newsletter from the director
fall 2009


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In 2008-09, the UMass PWTC Program enjoyed a real “building” year.
 
With advice from our grads, we have worked to ensure that content of our courses keeps pace with developments in industry and pedagogy. Last year Janine received a Faculty Development Grant from the Center for Teaching. She used the funds to purchase recording equipment with which her students composed "sound essays" about digital/computer technologies.  This year Janine was part of a team awarded a Mellon grant; with those funds she purchased a tablet PC and data projector.  This semester she'll be using both as tools to facilitate group discussion and analysis of digital documents.  

Meanwhile, our graduate teaching assistant, Christian Pulver, received much praise for his dedication and enthusiasm in both ENGL 379 and ENGL 391c.  We count ourselves very fortunate to have Christian aboard; we are delighted that he will be teaching sections of both courses again this year. 

In late spring we began a fundraising effort to upgrade the PWTC Lab.  As usual, our grads have been most generous.  The total is yet to be tallied.  Stay tuned. 

Once again this year, the good Professor Nelson offered his home as a place droogs could come home to.  Personally, I am grateful that John remains a real presence in the program he founded and did so much to nurture for so many years. Scenes from the May reunion may be viewed on the Facebook page.

At last count the Facebook group had 78 members and the LinkedIn group had 65 members.  It is gratifying to see the ‘droogosphere’ so active and so clearly thriving.

As per tradition, I’ve saved the best for last.  During a year when graduates from American colleges and universities were led to expect little in the way of immediate employment, as of September all but a few newly-minted droogs were in very good positions, and we expect that the rest will find safe harbor soon.  The happy list of placements follows.  

Congratulations to all!


-- Dave
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Elizabeth Brainerd
Associate Technical Writer
RSA, the Security Division of EMC
Bedford MA

Gwendolyn Gustavson
Client Advocate
Bergmann & Moore, LLC
Bethesda MD

Anna Itina
Instructor and Program Developer
Newton Driving School
Newton MA

Megan LaFlamme
Technical Writer
Acme Packet
Burlington, MA

Corry Mackin

Technical Writer
Phase Forward
Waltham MA

Mikaela Newell
Pre-school Teacher
Wellesley MA
M.Ed. Candidate
Lesley University

Jessica Ouellette
Ph.D. Candidate in Composition and Rhetoric
University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Leah Romano
Research Assistant
TIMI Study Group
Brigham and Womens Hospital
Boston MA

Valerie Shore
Assistant Language Teacher
Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme
Wakkanai City, Japan

Ryan Smith
Americorps Vista
826 Boston
Boston MA

Nick Villahermosa
Technical Writer
Endeca
Cambridge MA

internships:

Drew Katsikas
LimeWire
427 Broadway
New York, NY 10013

Gabrielle M. Segalla
IBM
Westford MA
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