How the Grad WAC Fellows program helped Vida Nazar for the future
Vida Nazar is a Ph.D. student studying bioengineering who hopes to work in the pharmaceutical industry one day. Nazar wanted to improve some of her skills, especially writing, and wanted to perfect them for the future.
“I never really knew how to write for the right audience,” Nazar said. “Sometimes it felt too scientific, other times too basic. I didn’t know what people expected.”
The Grad WAC program is designed to help graduate teaching assistants strengthen how they teach writing within their own disciplines. Fellows in the program explore ways to improve both the amount and quality of writing instruction.
They study and test different teaching methods and tools that support effective writing practices and assessments. Two key approaches they focus on are Writing Across the Curriculum, which encourages the use of writing as a learning tool in all subjects, and Writing in the Disciplines, which emphasizes the specific writing styles and conventions used within individual academic fields.
After completing two semesters in the WAC Fellows program, participants can apply for the Pearce Center’s Professional Practicum in WAC and WID. This practicum allows Fellows to further develop their skills and apply what they’ve learned in real teaching and mentoring contexts. Practicum Fellows engage in various writing-centered activities, such as leading presentations and workshops on writing, revision and communication strategies tailored to different disciplines.
Nazar wanted to join a program to help her improve in skills for her future career, that’s when she heard about the GRAD WAC Program. Friends and classmates told her it was great for students who wanted to improve their writing and communication skills. She applied in October 2024, went through an interview and was accepted.
“They asked me what I struggle with in writing, and I said I didn’t know how to write the right way for different people,” Nazar said. “Then one of the interviewers told me, ‘You have to know your audience.’ That changed how I thought about writing.”
Since joining the program, Nazar says her writing has improved a lot.
“Before, I just looked for grammar or spelling mistakes. Now I look at whether the message is clear. I understand what makes writing effective.”
She also learned how to give feedback and grade writing, which she says will be helpful if she teaches or mentors others in the future. Nazar has taken the tools used with grading and has learned how to speak to students in different situations.
Another part of the program she really enjoyed was meeting students from all over the world and from different fields.
“Some were doing machine learning, others were studying plants. It was cool to see how different we all were but still learn together,” Nazar said. “It helped me think outside the box.”
The class wasn’t just lectures; there were also hands-on workshops and group discussions.
“It wasn’t just the teacher talking. We got to do activities and share ideas. That helped me learn more.”
Nazar has gained a lot of helpful life skills that will prepare her for the future.
“In any job, I’ll need to explain my ideas clearly, whether it’s to another scientist or someone in a different field,” Nazar said. “Now I feel more confident doing that.”
During that process one of her most valuable lessons she learned was to give students more control.
“Don’t just tell them what to do,” Nazar said. “Let them try things on their own. That’s how people really learn.”
If someone was thinking about joining the program, Nazar would tell them, “Definitely do it. You’ll learn a lot, improve your writing, and meet amazing people.”
By: Julia Galbally