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Recap: National Day on Writing

Two weeks ago, the WRD Department joined other schools around the nation to celebrate National Day on Writing (October 20). Founded by the National Council of Teachers of English, this day aims to draw attention to the fact that no matter who you are, writing is an integral part of your life. To help with the day’s celebration of all things writing, WRD faculty, staff, and students went out on campus to ask DePaul, “Why do you write?” We received all sorts of responses, from writing out of necessity (my professor makes me) to writing for self-expression and to create

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WRD 111: Transition DePaul

WRD 111 is designed specifically for international students and was taught this Autumn Quarter by Margaret Poncin and Douglas Sheldon. The course has two main goals—to introduce students to the city of Chicago and to help students transition into the academic culture of the United States. As a result, WRD 111 instructor Margaret Poncin says, “students visit museums, architectural landmarks, and neighborhoods as part of their research for class assignments.” How is exploring Chicago paired with an introduction to U.S. academic culture? One class project required students to do just that—get out in the city and utilize concepts learned in

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WRD Alumni Spotlight: Molly Rentscher

Molly Rentscher is the latest alumna to be featured in the WRD Spotlight series. She graduated in 2015 with a Master’s in Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse. Currently, Molly works as a writing center coordinator at Arizona State University. What have you been doing professionally since you earned your degree? I earned my degree in June of 2015, and shortly thereafter, I accepted a full-time position at Arizona State University (ASU) as a writing center coordinator. In my position, I am responsible for managing all aspects of operations for the West campus Writing Center and Graduate Writing Center; this includes hiring,

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2016 WRD Awards Party Recap

The Sixth Annual WRD Awards Party was a great success thanks to the participation of WRD majors and minors, MA in WRD graduate students, and MA in NMS graduate students! This year’s party was held on Friday, June 3 in the Lincoln Park Student Center. As always, it was a great evening to honor WRD and NMS graduates, enjoy food, listen to live music, and catch up with classmates, alumni, and faculty. Photos from the evening can be viewed below. The award winners and Pi Epsilon Pi inductees are listed below: Best Undergraduate Essay “Feliz Cumpleaños!” by Wendy Ramirez Best

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WRD Alumni Spotlight: Patrick Humpal

This week, the WRD Alumni Spotlight is on Patrick Humpal. Patrick graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in WRD and minors in Catholic Studies and Public Law & Political Thought. Outside of the classroom, Patrick participated in many service, faith, and social justice organizations at DePaul such as Catholic Campus Ministries, the Vincentian Community Service Office, and The Office of Mission and Values. He is currently serving with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Santiago, Chile. What have you been doing professionally since you earned your degree? In December I arrived in Santiago, Chile to begin my service with the

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WRD Student Spotlight: Maddy Johnson

WRD recently caught up with Maddy Johnson, a current student in the BA/MA in WRD program. She started working at Zacks Investment Research as an intern and is now a full-time content curator/stock news reporter. Her main work duties include covering the trendiest or high-profile financial news stories of the day as well as creating informational reports that range from upcoming IPOs to the current oil crisis. She also manages the intern team at Zacks, editing and revising their work throughout the day. In this article, Maddy shares more about her current position and how WRD has impacted her career.

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WRD Student Spotlight: Emily Power

Today’s student spotlight features current WRD major Emily Power. This past summer, Emily received a Summer Undergraduate Research Grant from DePaul’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences to work on a reading project connected to her interest in TESOL. Below, she tells about her research experience and discusses how the WRD program influenced her research process. Give us a brief overview of the project you were working on. I was working on a research project in which I explored different opinions on the spread of English. The four research questions I asked as I went into the project were as

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Interior of a chemistry lab at DePaul

Sarah Read Collaborates with DePaul’s Chemistry Department

This past Autumn Quarter, WRD Professor Sarah Read was granted the Collaborative Instruction Fellow Stipend issued by DePaul University’s Quality of Instruction Council, which is headed by Anne Bartlett of the Cross-College Collaboration (C3) Task Force. Professor Read will use this grant to design a new Master’s level Chemistry course in collaboration with Professor Timothy French of DePaul’s Chemistry Department. This new course, Science Writing & Communication, will be co-taught by Read and French with the goal of teaching students how to communicate like a scientist.

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WRD Alumni Spotlight: Maureen Clancy

This week, the WRD Alumni Spotlight is on Maureen Clancy, a 2013 graduate of the BA in WRD program. She currently works as a Project Manager at a global executive search firm. What have you been doing professionally since you earned your degree? After graduating, I worked as a paralegal at a boutique estate planning law firm for just over a year. My work dealt heavily with the composition and monitoring of very important legal documents, some that spanned back through generations of families!

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Laurie Alfaro Accepts Position at City Colleges of Chicago

WRD recently caught up with former faculty member Laurie Alfaro as she begins a career at the City Colleges of Chicago. Below, Laurie tells about her new position and shares about her experiences as a student and teacher in WRD’s New Media Studies program. Tell us about your new position at City Colleges. What will you be doing? I am the new Faculty Co-Chair of Computer Information Systems at Wilbur Wright College.

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