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, history, and more. All writing consultants are required to attend a semester-length 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, log in to LionJobs and look for an opening.
Current Center for Writing Excellence Staff
- Allie Roberts
- Corey Roden
- Kara Holden
- Emily Clay (Graduate Student)
- Allie Brooks (Graduate Student)
- Taylor Simpson (Graduate Student)
- Dr. Kathleen Richards
Allie Roberts
| Major: Professional Writing and History |
|
Minor: Spanish |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Grammar and Content Development |
| Biography: Allie has a passion for learning as well as helping others learn. She loves to spend time with her family and friends and enjoys reading, writing, running, and listening to music. She is a member of the Honors Program and is VP of Academic Excellence for Alpha Gamma Delta. Upon graduation, she plans to attend law school or graduate school for a doctorate in history. |
Corey Roden
| Major: Secondary Education/English |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Content Development, Creative Writing, and Sentence Structure |
| Biography: Ever since he was in elementary school, Corey has been writing short stories. He dreams of writing a novel some day in the future. For now, he is focusing on his path to becoming a secondary education English teacher. Besides writing, Corey enjoys playing the drums, dabbling in art, and spending time with his fiancé and their puppy. |
Kara Holden
| Major: Nursing |
| Role: Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: APA formatting, Outlining, COntent Development, Grammar |
| Biography: Kara is from Memphis, Tennessee. She is a senior and a member of Alpha Delta Pi and the Honors College. She enjoys running, riding, hiking, reading, and traveling. Upon graduation, she hopes to work in a pediatric intensive care unit before going to graduate school. |
Emily Clay
| Major: Technical Writing |
| Role: Graduate Student Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: MLA, APA, Brainstorming, and Grammar |
| Biography: Emily is originally from the small town of Metropolis, IL, but has lived in Tuscumbia, AL for the last 14 years. She graduated in Dec. 2017 with a BA in English Literature and a BM in Music Performance from UNA. She has returned to UNA to work toward a master's degree in technical writing. She enjoys reading, sewing, and playing video games, and has three wonderful dogs. |
Allie Brooks
| Major: Secondary Social Science Education |
| Role: Graduate Student Writing Consultant (Certified Tutor) |
| Writing Strengths: Chicago Manual Style (CMS), APA, Content Development, and Grammar |
| Biography: Allie is a native Huntsvillian but has lived in Florence, Alabama for about 12 years. She recently earned her B.A. in history with a minor in political science.She is now working on her master’s degree in Secondary Social Science Education. She loves to read, write, listen to podcasts, and travel. After graduation, she plans to teach and eventually pursue her Ph.D. in history. |
Taylor Simpson
| Major: Technical Writing |
| Role: Graduate Student Writing Consultant (Certified) |
| Writing Strengths: MLA and APA Format, Outlining, and Content Development |
| Biography: Taylor is originally from Birmingham, Alabama but has lived in Florence for approximately 10 years. In May 2018 she received a B. S. degree in both journalism and professional writing from UNA. Currently, she is working on a master's degree in technical writing. When not studying or working, she enjoys designing graphics, blogging, watching television, reading, and spending time with her dog, Levi. |
Dr. Kathleen Richards
| 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 fifteen 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 for students. Dr. Richards has been directing the UNA Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) for seven 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 and are fully capable of tutoring students in writing across the disciplines. |