PEL authors celebrated; Writing instructors, tutors, and staff recognized

article and images by Anne W. Anderson

About 45 PEL people -- alumni, current and former writing instructors, former writing tutors, staff, and friends -- gathered in Cobb Gallery on Saturday evening, January 14, to recognize the impact the writing studies programs have had in the lives of alumni of all disciplines.

Twelve PEL alumni brought or sent published work to display, and other work from the PEL bookshelves also was displayed. Work ranged from scholarly work in the fields of neuroscience, business, and history to inspirational writing, memoir, fiction, and poetry.

SCROLL TO END TO SEE SLIDE SHOW

PEL Associate Dean of Faculty Margret Skaftadottir (P '20)

Writing instructors, tutors, staff recognized

PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood welcomed the group, then introduced PEL Associate Dean of Faculty Margret Skaftadottir who recognized the work of PEL's writing instructors (all forms) through the years as contributing to students' successes as writers in all fields.

Skaftadottir then recognized PEL's writing tutors over the years, noting that some tutors also had become instructors in the program.

Some of PEL's writing tutors, instructors, friends

"In some ways, the tutors had the harder task," Skaftadottir said. "They were taking sometimes very raw writing and were faced with what to address first. Without the tutors, many of our students would have had a more difficult time succeeding in PEL."

Skaftadottir also recognized staff members who had served the writing program in different capacities: Patti Cooksey '97, currently PEL's director of general education courses, once oversaw the writing tutor program; Alaina Tackitt '08, currently PEL's director of writing services, who also teaches composition courses in PEL; and Craig Anderson '15, formerly PEL's academic writing coach, who now works as the learning and performance facilitator for Coca-Cola.

Angela Masterson Jones '12 (P '14)

Readings

Following a short time of mingling and enjoying the food, displays, and artwork, Hagood introduced Angela Masterson Jones '12 (Creative Writing), Eckerd College's associate director of communications and the College editor. 

Jones, a four-time alumna of the Writers in Paradise conference at Eckerd and a published poet and fiction writer, read two poems in progress, "Yard Sale" and "Dreaming Under Influence (DUI)."






Jones then introduced each of the other readers, who collectively represented a range of disciplines:

Ellen Nizzi '11

• Ellen Nizzi '11 (Creative Writing) read from her lively memoir in progress "Continuing Education."
• Matt DiPalma '17 (Humanities/History) read from his 2016 book German Military Papers of the Second World War. 
• Monica Geers Dahl '98 (Human Development/Gender Studies), Ph.D., read from her  chapter, "PTSD Symptom Reduction with Neurofeedback," which appeared in the 2015 book Restoring the Brain: Neurofeedback as an Integrative Approach to Health.
•  Anne W. Anderson  '07 (Creative Writing) read from her 2009 children's story "Just Kidding," which was published in Pockets magazine.
• Dovév Weaver, Sr. '16 (Humanities/American Studies) read from his 2016 book Chasing Your Dream: Bound for Success.
• Heidi Tilney Kramer '08 (Humanities/American Studies) read from her 2016 book Media Monsters.
• Anne Visser Ney '07 (Creative Writing) read from an essay-in-progress titled "Knives and Other Terrible Things That Float." 
• Cristina Querrer '07 (Creative Writing/Visual Arts) read from her book of poetry, The Art of Exporting, and from her novel-in-progress, The Butterfly Catcher. 

Other PEL authors who attended or who sent work to be displayed included Craig Anderson '15 (Human Development/Creative Writing), Cal Brown '16 (Visual Arts), Annie Newman Behr Ennis '88 (Marketing), Ed Mahon '86 (Management Information Systems), and Ricky Roberts III '13 (Human Development). 

Rememberings and reflections

Attendees wrote responses to Wording Wall prompts, which were posted near the buffet area, and these written responses are included in the slide presentation below. Other thoughts were shared toward the end of the evening when the floor was opened for comments and reflections about the writing program and about the PEL experience.

