118Academics At the heart of campus, students utilized the Harding University Writing Center in the Brackett Library. The center was opened in fall 1979 by Assistant Professor of English Larry Long. Although it had changed hands several times over the years, professor of English Nick Boone, alumnus and former student writing consultant, took charge in fall 2023. Started in American Studies room 325, the Writing Center grew in recent years, adapting and changing all while it catered to the needs of Harding students. As the program continued to grow, Boone expounded on future plans. “We are really excited to continue spreading our services to different parts of campus than we traditionally have, and now have the ability to do online services with more and more graduate students who are remote,” Boone said. The growth of the center led to many demands that the writing consultants had to meet. Boone worked with the students to alleviate the stress this work-load caused. Sophomore Avery Nicks was one of the many writing center consultants who found a balance between her studies and work in the center. “I love the work-study balance involved with this job,” Nicks said. “Dr. Boone is great at accommodating our needs as students and encourages us to come to him if we are ever feeling overwhelmed with school work during a particular week.” The balance and comfort Boone brought to the work environment spared the workers from potential stress. Nicks felt that this gave her a new opportunity to create meaningful relationships with her students. The connection allowed her to celebrate with the students. It created a new environment that was built on the rewarding feelings of helping peers grow, succeed and gain confidence in their writing abilities. “The ability to help students grow in confidence as writers is such a fulfilling aspect of the job,” Nicks said. “Students so often come in and apologize for their work before we’ve even looked at it, but I love seeing the shift in their moods as they realize that they are capable of great writing too.” Over the years, the Writing Center was a place where student workers helped others become better writers; however, the Writing Center became a place where the workers had the chance to learn and grow themselves. Junior consultant Alexis Gentry saw the Writing Center as a platform to personally broaden her academic horizons. “I have always been a strong writer, but typically more so with creative writing and research papers,” Gentry said. “The Writing Center allows me to test my skills in many different areas. I receive APA nursing papers, experimental procedures, grad school applications, music theory analyses, and so much more. This stretches what I know about writing, and my application of those skills, and has even forced me to learn a few new skills to help me become a better Writing Center consultant.” The Harding University Writing Center continued to not only be an incredible opportunity of growth for consultants and students alike, but also served as a connection to the past, present and future. The establishment of the Writing Center shaped the academic success of students since 1979 and continued to affect the lives of both students and consultants. Written by Bailey Coffman The Writing Center continues to aid student academic writing 44 years later. PART OF THE Story Taking positive steps to help students improve their writing, the English Department established a writing laboratory for students, under the supervision of Dr. Larry Long. Open 27 hours a week, the lab was staffed by graduate students in English. Any student having writing problems was invited but students in English 103 and juniors and seniors who had not satisfied the English proficiency requirement were urged to attend. Reprinted from Petit Jean 1980-81
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