Newsletter-Creative Writing-Literature-Language
 This year, the English
department has seen a
development—overcoming many
accomplishments would have to
mission statement.
general, is not the same as it was
10 years ago, says Robeson. Re-
wring our mission statement was
necessary, because so many aspects
of our identy have changed.
The whole process has made us
as a department reect on what we
really do and who we really are, she
adds. We are excited for what is to
come.
wring majors, and the technology
available in the world is no longer
the same, she says. The world that
students will be graduang into is
connually requiring so much more
of them, and so the department
needs to prepare them for that.
With this shi in what is provided,
the department is now able to do
more with the students—to allow
them to explore more avenues with
all that is oered.
  The department has made
other classes. The department has
developed a vision together, and
we want to keep what we
have going—to connue
to improve and grow. But
at the same me, we don’t want to
lose sight of who we are, she says.
  This year, the department has
really developed and expanded
regular event schedule with more
student parcipaon.
great job,” Robeson says.
of Northwest Ohio) to begin the
Northwest Ohio Independent Film
contest. Out of submissions from
around the naon, ONU’s very own
Patrick Fisher won second place,
and a special reading of his piece
was held.
have revised the professional
new technical courses, like grant
wring and science wring.
There is more focus on real-world
praccal wring that will help
students go farther in their careers.
  The department also made it
through a ood this year. In between
the fall and spring semesters, the
pipes in the building burst and the
oces of several faculty members,
in addion to the hallways, were
ruined.
Dukes is an old building, and we
have lived with an aging structure.
But when the water pipes broke, the
department lost a lot of equipment
and books, and the University
helped us turn things around.
  They were able to claim everything
on their insurance, and we
underwent a complete department
makeover. They re-painted, put
insulaon.
faculty and students with a safer,
cleaner, brighter, more funconal
facility, Robeson says.
with new students, and housing
the creavity and intellect of those
currently part of the English family.
  “The challenge [we now face] is
to keep the momentum going,”
Robeson says.
 momentum going.”  Lisa Robeson
  “Based on its commitment to the values of the
humanies, the faculty of the Department of English
teaches analycal reading and crical, creave, and professional
wring as forms of art, as sources of pleasure, as a means of understanding
diverse peoples and cultures, and as praccal, marketable skills. Through close
interacon with wrien, oral, and digital texts, students develop as crical thinkers and writers to become
producers of knowledge. Through close interacon with peers and faculty, and acve engagement with a
variety of publicaons and professional experiences, students learn the value of creang texts and, in turn,
become thoughul members of our global community. Studies in English prepare students for professional,
business and teaching careers, for law school, for graduate study in English and other disciplines, as well as for
a lifeme of connual engagement with language and literature.”
Professional Writing Makeover
    S    e    r    i   e    s
Matt HartTessa Mellas Roger ReevesJonterri Gadson
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  The professional wring major is changing in 2014-15 to reect new demands in the eld. With
a creave blend of courses, ONU students can earn a degree with 37 major credits. There are
25 core credits, then students can specialize in areas of interest such as technical wring, business and
entrepreneurship, mulmedia journalism, and design (web and/or graphic). If no one area of specializaon
intrigues them, students can dabble in several—or all—of them, taking a minimum of three courses that will
expand their knowledge base. Majors also work on cung-edge publicaons (both print and web based) so
they can apply the skills they have learned. It’s an excing me to be a professional wring major at ONU.
  Every senior in the ONU English department is required to undergo a project in a class of their choice,
and subsequently give a presentaon on the topic. Previously, students were tasked with compleng
the project by the end of the chosen course, and creang a presentaon to discuss their work.
  The project was then graded within the academic course, with the presentaon graded in the senior
capstone presentaon course, with the presentaon serving as the only grade. Now, however, students are
being graded on a slightly dierent system. Although the students are sll strictly graded on the presentaon,
they also receive feedback and are given a “pass” or “revise,” allowing them me to further edit their work.
Considering the senior’s wring is what will contribute to his or her job, this new system stresses quality,
rather than the presentaon alone, with students being graded on general department outcomes specic to
their major. This shi in focus forces the students to work to create high-quality wring—wring
that will help them succeed in their careers. These eorts allow the department to beer ensure
 
of English majors Department
“The absolutely amazing faculty . Not many people
know this, but I took a semester o my sophomore
year. It was Dr. Bauer and some of the other faculty
that convinced me to come back and not to give up on
myself. When you have inspiraon like that, the size of
Ada or the expense of a private school
doesn’t maer anymore. When you can
nd people that have that kind of faith in
you—that’s priceless.”  –Joelle George,
Literature & Prof. Wring
“I was originally a biology major on my way to becoming
a doctor. When I changed my major to creave wring,
the English department—both students and faculty—
welcomed me with open arms. The overwhelming
willingness to help me transion was more than I
could have ever asked for .” –Jessica Cogar, Creave
Wring & Literature
department is one of encouragement,
study, challenge, and friendship.” –Lizzy
McKinney, Creave & Professional Wring
1. We are united in our love of puns; correctly
used commas, semicolons, and ellipses; diverse
sentence structures; and the smell of books — the
older the beer.