Linda Johnson, Sarasota center director for many years, was recognized by PEL alumni Debra Piner and others who had been students at the center.

Several people spoke about how their PEL experience had changed their lives or pointed them in a new direction.

Cheryl Keyes '99 (Personnel Management Concentration in Organizational Studies), currently working in the Human Resources department of Pinellas County Schools, noted that the effects of the PEL writing program extend far beyond the arena of published work and into myriad everyday writing tasks.

"My colleagues at work have noticed and commented on the quality of my writing," Keyes said. "Even when I just send emails, I sometimes hear, 'You write so well!'"

PEL Director of Writing Services Alaina Tackitt agreed and told of an experience she had had.

“I was at an event at the Mahaffey recently with a couple of friends, who happened to be PEL graduates," Tackitt said. "One had brought her new partner, who, it turned out, also was a PEL grad. As I often do, I happened to be wearing my Eckerd College cap, and two people sitting in front of us noticed my hat, and said, ‘Oh, we're PEL grads!’

PEL Director of Writing Services Alaina Tackitt '08

“I said, ‘I’m a PEL grad, too, and so are my friends.’

“Several rows down, two more people heard us, turned around, and said, ‘We’re PEL grads, too!’

“Others around the auditorium began waving and saying, ‘PEL grad!’ ‘PEL grad!’

“Then, two people up front, who were with the League of Women voters, stood up and identified themselves as PEL grads, too."

“This program has changed the face of the Greater Tampa Bay Area," Tackitt said. "We're the reason people locally know Eckerd College, and Eckerd College PEL people have become involved in local affairs at every level.

“We used to joke that PEL was like a cult," Tackitt said," and I guess the moral of the story is that you can close the program, but you can’t kill the cult.”

At the close of the evening, attendees adjourned to Miller Auditorium to hear poet Richard Blanco, keynote speaker for the 2017 Writers in Paradise Conference.

Anne W. Anderson is PEL's director of blended and online learning 

and is co-editor of The PEL Connector.

Calling All PEL Authors! PEL Author Event scheduled in January

PEL students and alumni who have published in any genre are invited to share their work at our annual PEL Writers in Paradise pre-event reception on January 14, 2017. We welcome fiction and non-fiction books and anthologies; magazine/journal articles, stories, and poetry; news articles; plays; and any other work.

Consider framing a poem or including images of produced plays or other creative presentations of your work, especially if your work is not published in a standard format.

The PEL Pre-Event Reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in Cobb Gallery and concludes shortly after 7 p.m. We then will adjourn to Miller Auditorium for the Writers in Paradise keynote address by author Richard Blanco.

Please note that the Pre-Event Reception is sponsored by PEL and not by Writers in Paradise. 

Display Your Work

We will set up tables for PEL authors to display their work. Reserve space in advance by completing the form below and emailing it to pel@eckerd.edu [put PEL Author Event in the subject line]. Call Anne Anderson at 727-864-8884, if you have questions.

No sales are permitted at the event, but business cards and ordering information can be placed as part of your display. Deadline is January 5, 2017.

Short Readings

 

As part of the evening, we would also like to invite PEL authors to read selections from their work. The number of authors we can accommodate and the length of time allotted to each will depend on the number of applications we receive.

If you would like to be considered as a reader, please complete the form below and emailing it to pel@eckerd.edu [put PEL Author Event in the subject line]. Call Anne Anderson at 727-864-8884, if you have questions. Deadline is January 5, 2017.

 

PEL Author Event Display Space Reservation and Reading Form

 

PEL Authors Collection

 

PEL Authors also are invited to consider donating a copy of their book(s) to the Eckerd College Library's alumni authors collection. If you would like to do this, please contact Lisa Johnston, Director of Library Services, at johnstln@eckerd.edu.

If you have other published work you would like to share that is not in book format, the College Archives would like to have the information in case they decide to expand their collection in the future. Please contact Cathy McCoy at mccoycf@eckerd.edu.

