With January in full swing, WRD welcomes Winter along with two new MA students. Steven Reese and Amanda Finn are embracing their first experience learning online this Winter Quarter.
Amanda is originally from Dousman, WI but is currently living in Rogers Park with her husband. She is a freelance journalist on top of working for the Community Outreach Group (COG) as a communications manager. Since COG works with Planned Parenthood, she also interacts with PP Wisconsin as a media manager. In 2014, she finished her BAs in English, Theatre, and Film/Media studies at Ripon College, where she built life-long connections with faculty members.
She hopes her experience in WRD will help her navigate the ever-evolving world of journalism, where she hopes to continue freelance writing. Normally, Amanda travels for her work, so virtual learning is convenient for her. Citing her experience in freelance writing pre-covid, she notes she usually relied on the ability to gather in person. With freelance travel and theatre writing work drying up under socially distant circumstances, Amanda has had to pivot towards other genres of writing which she cited as making her a more well-rounded writer. During quarantine, Amanda has been working on this “art of the pivot”, which she thinks will serve her well in the job market.
Steven Reese was born in Los Angeles, but his family moved to Dallas when he was ten. At this point, Steven has lived in Chicago for seven years, where he currently works for DePaul as an administrative assistant. In this role, he provides administrative support to one of the LAS Associate Deans and the Urban Cluster, while also serving as a department assistant to the Criminology and Refugee & Forced Migration Studies programs. He comes to WRD with a BA in History from DePaul that he completed in 2017, citingthe peer-review aspect of writing within history is what sparked his interest in teaching writing.
“I enjoyed the peer-review process most because it gave me the practical opportunity to help someone more effectively use written communication to advance their ideas and reach their academic goals,” said Steven.
Upon earning his MA in WRD, Steven hopes to pursue a career in writing education or professional writing and editing. Hoping to work with students at a secondary level or above, English Language Learners of all ages, and those simply seeking to become better communicators to advance in their chosen fields, Steven wants to pursue a career in writing that allows him the opportunity to reach a diverse population of learners and provide them the tools to express themselves creatively, academically, and professionally. Within academics, his research interests are popular culture, feminist and LGBTQ rhetorics, nonfiction writing, writing pedagogy, and composition.
Steven admits that he anticipates challenges with online learning, but sees the benefits as far outweighing the downfalls, especially when it comes to commuting. During quarantine, Steven says he’s become better at mindful gratitude. He reminds himself of a quote he read during the beginning of the pandemic last March: “Remember when you wanted what you currently have.” He continues to express gratitude for his health and the health of his loved ones over the course of quarantine, and his being employed. “It’s easy to get bogged down and feel helpless when the world seems to be falling apart for a million different reasons” said Steven, “but I’ve found that setting time aside to acknowledge everything that’s going right really takes the edge off.”