Tara Edwards

Tara Edwards joined NHC in 1999 as coordinator of the Writing Center. A graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio with a degree in English, she brings a range of professional experience to the Writing Center, including classroom teaching and curriculum development plus clinical research work at UT Medical Branch, Galveston. Currently, she is enrolled as a graduate student in the English program at the University of Houston, Clear Lake.

Tara is in charge of the daily operation of the Writing Center. As coordinator, she tutors, works with both faculty and students, and develops support materials for reading, study skills and writing. She also teaches developmental writing when her schedule permits.

In addition to writing for her graduate classes, she writes short stories and keeps a journal that she began when she was in junior high school. As a lifelong writer herself, Tara recently has developed a forum for NHC writers, the Creative Writing Series of presentations by faculty, staff and students. Tara has recently bought a home, which keeps her busy, as does her elegant and demanding cat Grace.

What advice does she have for writers? "Strive to encounter writing as a way of discovering yourself. Give yourself permission to explore your experiences as they unfold on paper, and you will find strength and validity in the revelation of the story--your story--that ensues."
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Miriam Freiter

My background includes English, journalism, and social work, three fields I have worked in and studied in school. I earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Iowa, the graduate degree concentrating on American literature. In addition to teaching in community college, I taught high school English, and worked with ADC and child welfare caseloads. Before working full time at NHC, I did some freelancing in newspapers and magazines, writing about sports and music, two of my outside interests.

I have many favorite writers; I will read anything by Barbara Kingsolver, Nathan McCall, and Anna Quindlen to name a few. I frequently read books of contemporary short stories. At the moment, I am reading In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, a fascinating description of the whaleship Essex, the true story on which Moby Dick was based.

Here at North Harris, I teach 1301, 1302, and both semesters of American Literature. When time permits, I especially enjoy tutoring all levels of English. The one-on-one interaction allows time to concentrate on issues ranging from making subjects and verbs agree to comprehending a poem. Also, a tutor can sometimes put a personal face onto a large school by offering individual help.

To any writer I say, "Think about your own interests. Look at the world around you. That is your best material. Don't think your own life is unimportant in finding topics to write about. Every student, every writer, is unique. In addition, even professional writers do many drafts of their before work they consider it fit to be sold. Students also need time to write, revise, rethink."
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Martha Haskell

Martha graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in English and journalism. She went on to earn a master's degree from Southwestern State University in Oklahoma. She continued postgraduate work at the University of Utah, Oklahoma State University, Sam Houston State University, and the Writing Institute affiliated with the New Jersey Writing Project.

Early in her career, Martha enlisted in the Air Force in Ft. Worth. While in the service, she taught in the USAFI program, and she also met her husband Henry, who served in the Strategic Air Command. Martha has devoted thirty-four years to public education, and, after many moves, spent the last twenty-two years teaching at Spring ISD. She currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member in the Developmental Studies Department and, when her schedule permits, she tutors in the Writing Center.

Martha has had articles published in Texas Outlook, English in Texas, and Texas Coach. She also enjoys writing "humorous light insights into things I want to share--short essays and free verse."

How does she feel about tutoring? "I enjoy the relationship of helping someone reach his or her goal, be it a complicated paper or conquering a grammatical difficulty. I find tutoring rewarding--the joy of assistance. You touch people's lives when you touch their writing."

And how does Martha feel about writing? "Well, we stop writing when we run out of time! No writing is ever really finished."
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Pamela Pak

Pam left Montana to attend Carleton College for two years before transferring to the University of Washington to complete a degree in East Asian Studies. She then spent seven years in Korea and another seven in Japan teaching English. "Along the way," says Pam, "I picked up enough 'survivor' Korean and Japanese to communicate with my students." Since her return to the states, she has taught ESL at Houston Community College, University of Houston Downtown, and the Stanley Kaplan Institute. Here at NHC, Pam continues to teach ESL plus several religion courses, including the Old and New Testament classes, World Religions, and the Philosophy of Religion. Pam tutors in the Writing Center when her schedule permits.

What advice does Pam have for writers? "Well, you have to write about what you know. And it has to be something of interest to you. Usually writers really do have opinions about an assigned topic--even if they think at first that they're not interested in writing about it."

As for her own writing, Pam notes that she always kept a journal, but it had deteriorated into a "to do" list. "I have started to write more faithfully, trying to write about ideas and to express what I'm feeling."
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Dorothy Reade

Dorothy graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. (English and Political Science) and then went on to UH to earn an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in reading.