2. We are united in our hatred of a $30 prinng
budget, the length of most Charles Dickens’ novels,
and poorly wrien and underdeveloped popular
con stories that give a bad wrap to what we love
to read and write every day.
3. We collecvely hate the quesons “What are
you even going to do with an English degree?”
and “Will you be working at Starbucks aer you
graduate?” even if they were asked as a joke. We
don’t nd them funny or original.
4. We waste me arguing about narraves and
characters when we should be working on our
assignments that are due the next day.
5. We always have a book we are in the process of
reading and an eternal list of books to get to.
6. We can almost write papers in our sleep. I said
almost.
7. If procrasnaon had an award, we would have
won every year since its creaon. Just because we
like to read and write doesn’t mean we necessarily
like to do it all the me. Instead, we like to read the
book that has been stashed away under our desk
unl we got back to it.
8. We willingly volunteer to assist our friends with
essays because we can’t pull ourselves away from
them, and some of us love eding.
9. Even though we know it’s part of the eld, we
hate the revision process with a burning passion.
10. Our educaon has barred our minds from
enjoying most narraves — we have been trained
to analyze and crique everything. Instead, we nd
comfort in each other.
What made you choose to  stay at ONU? 
In one sentence, what embodies your experience here? 
“Limitless opportunies to discover your passion.” —Joelle George, Literature & Prof. Wring
I enjoy the close-knit bond  of the English department.
It is nice to be able to aend classes in which you are
familiar with the professor and your peers.
–Allie Boley, Language Arts Educaon
“I know I wouldn’t be geng the one-on-one help  I
need if I were pursing my majors somewhere else.”
–Jessica Cogar, Creave Wring & Literature
   p    h  o   t  o  s   /   L    i   z   z  y    M   c   K
   i  n   n   e  y
 
three of his students for a chapter in an
edited collecon tled Preserving Public Memory .
The collecon seeks to portray museums,
monuments, and archives as places to write, because
they represent arguments, Sco says. In reality, art
collecons are simply arguments for certain points.
The arst is expressing their views and supporng
those ideas through their work.
  His students’ poron of the project started in Fall
2013 as an assignment in the business-wring course
he taught. Chelsea Moore, Patrick Fisher, and Alli
Walbolt’s group project then morphed into more.
The students wrote a plan for adding a fourth oor
to the Heterick Memorial Library on campus. Rogers
wanted them to address its appearance, its funcon,
and so on. It was an opportunity for them to work
with a “client,” collaborate, and then create the nal
document.
  “They spent 15 weeks on it, and hated me aerward,”
Sco says with a chuckle.
  They re-imagined the campus archive as a site for
student engagement, and collaborated with the
library’s archivist to create a space that could be ulized
as an extensive archive, easily accessible to students.
  As the project progressed, the students became
more invested in the opportunity to assert a certain kind
of student identy, he says. They became engaged—it
was an identy-making process for the students.
Oenmes when it comes to student-professor
papers, we usually nd one of two scenarios, Sco
says. Either the student does all of the work, and gets
no credit, or the student doesn’t parcipate and their
voice is lost. But in the case of this essay, they tried
focusing on the topic with all voices equally heard and
circulang together.
Sco feels that
these would be really great
for all involved, especially for
those at isolated schools (like
ONU). When there are no
opportunies to network, it
is dicult to collaborate in terms of research, and so
projects like this help overcome that issue.
  “A campus project is a great way for students to
think about who they are and why,” he says.
  Rather than students compleng assignments with
no real benet, this funconal assignment allows
them to work with clients in a variety of situaons, and
encourages reecon on their successes and failures.
  Sco says that he is an advocate of the “low and
slow” method when it comes to project work.
“It’s like grilling. You end up with something
much beer, with richer avor. It makes
students angry, but it’s very rewarding.”
  Currently, the two available workshops are
Creave Wring and Screenwring, which
are open to all students, English major or not. The
focus of these classes is geared toward the students,
to help them discover and enhance their wring skills
in any area that they may need help.
Jessica Cogar, a junior creave wring and literature
double major, is currently enrolled in the Creave
Wring Workshop, and brags about how it, “connues
to be one of [her] favorite classes. It’s a low stakes
chance to get some much-needed feedback on
my wring.” These workshops are held in a calm
environment, with understanding peers who make
you feel comfortable
with sharing your
work. Plus, “you
 just the professor’s opinion,” adds Ivy Keller, a junior
creave and professional wring double major.
  The professors teaching the classes show students
how to publish their work, and introduce them to
many new forms and styles of wring.
