What Happened in April:

Writing Center staff spotlight: Abby Duggar

Abby always thought the Writing Center tutors were untouchable. “They seemed to be the best of the best,” she said, “and I wanted to be just like them.”

But Abby’s Writing Center story starts like many others. Abby always loved English in high school, and here at Mississippi College, she chose to pursue a writing-centric field: in her case, English education. She wanted to leverage her skills & share the joy of writing with others, so she took the leap into ENG 398, the tutor training program. 

On the Writing Center staff, she quickly found that the tutors here weren’t the bulletproof beings she once thought they were. They were students, just like her. They even booked sessions with their fellow tutors when they were stumped on a piece of writing! Abby began to unravel the idea of the infallible, unapproachable tutor, and even became friends with her fellow staff.

“I love the friends I have made through the WC,” she said. “I don't think that I would be able to be as close to the people I am if I did not work at the WC.”

Now, Abby is one of the Writing Center’s most senior members. Her time at the Center has taught her valuable lessons that will serve her in the classroom and beyond. “A lesson I have learned while tutoring is to meet people where they are,” she said. “I have learned and am continuing to learn how to meet someone where their knowledge ends and help them grow as writers.”

“I wish that people knew that we are students too,” Abby said. “I am active in a tribe and have had so many conversations with people who did not know that I worked in the WC, and said that they were surprised that I was so willing to talk to them. I know that I had the idea that tutors were these amazing people who were exceptional and flawless, and I wish that I had known that the tutors were students just like me.”

You can find Abby in the Writing Center from 3-6 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and on Wednesdays from 3-4. If she’s not here, you might find her in Jennings, Lowrey, or with her sisters in Nenamoosha Social Tribe!