Note: This post has been edited to add more information about the WIP keynote speaker 
and to add a link to the PEL Author Event Display Space Reservation and Reading Form, which replaces other instructions. [November 29, 2016]

A new PEL baby; Mark your calendars; Kudos!

A New PEL Baby!!!

The PEL community welcomed a new baby recently! PEL Reception Coordinator Janice Writt and her husband, Jeremy, are the parents of Jaxson Billy, born October 25th. Baby Jaxson weighed in at 9 lbs. 10 oz. and is joined at home by their Dalmatian, Dallas. Congratulations!

Mark your calendars

January 14, 2017 is the opening day of the Writers in Paradise week-long workshop. All evening readings are FREE and open to the public. Readings begin at 8 p.m. in Miller Auditorium; refreshments are available beginning at 7:30 p.m. and book signings follow each speaking event.   Scheduled to speak are:

• Saturday, January 14: Keynote Speaker is poet Richard Blanco
• Sunday, January 15: David Yoo and Laura Lippman
• Monday, January 16: Fabienne Josaphat and Andre Dubus III
• Tuesday, January 17: Denise Duhamel, Stewart O'Nan and Helen Wallace
• Wednesday, January, 18: (free day, no reading scheduled)
• Thursday, January 19: Les Standiford and Ann Hood
• Friday, January 20: Sterling Watson, Major Jackson and Peter Meinke
• Saturday, January 21: Closing speaker, Lan Samantha Chang

January 14, 2017: PEL people are invited to a Writers in Paradise Pre-Conference PEL Reception  from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Cobb Gallery. This year's theme is Celebrating PEL Authors. Read more about this event here.

March 11, 2017: PEL Reception at Alumni Weekend. More details will be coming soon!

Kudos!

PEL Students contributed 2000+ hours of community service through various service learning projects -- including helping to promote the artwork of senior citizens, working with homeless projects, helping teens learn financial literacy skills, and volunteering at nature parks -- during the 2015-2016 academic year.

Most of these hours were part of Reflective Service Learning projects in Quest for Meaning and many were part of the Enactus/SIFE course taught by Professor Malhotra. And many others were completed as part of other PEL courses. Way to go PEL people!

At right: PEL student Yolanda Carter helps install a community garden at CASA. 

Faculty News

 Professor James Welch presented "Developing Ethical Leadership in the Post-Enron World: An Analysis of Business Ethics Education in National Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States" at the European Group for Organizational Studies 32nd Annual Colloquium in Naples, Italy, in July. Professor Welch oversees the Organizational Studies program in PEL.

Professor Naveen Malhotra  presented his paper, "Case Study: The Teaching Tool in Capstone Business Courses," at the International Academy of Business and Economics Conference in Las Vegas in October. Malhotra is the Tom and Mary James Professor of Finance at Eckerd College.

 Staff News

PEL Director of Blended and Online Learning Anne Anderson recently contributed to Toward a Spiritual Research Paradigm: Exploring New Ways of Knowing, Researching, and Being, a book that is part of Information Age Publishing's Transforming Education for the Future series. Anderson's chapter is titled "'Out of the Everywhere into Here': Rhetoricity and Transcendence as Common Ground for Spiritual Research."

The publisher's site describes the book thus: "Spirituality and spiritual experiences have been the bedrock of every civilization and together form one of the highest mechanisms for making sense of the world for billions of people. Current research paradigms, due to their limitation to empirical, sensory, psychologically, or culturally constructed realities, fail to provide a framework for exploring this essential area of human experience. The development of a spiritual research paradigm will provide researchers from the social sciences and education the tools and abilities to systematically explore fundamental questions regarding human spiritual experiences and spiritual growth."

PEL Alumni Ambassadors: The Year in Review

From attending a Rays game in September 2015 to catching some rays at the PEL Porch Party in June 2016, Alumni Ambassadors spread the good news of Eckerd College's PEL in a number of ways this year:

 
PEL Alumni Social & Tampa Bay Rays Game: In September, 2015, a group of PEL Alumni Ambassadors gathered first at Ferg's Sports Bar and Grill then moved to the Trop to watch the Tampa Bay Rays play the Baltimore Orioles. A portion of the proceeds benefited the PEL Annual Scholarship Fund.

