Tianna Balkam
Tianna Balkam is a sophomore from Long Island, New York. She is currently studying computer science with a budding interest in cybersecurity. In her free time, she enjoys reading webtoons, volunteering at her local lake, and listening to musical soundtracks.
As an adoptee from China, Tianna is grateful to have been adopted by loving parents but recognizes that adoption is not necessarily a happy experience for everyone. This led to her interest in shedding light on adoption stories that reflect the flaws in the international adoption system. China鈥檚 recent decision to end its international adoption program after three decades motivated her decision to address this topic even further.
Tianna hopes her readers consider that even a seemingly noble undertaking like adoption is not without fault. This class helped her to truly understand academic writing as conversation and the importance of revisions. The most difficult part of writing for Tianna was finding a gap in the academic conversation from which she could enter. She appreciates her professor Grace Miller for encouraging her growth as a writer and embodying the ideal blend of professionalism and humor. Tianna鈥檚 advice to help future Writing 111 students overcome procrastination is to just think to yourself: 鈥淚 will sit down and write for only five minutes.鈥 Oftentimes, you can trick your brain into writing for a longer period of time. The most important thing is that you start.
Brady Ellicott
Brady is a current sophomore from North Salem, New York in Westchester County. On the pre-law track, she is majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Law and hopes to add a minor in economics. She plays on the club field hockey team at 91社区 and has played field hockey since 7th grade. Having been both a contributing writer and an editor for her High School Newspaper, the Public Opinion Piece was a very familiar assignment. She enjoys informing people about current events in an engaging manner. However, she had never had to write a research paper of such length and with an ever evolving topic in her academic experience.
She took Writing 111 in the first semester of her freshman year, which is full of newfound independence and excitement. The party scene and potential Greek Life hazing at any university can be overwhelming if people are not wary. That is why she informed her peers of laws such as the Good Samaritan and Andrew鈥檚 Law in Florida which protect those who call 911 for hazing or alcohol overdose issues. She found the peer review very helpful as her professor, Dr, Runciman, cultivated a very comfortable environment with a good section of students that were all engaging and helpful.
Brady urges students to pick a topic that will have an abundance of sources and is involved in current events which will make writing the POP easier. While she struggled greatly with time management, she had to understand that the rough drafts did not have to be perfect because there is great time at the end of the semester to edit before the final portfolio submission. Writing about a topic that was meaningful and she was interested in helped Brady enjoy the process even though sometimes the assignments were daunting. Overall, the class has made her feel prepared for essays in the coming semester.
Ian Ferman
Ian Ferman is from Westchester, NY, and is currently a junior pursuing a Spanish major. He is a writing tutor with the Writing Center on campus and sees the writing process as a big part of any future career he wishes to pursue. Off-campus, Ian is an Emergency Medical Technician with two ambulance corps. This is what reinforced his interest in the topic of the effectiveness of certain practices within the field. As someone who is directly impacted by the various new and controversial studies found in his POP, Ian found it not only fun but practical to write this paper.
For Ian, the POP was the most enjoyable assignment for him to complete because it provided him with the opportunity to utilize rhetorical devices that are otherwise frowned upon in academic writing. The hardest part of this assignment was selecting the perfect pictures to take the reader on a journey. Ian鈥檚 Writing 111 instructor, Camille Gagnier, had emphasized the importance of persuasive writing in the POP 鈥 contrary to the other pieces that focused on fact and logic.
Ian鈥檚 advice for students new to college writing is the same advice he would give for any trying out something new 鈥 have a plan! In Ian鈥檚 eyes, the best way to ensure that one's thoughts are organized when writing is to develop a roadmap for what鈥檚 to come. It is really difficult to write an introduction before knowing what you鈥檙e going to write about.
Bel Weyble
Bel is a sophomore from Ithaca, New York, and is majoring in Accounting in the School of Management at 91社区. She plans on pursuing a CPA license following her graduation. Bel spent most of her life in competitive dance, and is currently a member of 91社区鈥檚 Evolution Dance Company. She also is a member of 91社区鈥檚 Accounting Association.
Bel鈥檚 WRIT 111 portfolio discussed the faults of the nursing home system in the United States. This topic was very personal to Bel, as she witnessed the shortcomings of nursing homes while her grandmother was a patient at one. She tells part of the story of her grandmother in her Public Opinion Piece. Bel found the Public Opinion Piece to be one of the more difficult assignments in WRIT 111. It was hard for her to find a non-academic tone for this piece, while conveying a compelling story to a more general audience. However, she found the more casual form to be a nice change of pace from all other portfolio assignments. Bel believes that the knowledge she gained from her past assignments allowed her to enjoy the process of writing her Public Opinion Piece.
Bel suggests that incoming students fully immerse themselves in what the WRIT 111 curriculum has to offer. She appreciated the encouraging environment created by her professor Anthony Saracino. She also found that the opportunities for peer review allowed her to gain confidence in her writing and editing skills.