The Return of the In-Person Writing Center: What’s Changed?

Writing Center Sign. Media provided by Gazette Media Staff.

Want to debate if one waits “in line” or “on line?” Geek out about the Oxford comma? Or just get some help on your writing assignment but don’t have the time to do it during school?–throughout any student’s four years at Grace, they have hurried to the Writing Center in need of assistance at least once. 

The Writing Center is a cozy room located right along the back of the library. Students can visit of their own volition (or they may be instructed to visit by their teachers) when seeking help with any type of written assignment. 

The Center is staffed by professional writers, and Grace students can make an appointment online or walk-in seeking assistance. For students engaging in activities like drama, dance, and sports, the Writing Center conveniently offers morning and evening appointments. The Center also always offers appointments during both lunch blocks (12-2 pm). In order to make an appointment, one can head to WCOnline. 

After being relegated to a virtual presence throughout the pandemic, the Writing Center has finally made a return to in-person tutoring.

Mr. Woody Loverude, literature teacher and Head of the Writing Center, oversees the Center and plays a large part in creating the close-knit community that lives and works there. When asked about the changes this year, he gushed that he was “really happy to be back in person because it lets us build that sense of community in that space that we had before COVID.” 

Mr. Woody Loverude in Writing Center. Media provided by Gazette Media Staff.

This, of course, is one of the many great things that the Writing Center offers to its students: the joy of being surrounded by other writers like themselves. Andrea Simons, a tutor at the Writing Center, wrote that she believes that students should take advantage of the Writing Center because it’s a “communal space” as well as a resource, and it’s a “space to feed your inner artist.”

Anyone who has not yet visited the Writing Center is not only missing out on better grades in their humanities classes but are also missing out on some great conversations and good company. Mariaux C. ‘23 

“One of the best rewards that I have taken away from the Writing Center has to be my ability to edit my own writing,” Mariaux C. ‘23 wrote in an email. “I used to be unable to recognize my own mistakes, however consultants at the Writing Center have taught me strategies to help find small spelling and grammatical mistakes.”

Ms. Simons is not only a veteran consultant but an independent comedy sketch writer and actress. There is an extraordinary amount of diversity in interests and specialties amongst the tutors, enabling them to support an array of writing that students may bring to the Center (whether these works be academic or personal).   

 Despite the Writing Center’s pause in in-person tutoring, it has successfully returned to its vibrant and supportive environment that Grace students appreciate immensely.