Supporting Graduate Students' Academic and Professional Success
Please join us in welcoming and learning a bit more about Alexis Smith, who joined UCR as our new Graduate Writing Center Coordinator on August 16th. She comes to us from Texas A&M University.
Alexis, tell us a little about your background and how you found your way to writing center work.
My writing center career began in my home state of West Virginia, where I obtained my first position as an undergraduate writing consultant at West Virginia University. Oddly enough, I applied to that initial writing center position on a whim after meeting and talking to a current tutor during a bus ride. The experience I gained assisting English learners helped me secure a spot in the University of Alabama’s Applied Linguistics/TESOL Master's program, as well as a position as a graduate writing consultant. After completing my graduate studies, I went on to teach English composition in China and then returned yet again to the writing center world as an administrator/ESL specialist at the Texas A&M University Writing Center.
Wow, so you spent a year living in China! What was your favorite thing about that experience?
I enjoyed so many things about living and working in China, so it’s hard to pick just one! My students were curious, dedicated, and happy to help me navigate living in an unfamiliar place. Also, the food was delicious (especially hot pot), and I miss it terribly. [Editor's note: Don't worry, we have now told Alexis about the culinary wonder that is the San Gabriel Valley. Hot pot here she comes!]
[Image Description: A person uses chopsticks to add yet more deliciousness to a bubbling hot pot.]
Pictured: Who doesn't love hot pot?!?
What was your least favorite thing?
My least favorite thing was living so far away from family and friends for an extended period of time. I think many international students can relate to that.
Moving to Riverside to work at UCR was your first time coming to California as an adult. What are you excited about with regard to living here, or what interesting/different things have you noticed so far about life in California?
The general lack of humidity is wonderful. This might seem very simple and unexciting, but it’s an enormous relief after living in extra-humid southeast Texas for 3 years. I also love the desert landscape and mountains (which remind me a little of home). I hope to take day trips to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake in the near future.
What do you most enjoy about working with graduate students on their writing?
I enjoy working with graduate students because I learn so much from reading and discussing their work. For example, on any given day, I could go from helping an English PhD student focus their argument for a journal article submission to providing feedback on an engineering student’s conference presentation. Graduate students are budding experts in their fields, and it’s incredibly rewarding to support them as they develop and publish cutting-edge research.
What is the best advice you can share with graduate students working on a thesis or dissertation?
My #1 piece of advice is to always set realistic and specific goals before and during the writing process. Find an approach that works for you, whether that be calendaring in a planner or leaving daily progress notes/goals in your actual draft. These projects are enormous, draining, and time consuming, but setting these realistic goals will help make your task seem more manageable. Careful goal setting and planning will also help you build in time for revision and receiving feedback.
[Image Depicted: A page on a clipboard marked GOALS is systematically checked off and then ripped away when completed.]
Pictured: Goals get you where you need to go!
Great suggestions! What do you want UCR graduate students to know about the Graduate Writing Center?
Speaking of goal setting and receiving feedback, we can assist you with both of those! Our consultants are fellow grad students who are prepared and eager to help you develop and navigate your personal writing process. We’re here to serve as a sounding board as you’re just starting to formulate a topic/research focus, and we’re also ready to provide feedback on the content, organization, and style of your final draft.
How can people reach you at UCR, either in person or online?
You can reach me via email (alexis.smith@ucr.edu), phone (951-827-4307), or in person at the Graduate Writing Center (UOB 122) every week on Thursdays and Fridays. I look forward to meeting you!
OK, bonus (and final) question. What is your favorite book (or movie, anime, video game, etc), and why?
This is the most difficult question in the world. I’m going to have to say Max Brooks’ World War Z, because it inspired my lifelong fascination with zombies and horror/post-apocalyptic fiction. The Brad Pitt film adaptation isn’t bad either, but 28 Days Later is definitely the superior zombie apocalypse film.
So there you have it folks - go visit Alexis in the Graduate Writing Center, where she can help you with writing your dissertation AND surviving the zombie apocalypse. It's a win-win!
[Image Depicted: Zombies chase a man pushing a woman in a shopping cart inside a grocery store. ]
Pictured: Zombie apocalypse tip: zombies are not fast runners.
Appointments with Alexis will be available on the Graduate Writing Center Fall 2021 consultations schedule, which should be available starting September 20th.