Paige, a former writing tutor who graduated in 2013, kindly offered her responses to our interview questions. The photo is from her trip to Chicago in January to cover Creating Change, an LGBT conference, for Philadelphia Gay News. Keep reading to find out more about Paige's past and present, her advice to tutors, and what 'lede' means. What was your role during your time at Penn State Learning? I worked as a writing tutor from spring 2011 to spring 2012. After I graduated, I also spent the first summer session working with students who wanted help writing and editing cover letters. What direction did you go after Penn State? Six weeks after graduation, I moved to upstate New York to start a master’s program in arts journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. It was a whirlwind 13-month program that included reviewing movies at the Toronto International Film Festival, interning at Vanity Fair and covering Spoleto Festival USA for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve worked as a reporter since earning my degree in 2013. Right now, I cover the LGBT community for Philadelphia Gay News. Before that, I wrote for the Reading Eagle and Business Insider. Has your experience tutoring at PSL impacted your life or career? If so, how? As a writing tutor, I picked up the habit of reading my work aloud to make sure it flows how I want it. People often catch me at my desk muttering a report to myself before I file the story. Penn State Learning also instilled the value of maintaining a community of peers. Over my career, I’ve developed mentors who I can turn to whenever I have a question as small as wording a lede* or as big as tracking down a difficult source. It helps to talk with people both inside and outside my current news organization. Do you have any words of advice for current tutors and recent graduates entering into the professional world? Try to meet the tutors in subjects outside your own. It’s great to hear how people become experts in their various fields. You might find techniques that you can apply to your work. [*Lede: the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story. We attempted to make the lede for Paige's interview enticing. Did it work?]
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AuthorsThis blog is a collaborative effort between current and former PSL employees. Authors include tutors, receptionists, PSL staff, and, of course, alumni. Archives
November 2016
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