In this blog post, we include narratives written by the recipients of the 2025 SSWCA Conference’s Travel Grants and Registration Waiver Grants.
Algonquin Regional High School (Northborough, MA)
Sara Stein, Co-Director of the Algonquin Writing Center Our center is incredibly grateful to receive the travel grant award for the 2025 Conference in Provo, Utah: Views from the Trail. Planning an undertaking of this magnitude was made easier with the award.
Ultimately, we had to toggle and switch to a virtual conference, a disappointment for sure. That said, I was so grateful we were still able to use part of the grant for students and myself to register for the conference as well as pay for the cost of a meal. This made it a true conference-like experience.
We divided up to watch various virtual presentations after the inspiring words of this year’s keynote, Dr. Tom Deans. While we didn’t get to experience the in person energy of the conference, we did feel energized by coming together in our own writing center space, dedicating time to learn about things each of us found important or interesting.
After a delicious lunch and multiple sessions of learning, we did settle into a virtual presentation on space. We were all interested in this, as our writing center space felt a bit stale. This was a perfect opportunity for us to try some of the strategies. We created a social corner for quiet talking and spread out our work stations so students would have more opportunity to choose where they would like to sit. The end of our virtual conference left us sweaty but satisfied! When some of our tutors came in at the end of our school day, they were enthusiastic about the changes implemented. While it was just a start, it gave us food for thought on how to use our walls and decorations to make the space not only inviting but productive.
Thanks to SSWCA for supporting us from afar! We are so grateful for your continued support of the Algonquin Writing Center. We are eager to make the short trip to Connecticut for next year’s conference!
Central Bucks South High School (Warrington, PA)
The mission of the South Writing Center (located in Warrington, PA) is to support and develop better writers through collaborative and compassionate conversation and modeling.
There is no better place to enhance this mission than by attending the SSWCA annual conference, and this year’s conference, “Views from the Trail” in Provo, Utah proved to be an exceptional opportunity.
Standing on campus, surrounded by beautiful mountains, our center’s leadership took a deep breath of fresh air and felt recharged by the swirling ideas from this year’s conference. From tackling AI with Melissa Heaton (Mapleton Jr. HS) to addressing ‘brain rot’ with Lane Tech, and Empowering Neurodiverse voices with Clark Street Community school, this year’s conference had views on many topics that intersect in our writing center.
We especially enjoyed the two keynote speakers, Tom Deans and Anne Whitney and we felt empowered by the opportunity to speak with both of them; we also got some real time face time with NWP Executive Director, Tanya Baker!
It was also the perfect place to continue growing our center and making some wonderful connections with not only the BYU tutors and grad assistants, but also doctoral thesis candidates who focus on writing center pedagogy: Peter Hawkins and Rachel Cutler. We were also impressed and inspired by the work that Naomi Watkins and Katie Watkins are doing with nature-inspired writing and multilingual supports (respectively).
Ultimately, the grant helped us make this trip happen and we are grateful for all the views we got to see and be a part of, including our own: “Trekking the paths ahead: collecting and implementing tutor feedback” and “Bridging the Canyon between English and Stem writing.”
The CB South High School Writing Center, founded in the spring of 2022, is a student-led, teacher-directed writing center open to students in grades 10-12. The South Writing Center is open during a flexible lunch block in the middle of the day, before school, after school, and throughout the day as a whole-class support.
Student tutors also design and lead workshops during lunch blocks, helping to manage the operations and establishing the unique environment of our center.
Hillcrest High School (Midvale, UT)
The Hillcrest High School Writing Center opened for the first time toward the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. The theme “Views from the Trail” felt very applicable to us because we metaphorically set off to climb a mountain with a bunch of strangers at the start of the school year. Our group of around ten tutors was very excited to get started. We had plans for lunch socials, an Instagram account, announcements, flyers, and pretty much every other way to gain publicity that you can think of. However, most of these ideas stayed dreams until the conference.
We went into the SSWCA Conference excited to meet other tutors, and curious to see how their centers worked. We learned so much from the conference and came out with even better ideas. I think one of the most impactful topics we learned about was interdependency. Not only should tutors learn how to provide kind and helpful feedback, but tutors should also learn to be good tutees. Tutors should be comfortable enough with each other to approach one another for help with their own writing. We learned that we needed to be interdependent to build a warm and welcoming environment for our center.
I think the SSWCA Conference was one of the highlights of this school year for our Writing Center. This conference gave us the motivation we needed to push through and grow our center. Each of us came out with something new in mind to work on. Two pairs of our tutors were given the opportunity to present at the conference and did an amazing job. Their presentations went well and were very insightful. The SSWCA Conference was an overall fantastic opportunity and our Writing Center was grateful to participate
Jordan High School (Sandy, UT)
Our Writing Center at Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah was fortunate to receive the SSWCA travel grant to attend the national conference at BYU. Being only in our second year as a center, and a newer SSWCA member, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect.
