Excellence to the Core

Nursing student Rebecca Wynn was honored for excellence in writing. She’s pictured with Joe Law, Writing Across the Curriculum coordinator, and Wright State President David R. Hopkins.

Whether students study nursing, business or history, writing is a key component to communicating ideas and career preparation. Wright State students and faculty were honored recently for Writing Across the Curriculum achievements and teaching Wright State Core courses.

Nursing student Rebecca Wynn was recognized for her literature review of early warning scoring systems for vital sign monitoring used in the United States and United Kingdom.

“It’s early detection and knowing that something is about to go wrong with your patient so you can intervene early and avoid adverse events,” she said. In addition to gaining content knowledge, the goal of the writing assignment was to be published in a journal.

Writing Across the Curriculum courses help students grow as writers and encourages them to use writing as a tool to discover and communicate ideas, said Joe Law, Ph.D., coordinator of the program.

Lisa Draughn was honored for her paper on cervical cancer prevention in Hispanic women.

Lisa Draughn was recognized for her paper on cervical cancer prevention in Hispanic women.

“My topic was based on vulnerable populations so it really opened my eyes to some of the struggles and hardships that vulnerable populations have with access to health care,” she said. “I’m going to be a nurse soon so it was a good way to see what’s out there and see what my future colleagues are doing.”

Students nominated their professors for excellence in teaching integrated writing courses. “Dr. (Bud) Baker has been such a positive influence in my life,” Reyna Spears wrote about her management class professor. “The things I learned in his class have already helped me become a better businesswoman, friend and mother.”

Faculty members who teach Wright State Core classes were also nominated for recognition by their students. Law, who is also director of the Wright State Core, said that these courses help students develop the knowledge and skills essential for critical thinking, creative problem solving, meaningful civic engagement, multicultural competence, appreciation for the arts and lifelong learning. This foundation helps students apply insights from multiple disciplines to engage effectively with our diverse world.

“As an adult student returning to college, I was extremely anxious about taking a math class,” wrote Patricia Carl. “Professor (Linda) Lester was totally supportive and directed me to a variety of sources that I used outside class to re-establish my math skills. With her support, I gained confidence and began using what I learned in my everyday life.”

“Professor (Dave) Hochstein helped me further my problem solving and critical thinking by making me think of things that applied to me when learning about psychology,” Erica Miller wrote in her nomination.

Students recognized for distinction in writing include:
Paige Aguilera, REL 2040
Roderick Arnold, CLS 2040
Torrey Cowan, BIO 4020
Grace Crandal, NUR 4630
Ebony Davenport, WMS 4500
Peter Disalvo, HST 3000
Lisa Draughn, NUR 4630
Tami Folk, NUR 4630
Sierra Garwood, REL 2040
Alicia Grodecki, WMS 4500
Nina Herzog, HST 3000
Alicia Imber, CST 2320
Stephanie Jenkins, REL 2040
Carol Jones, CST 2320
William Kennedy, PSY 1010
Jared Kirk, PLS 3370
Amber Kleiner, NUR 4630
Nicholas Kunst, REL 2040
Chloe Lautzenheiser, CST 2320
Stephen Lint, CLS 2040
Melissa McCrillis, MGT 3110
Dylan McPherson, MGT 3110
Ryan Morgan, PLS 3370
Emily Pennington, HST 3000
Christine Peterman, NUR 4630
Kenneth Price, REL 2040
Brent Robinson, CST 2320
Lukas Schweikert, HST 3000
Robin Shank, NUR 4630
Rachel Smith, CST 2310
Carey Vagedes, NUR 4630
Tahtanisha Whittle, NUR 4630
Jennifer Williamson, MGT 3110
Daniel Wills, CST 2320
Rebecca Wynn, NUR 4630
Katelyn Zimmerman, HST 3000

Writing Across the Curriculum faculty honored were:
Bud Baker, MGT 3110
Michel Coconis, SW 4900
Amy Elston, ED 4090 and EDS 3320
Hope Jennings, WMS 4500
Mark Verman, REL 2040

Wright State Core faculty honored include:
Christopher Beck, HST 1100
Karen Brackenridge, MTH 2280
Elizabeth Brads, RST 2810
Sarah Bullwinkel, ENG 2100
Jason Deibel, PHY 2400
Sally DeThomas, ENG 1100
Sonya Edens, MUS 2140
Michael Edwards, SM 1010
Frank Eguaroje, AFS 2000
Dave Hochstein, PSY 1010
Amelia Hubbard, ATH 2100
Stephen Jacquemin, BIO 1050 and BIO 1070
Hope Jennings, WMS 2000
Ted Jockel, EC 2900
Linda Lester, MTH 1440
Kerry Martin, EC 2050
Laurel Monnig, ATH 2500
Toni Penwell, ENG 1100
Sean Pollock, HST 1200
John Rogers, III, AFS 2000
Rick Strader, ENG 2100
Erin Tewksbury, STT 1600
Jonathan Varhola, SOC 2000
Amy Wissman, BIO 1050