Meet the Staff
The Center for Writing Excellence is staffed by student writing consultants who are highly trained and come from majors across the campus, including education, English, psychology, and more. All writing consultants are required to attend a training course that teaches writing and research processes, writing across the disciplines, interpersonal communication skills, and office policies and protocols.
If you are interested in applying for a job at the Center, and if you have completed the General Education writing sequence (EN 111-112 or EN 111H - 112H) with at least a 3.0 average or above, go to the Simplicity User Login page and look for an opening.
Current Center for Writing Excellence Staff
- Dani Hilliard
- Erin Martin
- Darby Holt
- Kix Blackwell
- Megan Parris
- Briley Eliff
- Anna Hood
- Wren Aris
- Destini Beckwith
- Jillian Oliver
- Dr. Kathleen Richards
| Major: English Literature |
| Minor: Spanish |
| Role: Graduate Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar/Mechanics, Academic Writing, Organization, and Sentence Structure |
| Biography: Dani is a graduate student at UNA. She is studying Rhetoric and Composition in hopes of one day becoming a college professor. She is an alumni of Alpha Delta Chi. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching Netflix, and spending time with friends and family. |
Darby Holt
| Major: English Literature |
| Minor: Professional Writing |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar, Structure/Organization, Academic Tone |
| Biography: Darby is currently in the Advanced Master’s Program, using any available opportunity to sharpen her skills. She enjoys reading, writing, and playing the ukulele. |
Erin Martin
| Major: Professional Writing |
| Minor: Legal Studies |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Word Choice, Structuring, Clarity |
| Biography: Erin is a sophomore from Grant, Alabama. She is involved in the Honors College, Alpha Gamma Delta, and the University Program Council. Erin loves writing and runs a blog in her free time. |
Kix Blackwell
| Major: Psychology |
| Minor: Sociology |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar, Narratives, Structure, and Formatting |
| Biography: Kix is studying psychology and behavior. Kix would love to work with animals one day and study their behavior. Kix enjoys reading, writing creative works, such as poetry, and watching television and movies. |
Megan Parris
| Major: Pre-Nursing |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar, Structure/Organization, Development |
| Biography: Megan is a sophomore at UNA and is currently a captain for the COEHS Ambassadors as well as a member of Alpha Delta Pi and Student Nursing Association. Megan plans to complete a degree in nursing and eventually become a nurse practitioner. When Megan is not studying, she enjoys reading books, watching Grey's Anatomy, and hanging out with friends. |
Briley Eliff
| Major: Psychology |
| Minor: Family Studies |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar/Mechanics, Word Choice, Tone |
| Biography: Briley is a junior and plans to continue her education by completing the accelerated master's program here at UNA. When she graduates, she hopes to become a children's counselor. Briley enjoys reading, as well as listening to and playing music. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family. |
Anna Hood
| Major: English |
| Minor: Professional Writing |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar, MLA Format, Content Organization |
| Biography: Anna is a junior and enjoys reading, writing poetry, crafting, and spending time with friends. |
| Major: Psychology |
| Minor: Professional Writing |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Structure/Organization, Word Choice, Clarity |
| Biography: Wren is a senior at UNA. He is from Huntsville, Alabama. He is a member of the Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society through the Office of Disability Support Services. He plans to stay at UNA to attain a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. In his free time, Wren plays video games and entertains his two cats. |
| Major: Secondary Education |
| Minor: English Language Arts |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified) |
| Writing Strengths: Clarity, Sentence Structure, Topic Ideas |
| Biography: Destini is a junior at UNA. She is from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. She is a member of the Presidential Mentors Academy, the Diversity Student Ambassadors, and the SOAR team. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching television, and listening to music. |
| Major: English |
| Minor: Professional Writing |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar, Organization, Word Choice, Tone |
| Biography: Jillian is a senior studying literature and professional writing. She wants to work for NASA as a technical writer when she graduates. When she is not studying, she spends time reading books while sitting next to her cat, Finnegan, and her dog, Alina. |
| Role: Director |
| Biography: Dr. Richards has a master's degree in English literature from UNA and a doctorate degree in English composition and TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Richards has been teaching at UNA for approximately seventeen years. For the first couple of years as an adjunct English composition instructor, she often volunteered to work in writing centers as a tutor. While tutoring and teaching students in English composition, she became fascinated with writing centers and the support they provide students. Dr. Richards has been directing the UNA Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) for ten years. In order for the writing consultants at UNA to be the very best, she initiated the International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC), sponsored by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). Students at UNA can be assured that the writing consultants in the CWE have gone through extensive tutor training to assist students in writing across the disciplines. |