Sallie House Fun Day volunteers gather for a group photo.

Sallie House Fun Day: In November 2015, PEL Alumni Ambassadors organized a fun day for 48 children and eight staff members from the St. Petersburg Salvation Army's Sallie House and Children’s Village, two crisis shelters serving local children.

A group of 30 volunteers, including PEL and residential students, alumni, staff, and faculty, hosted an array of activities for the young visitors, who played field games, read stories, created brightly colored sand pictures, learned about marine animals in touch tanks provided by the Galbraith Marine Science Lab, and ate lunch in the dining hall. Many of the children saw what a college is for the first time, and volunteers commented on the joy of working in an inter-generational and cross-campus event.

Writers in Paradise Pre-Party: In January 2016, PEL Alumni Ambassadors sponsored an event for about 30 PEL alumni who had majored, minored, or completed a concentration in creative writing or literature.

The group gathered before the opening night of Writers in Paradise, an internationally recognized writing conference hosted by Eckerd College, to share writing news and accomplishments and to hear St. Petersburg Poet Laureate and Eckerd PEL Professor Helen Wallace speak.

PEL Alumni Reception at Eckerd College Reunion Weekend:  In March 2016, PEL Alumni Ambassadors helped organize the PEL Alumni Reception held at Lewis House as part of the Eckerd College Reunion Weekend.




 

Quest for Meaning Classes: In May 2016, Alumni Ambassadors spoke to PEL students in  the Quest for Meaning courses, most of whom would be graduating that month or in August, about life after PEL and about becoming an Alumni Ambassador themselves.




Throughout the year, PEL Alumni Ambassadors have:

Akin-tunde Akintewe '15 (Visual Arts) shares his PEL story.

• Spoken on panels and in classes about their work and life experiences

• Shared their PEL stories on video and in print to help Eckerd PEL publicize the program 

• Worked with ASPEC and other committees at Eckerd on community projects and initiatives

• Met to consider ways to provide Eckerd PEL alumni with networking opportunities and other resources

PEL Porch Party: June 2016, PEL Alumni Ambassadors helped organize a gathering at Lewis House on the main campus to welcome newly graduated students from the Class of 2016 into the ranks of PEL Alumni.

PEL Porch Party in June 2016

Want to become involved as a PEL Alumni Ambassador? Contact Donna Littell at litteldj@eckerd edu or visit the alumni page at https://www.eckerd.edu/pel/alumni/

Alumni College: Ready to get back to class? Our Alumni College program offers PEL courses to Eckerd College alumni at a reduced rate of $300 per class (for most classes).

Alumni College is a great way to add a major or a minor to your degree, pursue professional development credits at a reasonable cost, or take individual classes just for fun. You will also be helping others because when you enroll, a portion of your tuition is a scholarship donation (and a charitable tax deduction).
Learn more about this great opportunity for professional development or personal fulfillment.

Student Appreciation Day / Creative Writing & Lit Gathering / Around the Office & Welcome Back Week

PEL people think OUTSIDE the obvious! And PEL people obviously think outside and inside. Check out these photos from recent events and everyday activities.

Student Appreciation Day 

About 30 PEL students and alumni braved the elements along with a number of PEL faculty and staff members for the 2016 Student Appreciation Day on Saturday, January 23. Bundled in winter clothes, the group ate barbeque, played games, and sought sunny spots in which to gather.

PEL student Mayra Franco brought her husband, Marcelo, and her two sons, JP and Andre.

"I wanted them to know where I study and also to meet some of my professors and classmates," Franco wrote in an email later. She also said her sons were hoping to play some tennis with Professor Sergei Novikov, who had offered a tennis clinic that day.

They hadn't counted on gusty winds.

"There were tennis players, but no tennis," Novikov said later. "The wind would just blow the balls away."

