Blessed, Over and Over...

In this photo I'm standing in front of what was...or maybe still is?! ... the Daytona State College Writing Center (WC). This was where students, professors, staff, and alumni could bring any piece of writing, ranging from personal to academic, and work on it directly with an English/writing tutor. The first impressions clerk (FIC) would book the appointments, and any of the three main rooms were available for use! It shared an entrance to the campus library, and truly was great for studying and hanging out.

Before my life at the WC, I studied at a private school. To stay and fund my discipline at that facility I had to pretty much "sell my soul" and knew moving to a more affordable school was in my best interest! My first professor (English 101) at the new school noticed my innate ability to coach, recommended me for a position as a tutor in the Writing Center, and I started at the beginning of the Fall semester.

While we weren't tutoring, we'd get to sit in as the FIC. When it was my turn, I did my best to contribute to the space in fun, little ways; this photo reflects the time I repurposed a retired whiteboard and hung it up behind the front desk for daily quotes, and the team in the Academic Support Center honored us for it. Relevant in a highly intellectual and mental environment, the following quote, again also in the photo, was the very first one to serve on the whiteboard:

"In all tests of character, when two viewpoints are pitted against each other, in the final analysis, the thing that will strike you the most is not who was right or wrong, strong or weak, wise or foolish... but who went to the greater length in considering the other's perspective." - Mike Dooley, New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and entrepreneur in the philosophical New Thought movement.

The daily quote board, where this was first written, graduated from a small plaque behind the front desk to a standalone whiteboard where the WC & campus library met. It eventually served as a space to advocate a 'word of the day', and for one of our writing specialists (and artist) to draw relevant images. Really great & creative stuff.

I spent a few years there working as a student employee, where I was blessed over and over again with accolades, relationships, and a vast library of memories. For more reasons than I could write, my time at the WC was indescribable. The wide variety of people & topics we'd get to learn and write about, the community, and the atmosphere always made for an interesting day, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Anytime this memory resurfaces, I enjoy and remember how things shift and the efforts and changes that went with that phase of life. Since my professional experience as a writing/English mentor at the college, I've tutored English privately for adult ESOL students and have embraced a love and skill working with children in more realistic and integrated educational environments. Little did I know how well that experience at the WC was preparing me to follow what brings my soul happiness...

With more to come...

Angela