Initiated this year in memory of former English Department Chair Sharon Rudnicki, Agnes Irwin’s Writing Center is an on-campus space for literary exploration and collaboration. The Center enables students to hone their writing with the help of their peers, and to connect and talk with a network of professional writers and journalists. As someone committed to advancing the literary arts at AIS, I hope to outline the many services available to Agnes Irwin’s students and writers through the Center’s programming.
Under the direction of new English Department Chair Lydia Traill, Agnes Irwin opened the Sharon Rudnicki Writing Center this September and invited students to participate in its first initiative: a peer tutoring program through which student tutors help their peers become better writers. The Center offers tutoring to Upper and Middle Schoolers from 11:00 to 1:15 every day, and over the past month over sixty students have utilized the program; the high response rate is attributed to the casual environment of the Center, which is both cozy and conducive to productivity.
Students can stop by for help with any piece of writing, either academic or personal. The tutoring staff is equipped to offer constructive criticism and to guide students through key steps of the writing and editing process. As a Writing Tutor myself, I have frequently glimpsed and experienced firsthand the productive hubbub that occurs in the Center when several tutor-tutee pairs are simultaneously working together.
In addition to becoming a hub for collaborative writing, the Center has connected students with writers outside of Agnes Irwin. In October, the Writing Center partnered with the Center for the Advancement of Girls to offer virtual workshops led by digital storyteller Miri Rodriguez. Miri is a published author and Head of the Global Internship Program for Microsoft, and she met with AIS students via Zoom to share her expertise in marketing and brand storytelling. Miri also hosted a lunch meet and greet, which gave students a wonderful opportunity to connect with her one-on-one and further discuss the complex science of branding.
The Center organized another such event with the Center for the Advancement of Girls this month. On November 4th, members of Agnes Irwin’s publications heard from Nandini D’Souza Wolfe, Vice President of Global Storytelling for Tory Burch. I attended this event and was intrigued by Ms. Wolfe’s insights about the field of fashion journalism. Ms. Wolfe told stories of professional success and frustration and explained the difficulty journalists often encounter in attempting to graciously receive and apply edits while staying true to their own stylistic preferences. Her words resonated with me and I’m sure with many other aspiring journalists in the audience as well.
In the first two months since its initiation, the Sharon Rudnicki Writing Center has offered students varied opportunities for literary growth, and its work is just beginning. I look forward to seeing how the Center’s role at Agnes Irwin expands over the course of the year.