But the value of attending the conference became clear immediately. Our tutors jumped right into the action, meeting other tutors and attending presentations. A group of our tutors even gave a successful presentation on the importance of building relationships between tutors and the peers they tutor. After attending both days, our tutors were enormously energized in their practice and I smiled to note how many of their conversations moved into unprompted discussions on their work and making goals for the writing center and their futures as tutors and writers.
As a writing center director, I couldn’t be happier with my experience at this conference. I’d been operating my center as something of an island, and to get acquainted with a network of other directors and centers was truly eye-opening. I also attended powerful presentations relating to numerous facets of keeping a center up and running, from data collection and communicating with administrators to building relationships with university writing centers and working with multilingual students.
Looking back, I’m most grateful for the opportunity to dedicate two days to sustained thought about my writing center. Like any other writing center director, I’m teaching a full load of classes and my focus is apt to get pulled in all directions. So, to commit two days solely to brainstorming and networking and goal-making as a writing center director was incredible! I’m as energized as the tutors are and feel so supported and prepared for taking my school’s writing center to the next level.
Lehi Junior High School (Lehi, UT)
As a brand new writing center (we opened in September 2024), we were grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference. The travel grant helped cover the cost of registration for my 18 tutors to attend. Three of our tutors presented at the conference, and it was a great experience for all of our students, as we are a middle school and this was their first experience with a professional conference. The tutors were able to meet and learn from more experienced tutors; they were also able to bring back new ideas for our writing center.
One of the ideas our tutors brought back from the conference was a “rent-a-tutor.” Teachers can request tutors to come to their classroom and help with a group of students or teach a short mini-lesson. Upon our return from the conference, the tutors created a form for teachers to request tutors, and they were able to go into a few classrooms to tutor and they even taught a mini-lesson.
Another benefit we experienced from the conference was the opportunity to build connections within our own center. Getting out and away from the classroom provided bonding experiences for our tutors and helped them grow closer as a team. For middle school students, this sense of belonging and community is invaluable.
Thank you again for the opportunity; we learned a lot and we are excited to see how our writing center grows because of this experience!
Mountain Ridge Junior High Writing Center (Highland, UT)
by Leslie Dalton, director
Our fellows were thrilled to have the opportunity to attend the SSWCA 2025 Conference, Views from the Trail. As of this year, our writing center has received no allocated budget, so we’re not always able to take advantage of learning opportunities that require funds. We were excited to receive a travel grant from SSWCA, which allowed us to take more students than we might have been able to support. Our writing center opened in April of last year, and so far we’ve served about 200 writers. After attending the conference, our fellows feel energized and motivated to provide services to many more students in the coming school year.
As a junior high school with grades 7-9, our young fellows have stepped up to the challenge of tutoring their peers admirably; however, it takes a lot of bravery for a 13-year-old to offer feedback to an older student. A few of our fellows have hung back, participating in events and training, but feeling reluctant to put themselves in the tutor’s seat.
After attending the conference, several of our students spontaneously said that they no longer feel afraid to tutor! They were excited about showing up the following Monday to start exercising their newfound skills and confidence. They were true to their word, and enthusiastically welcomed our next clients.
Some of our older students attended sessions at the conference that helped them look forward to college, and all of our fellows were excited to support their friend who presented at a session. Overall, the conference was a huge success for all of our fellows who were able to attend, and we continue to feel grateful for the support that allowed us to travel together and attend both days.
Renaissance High School (Meridian, ID)
The Scribe from Renaissance High School in Meridian, ID is transitioning to an all-subject center next school year, so we attended this year’s conference with that in mind. Since our center is 15 years old, we have a lot of traditions we want to preserve, but we recognize that merging with the other subject centers will require us to re-examine every process and procedure. While most of the sessions we attended were focused on writing, we found that attending with the merger in mind helped us extrapolate ideas for our transition.
Emma Edgemon (senior) and Dany Westfall presented at the conference (see Figure 1 and 2 below). Dany used their experience with Taekwondo as the basis for their presentation, while Emma focused her presentation on dealing with burn out. Of their experiences, Dany said, “Watching other people share about their passions was very thought provoking (and motivating) as a student leader in my own school. I am so stoked for next year’s conference, and I can’t wait to collaborate more with the amazing secondary school tutoring community!” Emma, who graduated this spring, said that she “got a lot of insight on the structural differences of a writing center- across the board we have many similarities, but there are many things we can change to improve the experience for tutors and tutees.” We will be integrating several insights from Dany and Emma as we merge our writing center with the other subject areas.
