Writing Center students, faculty and staff present at national conference

Students, staff and faculty of the Boise State Writing Center presented research at the 2025 National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, in partnership with the International Writing Centers Association, in Cincinnati, Ohio, from Oct. 15-18.

This year's conference theme was "The (Non-)Spaces of Writing Center Work," focusing on how writing center spaces affect the writers who walk through their doors. This topic hit especially close to home for representatives of the Boise State Writing Center, as their center moved from its historic home in the Liberal Arts Building to a new temporary space in the Math Building earlier this year. Their presentations focused on the power of writing centers as collaborative, student-forward spaces where writers can find solace, growth and joy, regardless of how the spaces themselves morph over time:

• Melissa Keith (director), Emily Thorsen (assistant director) and Kelby Andrew (graduate assistant, MBA) presented their panel, "The Things They Carried: Permanent Lessons from Temporary Spaces." Their discussion examined how the Boise State Writing Center's culture, relationships and user experiences were impacted by the move to a new location.
• Abby Hansen (undergraduate consultant: creative writing and music minor), Theo Noe (undergraduate consultant: creative writing, linguistics, ASL minor) and Tyler Gamboa (undergraduate consultant, professional and public writing and physics minor) also presented their panel, "'My Pronouns Are…': How Gender Plays Into the Writing Center Space," in which they explored masculinity, pronoun usage, and trans/nonbinary identities in the face-to-face environments of writing centers.
• Emily Selchow (undergraduate consultant: professional and public writing), Lo Alvarado (undergraduate consultant: narrative arts) and Brandon Rasmussen (professional consultant: B.A. professional and public writing), delivered a panel presentation as well, "Humanity in the Center: Keeping Interpersonal Connection at the Forefront of Learning in the Age of AI." The speakers explored writing centers as spaces for human connection and development, contrasting the nonpersonal work incentivized by generative AI tools.
• Anastasia Burbage (undergraduate consultant: English literature) directed a workshop titled "Past Voices, Present Swagger, Future Writers," in which participants engaged in hands-on, voice-centered activities highlighting how identity, audience and rhetorical space impact writer's voices.
• Rachel Puzey (professional consultant: B.A. visual arts, emphasis in drawing and painting) delivered her presentation, "Beyond Genius: How Writing Centers Encourage Play," in which she reviewed how writing centers' playful, iterative learning strategies combat traditional narratives about inherent genius.
• Zach Rojas (undergraduate consultant: GIMM and human-centered design certificate) delivered his presentation, "Stop Being Nice: Radical Candor's Place in the Writing Center." The presentation explored the false dichotomy between honesty and kindness and encouraged directness with critical feedback.

At the conference, Keith was appointed the Executive Vice President of National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing. Additionally, Andrew, Burbage, Gamboa, Noe and Selchow received financial support through the Associated Students of Boise State University's travel grants.

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