at once,” said Anderson.
Though there was a lot happening at once, many students received helpful feedback and guidance on their first Drew Seminar paper, and Anderson feels prepared and excited to help more students at the second Day of Writing, which will occur on Nov. 17. “I have a basis now of the kinds of questions they’re going to ask and how I should prepare for them,” said Anderson.
The record attendance of the Day of Writing makes it obvious that this incoming class of students is aware of the resources designed to help them succeed at Drew.
Nicole Sydor (C’24) has served as a Drew Seminar writing fellow for the past three years and witnessed the ebbs and flows of first-year engagement. Sydor noted that “it was really refreshing to see this first-year incoming class so eager to use the resources available.”
Increased attendance bodes well for the Writing Across the Curriculum program. Drew students are used to the presence of Writing Fellows in their Drew Seminar classrooms, however Jamieson hopes that continued engagement will bolster the program and increase the amount of writing fellows in classrooms beyond Drew Seminar.
Sydor echoed a similar sentiment, saying that the day of writing “reconfirmed the necessity of positions like writing fellows and the bridge that they serve between the classroom and the social opportunities that learning can provide.”
Drew’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program extends beyond the Drew Seminar classroom and the Day of Writing. The program looks to integrate writing fellows into student’s four years here at Drew and encourages providing and receiving writing support at every level.
Jocelyn Freeman is a senior majoring in history and English, minoring in Chinese.
Katie Carmichael is a senior majoring in English creative writing, minoring in teaching.
Featured image courtesy of Pexels.com.