One of our challenges next year will be team-building. Athena Woo, a junior, attended several sessions focused on community. Her main take-away was that we need to have a variety of planned community-building activities, such as playing games or creating an escape room style activity, but daily shout-outs and recognition can also go a long way toward building comradery. We have had a leveling-up system in place for years, but it has gotten stale in recent years. Seeing Athena’s enthusiasm for implementing more consistent and fun activities created excitement among the student leaders from the other subject centers. Now, we have a full committee dedicated to community-building for next year.
Athena and Dany Westfall (junior) also attended sessions about AI use in the writing center. We have been experimenting with AI (specifically Magic School), but we haven’t created a system for training our consultants yet. One session they found particularly helpful included a hands-on approach. They practiced creating prompts to enhance their writing. As we begin training our consultants in various subjects, we intend to include a section on writing prompts in each subject area to help with peer-tutoring. Another session they attended suggested using a signal light system to help students know when and how AI can be used:
- Red=No AI can be used
- Green=All AI can be used
- Yellow=AI can be used but with parameters.
We proposed this strategy during our end of year teacher leadership meeting for next year. The team likes its consistency and that it can be used in every subject area. While many of our teachers are experimenting with how their students might use AI as a tool in their classes, some teachers are not comfortable with allowing students to use AI at all. This system gives them a tool they can use to clearly communicate with students what is allowed on an assignment.
Our hope is to bring peer tutors from each subject area to the SSWCA 2026 conference. This will include representatives from math, engineering, science, Spanish, Mandarin, and writing. We are excited for the changes coming our way, and we hope to share our experiences with this transition at next year’s conference.
Stacey Hahn (Shenendehowa High School, NY) and Jenny Goransson (George Mason University, VA)
Stacey (SSWCA Treasurer and Past President) and Jenny (SSWCA President) both traveled from the East Coast (New York and Virginia, respectively) to attend the Views from the Trail: SSWCA & CUWP 2025 Conference, and the travel grants helped to make that possible.
As Stacey is in the process of starting a writing center at her new school, she is grateful for the opportunity to connect with fellow directors in person and be inspired by the presentations. It was enriching to see the new avenues various writing centers have taken to serve their specific populations but also the overarching use of AI and general student feelings about writing. As her English department continues conversations about AI, thinking about writing centers and student conversations around AI helped Stacey brainstorm ways to introduce the writing center to her colleagues and propose solutions to the challenges being faced. While this will not be her first writing center, it will be the first one proposed after the ubiquitous use of AI. The conference, and Tom Dean’s keynote in particular, generated fresh perspectives and also ways she can talk about AI with her non-tutor students.
The fresh mountain views of the BYU campus served up gorgeous weather and nature, whose calming and restorative effect was echoed in mindful presentations Stacey participated in. “Writing with the Body in Mind” was a great reminder of how our bodies impact our thoughts and writing process. This beginning session allowed her to connect more fully to the creative struggle, which was strengthened by one of Anne Whitney’s keynote messages: writing that is important matters. Important things are hard. Stacey found that message to ring true for writing, for writing center work, and for attending conferences. It can seem daunting at times to schedule days off, make sub plans, arrange transportation, and coordinate with family, but the conference was well worth it. And SSWCA’s travel grant made it much easier!
As conference co-chair (with Amber Jensen, long-time friend and colleague pictured below with Jenny), Jenny was busy facilitating different aspects of the conference and making sure all of the virtual sessions were connecting properly, but she did get to enjoy several sessions such as Naomi Watkins’ two mindfulness-focused sessions (very relevant to Jenny’s dissertation research), the BYU College Tutors Roundtable & Q&A, and Luci Sullivan’s thought-provoking discussion of “From Conflict to Composition: Integrating Peacebuilding Frameworks into Writing Center Praxis.” Both keynote presentations were also a memorable highlight. Tom Deans’ session was extremely relevant to Jenny as she thought about ways to discuss GenAI with her Editing course at George Mason University that semester, as well as considering GenAI in relation to writing center work more generally. On the second day of the conference, Jenny enjoyed Anne Whitney’s moving keynote about, among other things, the role of writing in Anne’s own personal search for justice and wellbeing.
As a bonus of attending the conference without students, Stacey and Jenny spent time with Amber Jensen’s family in their lovely Provo home. It’s a rare pleasure for Stacey, Amber, and Jenny to get to be in the same time zone rather than meeting on Zoom or connecting via text. Extra bonus: Amber’s husband makes a mean homemade pizza, and Amber’s three kids were a joy to be with.
The conference was also our first opportunity to meet several board members in person (see board photo below), as well as the JPTSS Editorial Assistants Anni and Ilse. Such lovely people – it was very energizing to be together and learn together from everyone who attended the conference.
After the conference, Jenny was fortunate to meet up with family for a few days of lovely Utah skiing. When she realized that one of the conference stickers was in her ski jacket pocket, she had to take this photo. The “views” and insights from this conference will stick with us for a long time.
