The EML Blog: So much to celebrate in April!

The EML department is proud to congratulate our students

who completed their Master's degrees in spring 2015.

Sofia Pierson successfully defended her capstone portfolio on technical communication tools and collaboration. She will be going on the job market
with her new MAA in technical communication.

Lauren Johnson successfully defended her MAS thesis on scripted reading programs in the K12 Classroom. Ms. Johnson is a third grade teacher at East Buchanan and also a past participant in MWSU's Prairie Lands Writing Project.

Siyi Zhang and Huan Huang both completed their MAA work after returning to Xidian University in Xi'an, China. Ms. Huang's thesis was on teaching English language learners in Chinese high schools. Ms. Zhang's thesis was a linguistic analysis of scientific communication in translation.

Clipping from the museum's newsletter

Applied learning and outreach

Students in Kaye Adkin's Technical Documentation class are engaged in a project for La Plata County Historical Society and the Animas Museum in Durango, Colorado. The project managers (including Sarah Hatten who is the project lead) are the graduate students in ETC 520 Publications Management. The museum's gratitude for the work of Dr. Adkin's students is noted in the spring newsletter, stating that they have been "rescued by Griffons" in their efforts to catalog the artifacts of the Animas Museum.

Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self:ENG 100 Reading and Reception

Vicki Brushwood, Susan Kirsch, instructor Kara Bollinger, Sarah Bertram

On Wednesday, April 8, Dawn Terrick, Director of Developmental Writing, hosted 75 people at the annual reception for the ENG 100 student publication Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self. Dr. Vartabedian kicked off the reception. Students received certificates and awards and read their original work. They were joined by family and friends as well as MWSU faculty, staff and administration and all enjoyed an afternoon of celebration.

This is the ninth edition of Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self. The essays in this publication were selected by the English 100 Committee from submissions from English 100 students. These essays reflect the struggle and the joy, the hard work and the rewards that these students have experienced both in their lives and in the classroom. Furthermore, these essays reflect the diversity of our English 100 students and the uniqueness of this course. Our students are entering college straight out of high school and are returning to the classroom after years of work and family, come from urban and rural areas, and represent different races and cultures. And this work is truly their work -- the committee has not made any revisions or corrections to the essays. We invite you to read these essays on our web site and hope that you will discover the same things that the students have discovered: during their first semester in college, they are discovering themselves, realizing that they are part of many communities and defining themselves as individuals, students, scholars and citizens.

Modern Language Day 2015: Languages: They Nourish the Brain!

The annual Modern Language Day took place on April 9, when we welcomed high school students from the region and asked them to show what they know in French and Spanish. Students recited poetry, did their own poetry slams, competed in quiz bowls, lip sync and spelling bees. Kudos to language faculty and their students for their efforts in making the day a success.