She taught 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9 -12th grades in the North Forest and Alief ISD's. For the past fourteen years, she has taught at North Harris College as a part and full time instructor, teaching both reading classes, both writing classes, and college study skills. In addition to classroom teaching, at present Dorothy serves in the Learning Center as instructor/coordinator for HumD 0100, TASP lab for reading and writing. Dorothy also tutors in the Writing Center some semesters

Does she have a favorite writer? "Really too many to mention," says Dorothy. "Garcia Marquez, Wm. Faulkner, Walter Moselly, Barbara Kingsolver, Diana Mott Davidson, Robert Penn Warren and many others."

Dorothy's advice to writers who visit the Writing Center? "Before starting a paper, prewrite and plan to consider what is most important and how best to organize so the reader will understand the message. Upper level students working on critical analysis papers should study and understand the work being analyzed and free write about the work's strength - or weakness - before studying the thoughts of the reviewers and experts. The student-writer's perspective needs to form the core of the critical analysis."
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Alice Savage

Alice Savage, ESL writing teacher, believes that writing is the creation of knowledge, which is why she is excited about working to help writers discover the different windows that writing can open up on the world. Alice has lived on both sides of the country. She was born in New York and went to elementary school in California. She moved to Washington state to earn her BA degree in English from the University of Washington in Seattle, and went on to get her MA in TESOL in teaching from The School for International Training in Vermont.
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Jan Sansom

Jan earned a B.A. in education from Trinity University and an M.A. in English from the University of North Texas. Currently, she teaches Spanish at Klein High School and evening sections of English 1301 here at NHC. When her schedule permits, Jan also tutors in the Writing Center during the summer.

"My favorite writers," says Jan, " are those who can succinctly capture a feeling, an image, or an idea that may have been floating around unformed or unexpressed in the mind of the reader. When you read it, you say, 'Yesssss! Wish I had said that.' For this reason, I like John Steinbeck, John Updike, and --George Carlin."

"I love writing because I express myself better in writing than in face-to-face conversation. I like being able to take the time to come up with the perfect word or phrase that conveys just exactly what I mean. You can't always do this in a conversation."

What advice does Jan have for college writers? "Write about what you know rather than about what you think will impress you instructor. You paper may end up being about going shopping at the Gap, but a least you'll have something interesting to say!"
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Pat Szmania

"As an undergraduate, I spent a term at Oxford University studying contemporary British novels and plays. From that point on, I've lived life as an English major. I received a B.A. degree in English and in history from Notre Dame College and an M.A. in English from Colgate University. For the past few years, I've been gathering graduate hours in the speech communication program at Texas A & M. I have taught English at NHC since 1986. Currently, I am teaching the peer writing tutor course. I am also the director of the Writing Center.

Favorite writers? Those I am reading at the moment (James Thurber, T.E. Lawrence, and Wendy Bishop) and the writer I am working with at the tutor desk!

Everyone can learn to write more effectively, and I do think that the experience of discussing your own writing with an interested reader is a powerful step toward better writing. Take the trouble to figure out your message, and then work on making it clear and interesting to your readers."
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Pat Trenary

"When my husband died suddenly in 1994, I was a homemaker with one child in college and two in junior high. Believing that it was more important to enroll in college than to just start work. I began my studies at NHC. Two years later I moved on to Sam Houston State University. I am especially proud that I received a B.A. degree in accounting just four years and three months after I first enrolled at NHC! I plan to take the CPA exam and earn an M.A. in accounting."

In the meantime, Pat works as a staff accountant at Carriage Services and as the weekend tutor in the NHC Writning Center.

While still at NHC, Pat participated in the first peer tutor training program in the Writing Center and contuined peer tutoring for several semesters until she left for SHSU. She is now a professional tutor who especially enjoys working with research papers.

What advice does Pat have for writers? "A lot of writers (including me!) have trouble getting thoughts from mind to paper. I suggest freewriting to just get the ideas down before trying to edit. I also meet writers who write directly to their teacher. But, I think trying to write for the teacher limits writers. We want to write for readers, not just one reader."
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Emily

My name is Emily, and I'm currently majoring in English. I tutor because I would like to learn more about how to effectively communicate with other writers.
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Megan

Hello. My name is Megan, and I am a sophomore at North Harris College. Still undecided about my major, I am considering a career in mathematics.
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Lauren

My name is Lauren, and I am currently enrolled in my 3rd semester at North Harris College. I plan to transfer to a university and pursue a degree in counseling psychology. Being a writing tutor will give me excellent experience in interpersonal communication on a one-on-one basis with other students. I want to offer encouragement and advice to anyone seeking assistance. I hope to be a source of support and build a trust with everyone I tutor.
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Carly

Hello, my name is Carly. I am a sophomore here at North Harris College. I decided to become a peer tutor because I wanted to have the ability to connect and help people. As far as the future, nothing is set in stone, and I am very happy about that.
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