With a lifelong love of writing and several years of experience as a Writing Center advisor, Erika Jackson '22 has become the first Wittenberg student to hold an office in a regional writing center association and formally represent undergraduate writing center advisors throughout the area.

The senior English major and creative writing minor has been voted in as the 2021-2022 undergraduate student representative of the East Central Writing Center Association (ECWCA), of which Wittenberg is a member. Each year, the ECWCA holds a variety of conferences and events to support writing center research and bring together writing center scholars from across the region.

The Wittenberg Writing Center employs several trained writing advisors for students of all disciplines to utilize at any stage in the writing process. As someone who enjoys all aspects of reading and writing, Jackson was drawn to the Writing Center in her freshman year and has been an advisor ever since.

Working at the center "has been a great experience and has absolutely helped me grow as a writer and communicate more effectively,” she said. “My favorite part of being an advisor is when we can brainstorm and really help a writer figure out a plan for their paper. I can tell they leave feeling less stressed than when they come in."

Because of her experiences in the center, Jackson was eager to apply when the call for undergraduate representative elections went out.

When asked about what interested her in the role, Jackson said, "As a field of study, I think writing centers can be incredibly rich and often overlooked in the kind of research people are doing. It was definitely eye opening, personally, as I started to learn more about them and how they can help empower writers."

The field explores critical research and inquiry into tutoring methods, best practices, and other things that can be done to make sessions more effective and accessible for all writers. Organizations such as ECWCA provide an outlet for writing center scholars, directors, and undergraduate advisors to share their research and collaborate with one another to improve writing centers across the board.

In her new role, Jackson will be responsible for representing and organizing undergraduate writing advisors within the region, attending meetings, and completing other administrative duties. She is also a part of ECWCA's Outreach committee where she will organize and promote events for members.

"The advisors at the Wittenberg Writing Center have a long history of attending and presenting at national and regional conferences, including ECWCA,” said Writing Center Director Mike Mattison. “We have not though, as far as I know, ever had an advisor serve on the governing body of any writing center organization. ECWCA is one of the oldest and most respected regionals in the country, so this is a wonderful accomplishment for Erika, and she is already proving to be an outstanding representative of our Writing Center, and Wittenberg overall."

"I am incredibly excited and hope to continue to grow from this position as both a communicator and a writer,” Jackson said. “I think Writing Centers have a lot to offer both universities and individual writers, and I think more people should take advantage of that."

She added, "If anyone has an interest in editing, writing, research, or communication, I would encourage you to apply to our Center or reach out to learn more about all the resources and opportunities within this field. It's more accessible than people think, and the skills you can learn are invaluable, especially as an undergraduate student."

For more information about the Wittenberg Writing Center, click here or email Mike Mattison, Writing Center director, at mmattison@wittenberg.edu.

-By Isabella M. Fiorito ’23