Dr. Jennifer Moore, assistant professor of creave
wring, shares, “No maer which workshop I’m
teaching—the reasons I love them are the same:
The workshop’s a space in which discovery and
experimentaon is privileged above all else.”
  You are encouraged to share unnished work that
you may not feel is at its best quality, and receive
construcve and helpful cricism from others who
may have more experience in that area.
You will leave these classes feeling beer about your
wring capabilies, whether it is for your future novel,
a class assignment, or a screenplay idea you’ve been
tossing around.
 
Greetings from Korea!  An email update from Micah Hein, BA ’12
 pg5
new with you? Wanted
let you know that I am
thinking about you. I
website the other day
to send him an email to
say hey! :)
  An update on me: I’m currently working as an
“edutainer” at the Gyeonggi English Village in Paju,
South Korea. I create and perform ESL musicals! The
GEV is labeled as a theme park but not in the sense
that there are roller coasters and coon candy. It
provides Korean ESL students an opportunity to learn
English through interacve resources all day.
The edutainers oer a mainstage musical, small
theatre show, and interacve game show for students
of all ages. The most unique element of this job
is that the 10 edutainers create these shows from
scratch. Each edutainer brings experiences outside of
performing (composing, wring, choreographing, etc.)
together to create a new work of theatre that serves
as an educaonal resource to thousands of Korean
students. It is a Micah Hein job to the max.
  Korea has been amazing so far! Seoul (about 45
minutes away) is one of the centers of the world.
Every Korean is put together and beauful. They are
so grateful that Americans are here. Learning English
is very important to them. The youngest generaon of
Koreans are the most uent now as they study it at a
younger age - fascinang!
  I volunteer a lot at my English Village. A typical
day is two shows, rehearsals and/or devo me
(development) intermixed in our assigned posions for
the season. I composed the music for our adaptaon
of Cinderella,  which opened in January,
and choreographed it as well. I also
choreographed our mainstage Christmas
In the evenings, I’m oen chaperoning movie
nights for students, teaching interacve lessons, and
surrounding myself with Koreans. I just love to meet
them all!
  I am trying to learn something about Korea every
day. I’m planning a trip to the DMZ in a few weeks....
that will be eye-opening. It’s funny...when you’re this
far away from home, all you can think about is how you
t in the world. I nd myself watching the news in the
evening, asking about upcoming changes to the English
Village....all to be a part of something greater. This
place is all about advancing Korea’s global reputaon.
  Anyway, that’s a big update from me. Thinking of
you. You are missed!
Galion, Ohio, with her husband, C. Thomas Hardy.
Thomas is currently an English teacher at Gareld
Heights High School. He and his wife, Sarah
(Honek), PharmD ’10, reside in Cleveland, Ohio.
Victoria received a Master of Arts in crical theory
from Ohio University. She is pursuing a doctorate in
the same eld of study at West Virginia University,
where she is also serving a teacher assistantship.
Alumni Activities
Thomas Major, BA ’07
Victoria Dickman-Burne, BA ’11
 photos/Micah Hein
Other News
 
Not Allowed:
Here are some suggestions of items you might want to bring with you
to campus. Check with your new roommate rst, of course, so you
can share the expense and you don’t end up with two refrigerators.
• Extra-long sheets (twin) • Pillow and pillow cases • Mattress cover • Blanket and Comforter • Toiletries • Shower shoes • Shower caddy  • Towels/washcloths • Laundry detergent/dryer sheets • Laundry tote/drying rack  • Trashcan (small) • Hangers • Power strip/Extension cord
• Desk lamp • Clock radio with alarm • Oce supplies/ash drive • Calculator • Laptop • Planner/calendar • Large backpack  • Winter coat and windbreaker • Rain gear • OTC medicine/vitamins • First aid kit • Stand alone wire shelves • Plastic storage bins
• Microwave • Minifridge—4.5 cubic feet or less • Bicycle • TV and cable • Foam pad for bed “uness” • Printer w/ink cartridges • Printer paper • Dictionary & thesaurus • Bulletin board • Video game systems
• Plastic dinnerware/utensils • Snacks • Ear plugs or headphones • Cleaning supplies • Board and card games • Eye mask  • Camera • Room decorations • Command Strips for hanging pictures • Sports & recreational equipment
• Alcohol/drugs • Flags • Candles or any open ame • Curtains
• Toaster/electric skillet/grill • Bean bag furniture • Pets (except 20 gallon or less sh tank) • Nails/tacks for hanging pictures
What to bring: A guide for
incoming freshmen
Ohio Northern University
the Staff!
L-R: Aaron Tuck, Alex Hartsel, Khadijah Bagais, Danielle Shuff, and Ricki Ervin
A big thanks to
Make sure to visit us online for more awesome info
www.onuenglish.scottlrogers.net
And