I am often asked what I do as a Writing Coordinator for the Miami campus. I certainly meet with students one-on-one and in small groups to discuss their writing, and I conduct various presentations on writing. However, recently, I was tasked with compiling a year-in-review through pictures for 2015 that would serve to illustrate the other major activities that I have created/sponsored/contributed to. Here is my attempt:
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As part of the activities of the OTA senior class, students interview an elder living in their community and perform a safety home assessment. The purpose is to determine if these elder individuals are at risk for preventable health problems and/or home accidents which could jeopardize their ability to remain in their homes. In addition, students design and create useful tools or modify common household items to either facilitate easier use of these items or to treat dysfunctions. The culminating project is a whole campus presentation of their posters and devices in a professional setting. It is always pure joy to work with such an amazing group of students on such an engaging and valuable class project! Thank you for the opportunity!
This October, the Writing Studio joined Admissions to host a truly spooktacular month of events. For our Scare Fair, the Writing Studio created a Haunted House/Campus experience, which featured performances by live actors. Special thanks to students Wayne Julian, Jesus Castillo, and Crystal and Venessa Farias for bringing their characters and eerie scenes to life. Additionally, our wholehearted gratitude to the 80+ fangtastic students and faculty members who helped us set the scene by participating in the window/door decorating contest: PTA, MA, OTA, Psychology, and RT. Another round of applause for students Diana Morales and Nelvis Golan for their bewitching interpretations of classic Halloween tales at our 4th Annual Spooky Storybook Reading, where we had 40+ attendees, including the families of our students, faculty, staff, and community members; we raffled over 15 children’s books! Our compliments to all the students, faculty, and staff who supported our efforts and dressed in their spell-binding costumes. Congratulations to all our winners: OTA class 23, Registrar, Claudia Medeiros, and Giannina Herrera. Last but not least, congratulations to the winners of our Biggest Fear(s) Writing Contest: Diana Morales and Jeff Hornburg. Thank you to everyone who made all of this possible! It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with such an amazing, supportive, and enthusiastic team!
OCTOBER is here, and the Writing Studio is SPOOKED!!!
We have several events planned. Please make a note of them on your calendar and share them with colleagues, students, friends, and family. 1) By Monday, October 26th : Door/Window Decorating Contest (staff can decorate offices/departments) 2) On Wednesday, October 28th : Haunted Campus Tours (6:00-7:00 p.m.) 3) On Wednesday, October 28th : 4th Annual Spooky Storybook Reading (7:00-8:00 p.m.) 4) On Thursday, October 29th : Halloween Costume Contest (for students, faculty, and staff) 5) By Saturday, October 31st : Biggest Fear(s) Writing Contest (any genre and any length)
The Miami Campus’ Teaching and Learning Center and Writing Studio teamed-up for a team building afternoon! As part of the faculty enrichment list of events, faculty members engaged in a Chalk Talk structured conversation, participated in the Compass Points activity, and were briefly introduced to a Continuum Dialogue. For the Chalk Talk, faculty members defined icebreakers and team builders, identified some of the most memorable ones they have experienced, and reflected on the characteristics that make icebreakers or team builders effective and meaningful. Then, the faculty practiced the Compass Points exercise, designed to explore particular preferences and styles when working in groups. Teachers identified themselves as either North (action-oriented), South (people-oriented), East (vision-oriented), or West (detail-oriented), and discussed and shared the strengths and limitations of their style. Each group also selected the style they find most difficult to work with, highlighted what other styles need to know about them so that they can work together more effectively, and explained what they value most about all the other styles. At the end of the session, the faculty-participants were asked for a one-word reflection on the day’s work. Teachers left with a smile on their face and a packet in their hands, which included all the protocols used in the session and a list of 20 icebreakers/team builders to use with students.
In an effort to promote writing across the curriculum with technology, the Miami campus Writing Studio issued its first-ever Storybird challenge. Storybird is one of the world’s largest online storytelling communities and a powerful tool for supporting, inspiring, and publishing various modes of writing. The online storytelling platform offers artwork from illustrators and animators across the world, allowing writers to add captivating visual images to their words. Dr. Noya’s psychology students created storybirds to accompany and expand upon their mental disorder projects. Nursing, OTA, and Medical Assisting students also participated in the campus-wide event.
