Noel Studio Alumni Interview: Stacy Wilder
Dr. Russell Carpenter recently had the chance to catch up with consultant alumna, Stacy Wilder, to discuss her experiences in the Noel Studio. Stacy served as a graduate consultant in the program and graduated from EKU in 2012.
The Noel Studio will feature recent consultant alumni as they reflect on their experiences after graduation.
What is your current title?
Assistant Director of the Digital ACT Studio at UNC-Greensboro
Could you discuss your current role?
I assist the Director in training consultants (the self-titled “Digiteers”); teaching ENG 365C, a course that prepares future consultants; supervise consultants while they are consulting; manage the space; work with the staff of the Digital Media Commons in the Jackson Library to develop faculty workshops on digital literacy and pedagogy
How did your experience and training as a consultant in the Noel Studio prepare you for your current role?
With the training from the Noel Studio—especially the day-long training before the school year starts and weekly meetings—I developed the theoretical background I needed to successfully assist in running the Digital ACT Studio at UNCG. Also, the conferences I had the chance to attend with the Noel Studio clued me in on where the field of multimodal literacy has been, where it is, and where it’s looking to go. I was fortunate that I got to network with several influential scholars while at these conferences.
How did consulting in the Noel Studio help shape your career goals? Short-term (3-5 years) and long-term (5-10+ years)?
As far as my short-term goals, the Noel Studio has given me countless ideas for term papers, conference presentations, and journal articles. It has allowed me to network with people in the field and thus learn more about what needs to be explored, what has already been written on, and what the current trends are in multimodal literacy.
As far as long-term goals, the Noel Studio introduced me to a branch of study that English departments are really beginning to support that I had never known about before coming to EKU. Now that I am aware this is a field ripe for study and scholarship, I have an idea of what I’m really interested in pursuing: creating multimodal spaces for students, and not limiting myself to just a writing center, or just a speaking center, or just a digital literacy center. The future of this field is truly multimodal, and the Noel Studio taught me that.
What’s the most interesting project you have been involved in at your current institution?
When I came to UNCG and took up the position as Assistant Director, I had no consultants who had been trained to work in a multimodal space. Instead, I took students who worked in both the Writing Center and the Speaking Center, and added a third center’s pedagogy to their knowledge base: Digital Center. These students were ready to learn how multimodal centers drew on their previous experience from the other two centers, so training them from scratch was interesting, rewarding, and fulfilling. They have taken their training with them into the Writing and Speaking Centers, and have started teaching their colleagues there how to think more multimodally. It’s been an organic movement that has really started to shift consultants’ ways of thinking and understanding the work they do. In the future, we are planning to implement a series of workshops to train instructors on how to use multimodal resources in their classrooms in a way that is pedagogically meaningful, as we believe that many students are preparing for careers that will demand multimodal communication on their part; I think working with faculty on redesigning their classroom practices will be extremely interesting!
What skills did you learn in the Noel Studio that have been helpful for you as a doctoral student and administrator?
After seeing how the Noel Studio grew from its opening day until the present, and how the administrators and consultants alike handled the ever growing amount of student traffic to the Noel Studio, I learned that it’s the students we consult with who shape the Noel Studio and make it their own. Rather than try to brand the Noel Studio as one person’s “baby,” I have seen first-hand that it’s the student body’s right to create the Noel Studio and make it theirs, so I have let the students at UNCG do the same at the Digital ACT Studio. Remember, if the students don’t like the space and services you offer them, they won’t come, and you’re out of a job as a consultant and administrator! As a doctoral student, I have incorporated my work with both Studios into papers I have written for class, and am planning to use these ideas as part of a larger journal article I am currently working on. I have also used what I’ve learned at the Studios to create several conference presentations.
What advice would you give to current consultants? Any advice for future consultants?
For current consultants: take advantage of those special projects and opportunities the Noel Studio offers you, such as creating and leading workshops, attending conferences, providing feedback on consultant practices, and participation in Studio-hosted events. These types of opportunities will not only display your commitment to the Noel Studio, but will also give you a great chance to network with peers and colleagues. Also, remain flexible in your consulting style; it’s easy to treat every consultation the same, but remember that you are working with different students all the time, on different projects, and in different modes!
For future consultants: multimodal literacy is a quickly growing field, so remember, just like current consultants, to maintain flexibility in your consulting style! Be prepared to learn a lot of new techniques and pedagogies, and don’t allow yourself to get stuck in one set way of working with students. You will end up doing both yourself and the people you work with a huge disservice.
Contact Information
Dr. Russell Carpenter
russell.carpenter@eku.edu
859-622-7403
Published on June 05, 2013