This is a rough draft; and there are other wonderful humans helping me think about how to strengthen this piece. Please feel free to add your revision ideas to my food for thought.
Thank you.
My story with Eastern Michigan University began two generations before my birth. The university, at that time was still the Michigan Normal School and was then, as it remains today, an epicenter for quality teacher preparation. My grandmother, Bernice Hewitt Wells earned her life-long teaching certificate here; and my mother, Ethel Wells Umpstead, also studied in these hallowed halls. Ethel and I, actually, were both in our late twenties when we earned our teaching certification here in Ypsilanti. I felt a stronger connection to these women in my life as I studied to become a third-generation, Eastern-trained English teacher.
Both mom and grandma were active on campus; and mom once told me that they had each helped to build a building on campus during their tenure here. I am busy building a different type of monument at Eastern, but one no less edifying. I am helping to grow the Eastern Michigan Writing Project Summer Institute, one teacher at a time.
Last summer, I was a new fellow to the project. As a graduate student here at Eastern in the English Studies department, I jumped at the chance to take the Writing Project Summer Institute for credit. I was intrigued by the components of the workshop-styled course offering: teacher as writer, consultant, and researcher. The Writing Project helped me in several ways. It was only after having been included as a fellow in the project that I came to view myself as a writer. The Summer Institute allowed me to honor my talent by encouraging me to share a demonstration lesson and it boosted my confidence by developing within me the skills of using my own classroom research. Now, as a writer, I am better equipped to help my student see themselves as writers and to respond in productive ways to their writing. Also, the myth that “students can’t write” went out the window for me as an educator. The Eastern Michigan Writing Project has helped me to talk to my Holt High School students about the choices they make as authors, to help them think through their personal writing process, and to encourage them to see themselves as part of a vibrant community of writers.
This summer I am pleased to be the Returning Fellow at the Writing Project. I have gained so much from the writing project, as have my students, that I wanted to return and help the new fellows thrive in the midst of such an enthusiastic, nurturing, and revitalizing environment. I may not be constructing a physical building; however, I am working towards helping to build a legacy of exceptional writing, teacher leaders, and a valuable service-learning opportunity for many groups of teacher to come. I know that mom and grandma have moved on to wherever it is that EMU grads go when they pass, but I cannot help but see the light in their eyes as I share my writing with these eager colleagues, or when my students share their writing in the community which has grown into my high school classes. I feel their pride and pleasure that Eastern Michigan University has helped one more of their family to build a brighter future for those who will come after her.