The Miami campus’ Guest Author Series recently had the pleasure of hosting Neil de la Flor. Neil is a writer, teacher, photographer, and Executive Director of Reading Queer, a literary organization committed to promoting queer literary culture in South Florida. Neil’s interactive writing workshop was simply “exquisite”!
Students, faculty, and staff were invited to participate in an “Exquisite Corpse” exercise; this technique was originally created by Surrealists. For this writing exercise, everyone writes two lines and passes their papers around covering everything but the last line. At the end, the entire piece is titled and read aloud. The second writing exercise asked participants to write about a life changing event, and while some students moved to corners for privacy, only one student decided not to share her writing. These exercises offered an invaluable opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to connect with one another and to express themselves in writing. Every participant clutched their creations as they walked out the door, and for that hour, they all became poets! Neil holds an MFA from the University of Miami where he was a James A. Michener Fellow. His publications include: An Elephant’s Memory of Blizzards, Sinead O’Connor and Her Coat of a Thousand Bluebirds, which was co-authored with Maureen Seaton and won the Sentence Book Award, Almost Dorothy, winner of the Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize, Two Thieves and a Liar, and the chapbook Facial Geometry.
In honor of William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, the Miami campus Writing Studio hosted a month-longShakesfilm Festival. The festival featured lesson plan ideas, guest speakers, contests, and films. The faculty, staff, students, and community were invited to popcorn and other goodies as they enjoyed their favorite Shakespeare film. The film choices included Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet with Ethan Hawke, Roman Polanski’s Macbeth, and computer-animated Gnomeo and Juliet. Special brochures and booklets with fun facts, discussion questions, and activities were designed to accompany each of the films. The showing of Macbeth included a spectacular presentation by Prof. White on the connections between the play, Jacobean Witchcraft, and King James. The Comicspeare contest asked students, faculty, and staff to create a 3-6 panel comic strip using an online comic-creator application, which captured the basic plot or a particular scene from one of Shakespeare’s plays. The culminating event for the Shakesflm Festival was the Shakespeaks contest, where faculty, staff, and students shared their interpretation of Shakespeare’s work; students, faculty, and staff members recited their favorite soliloquies or sonnets and experienced a phenomenal vocal performance by Anthony Perez.
The Miami campus’ Writing Coordinator was invited by a local daycare to read several Dr. Seuss books to children to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The reading was interactive, and the children were invited to participate through a series of touch-screen prompts and activities. The reading touched on important themes and issues. As an example, What Was I Scared Of reminded children that fears of the unknown are oftentimes misplaced and unfounded, while The Big Brag taught them a quick lesson in modesty.
The Miami campus’ “Guest Author Series” is at it again; this time with award-winning journalist, creative writer, and inspired college professor Cecilia M. Fernandez. Fernandez began her writing career at the University of California-Berkeley where she reported for the campus newspaper and edited the campus magazine. Her work has appeared in Latina Magazine, Accent Miami, Upstairs at the Duroc, Vista Magazine, and Le Siecle de George Sand.
The author shared her passion for immigrant literature and read from her latest memoir entitled Leaving Little Havana, which was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Book Contest. The author’s experiences resonated with many of the students at the Miami campus. They were captivated by her imagery and honesty; many students decided to purchase her latest work, and asked the author to dedicate the book to their mothers. It was truly an unforgettable experience! |
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January 2016
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MIA's Writing Events
This page features all the current and past writing events. Remember that these are only the events created and hosted by the Writing Coordinator; for information on local writing events in your community, please visit our Facebook page by clicking on the Facebook icon located at the top right corner of this site. To RSVP for an event or to join our mailing list and receive the latest news on events and contests, please click the "RSVP" button below. Also, please feel free to add your comments; we welcome your feedback.
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"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." -Benjamin Franklin