Ball-toss and other games were staffed by Student Activities volunteers and Campus Activities staff served what Professor Tom Krzesinski called "really good" barbecue, macaroni and cheese, beans, and cake. The barbecue, supplied by Deuces BBQ on 22nd Street S. and 9th Avenue, was termed "world's best" by some, and others raved about the mac and cheese.

"The big Eckerd PEL cake was delicious," Krzesinski wrote. He noted that the two-in-one cake meant attendees had their choice of white cake with frosting, chocolate cake with frosting, or a piece of both, suggesting, perhaps, that he had enjoyed the final option. 

Bernard LiLavois '10 said his wife, Diahan, "agreed to accompany me on that cold, blustery day  . . . because she knows that Eckerd College will always be to me the 'Garden of Knowledge.'" LiLavois said he frequently visits the library and enjoys the natural beauty of the grounds.

"I love that school," he wrote.

If you have other pictures or thoughts to share, feel free to email Amanda Hagood at hagoodca@eckerd.edu or Anne Anderson at andersaw@eckerd.edu. 

Creative Writing & Literature Gathering

About 30 PEL alumni who majored, minored, or completed a concentration in creative writing or literature gathered before the opening night of Writers in Paradise, an internationally recognized writing conference hosted by Eckerd College. PEL creative writing professor Helen Pruitt Wallace, who also is Poet Laureate of St. Petersburg, noted that, in the revising of our writing, we often revise ourselves as well.

"But we must give ourselves permission to do so," Wallace said.

 Donna Littell, PEL's alumni coordinator, and Anne Anderson '07, PEL's director of blended and online learning and a creative writing alumna, organized this year's event. Alumni were invited to display works they had produced since graduating from the program.

Attendees also were asked to share a six-word memoir of their time in the PEL program.  A few people who could not attend emailed in their thoughts.

Following the gathering, the group adjourned to the Miller Auditorium to listen to the keynote speaker, Pulitzer Prize winning author Gilbert King.

Worlds of words; universes of ideas. Anne Anderson '07 

Leib's class . . . awe and terror combined. Mary Ann Ellis '07

PEL gave myself to me. Wendy Buffington, PEL student

 Doors opened to help me understand. Rich Hayward '12

Around the Office & Welcome Back Week

And the winners were Stacy Sansoucie and Michell Cox!

Jan 16-23: FREE Author Events and PEL Student Appreciation Day

Writers in Paradise Evening Reading Series

The Writers in Paradise Evening Reading Series is free and open to the public. All readings take place in Miller Auditorium at Eckerd College and begin at 8:00 pm., followed immediately by author signings. A light reception and book sale begins at 7:30 pm. No tickets or reservations are required.

Eckerd graduate Dennis Lehane

• Saturday, January 16: Pulitzer-prize winning author Gilbert King followed by a Q&A with Les Standiford
  
• Sunday, January 17: Laura Lippman & Sterling Watson
  
• Monday, January 18: Ann Hood & Les Standiford
  
• Tuesday, January 19: Scott Ward, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, & Campbell McGrath
• No reading on Wednesday
  
• Thursday, January 21: Laura Williams McCaffrey & Peter Meinke
  
• Friday, January 22: Stewart O’Nan & Andre Dubus III
  
• Saturday, January 23: Eckerd graduate Dennis Lehane

 

PEL Student Appreciation Day 2016

for PEL students, alumni, faculty, and staff ~

January 23, 2-5 p.m. at the GO Pavilion on the main Eckerd campus -- 

bring your family!

Take a boatride and see the campus from the water!

Enjoy boat rides, games for all ages, music, a bounce house, and more at the PEL Student Appreciation Day on Saturday, January 23, from 2-5 p.m. 

We will gather under the GO Pavilion near the tennis courts and recreations fields. But feel free to explore the waterfront area and to wander the beautiful grounds of the Eckerd College main campus -- your campus!

The GO Pavilion is near the tennis courts and recreation fields.

Are you a tennis enthusiast?  Bring your racket for a free clinic with Professor Sergei Novikov!

Food and beverages are provided.