Paula Harrington, Director
In addition to directing the Farnham Writers’ Center, Paula Harrington teaches writing, tutoring writing, ELL, and American literature. Before coming to Colby in 2008, she taught writing, literature, and American studies at Marymount College of Fordham University, the University of New England, and the University of California, Davis. At Marymount Fordham, she also served as director of composition and director of the writing center. She earned her Ph.D in English at UC Davis, her M.A. in English at San Francisco State University, and her B.A., magna cum laude, in English and Writing from Columbia University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is also a former journalist, who worked as a newspaper reporter and columnist for daily papers including the San Francisco Examiner, San Mateo Times, Hayward Daily Review, and West County Times. Her research interests include cross-cultural rhetoric, the transition from secondary to post-secondary writing, and Mark Twain studies. She is currently at work on a college writing handbook, The Practice of Prose, to be published by Pearson-Longman.
.
Adan Hussain, Assistant Director
Adan Hussain is the Assistant Director of the Colby College Farnham Writers’ Center. During his time time at Colby, he tutored for 3 years and took part in various activities ranging from Campus Conversations on Race to the Middle East Lunch Series. He loves to socialize, so he will be delighted to see anyone stop by the Writers’ Center. A proud Posse Alum, hailing from Queens, NYC, he graduated in 2011 with a degree in mathematical sciences and two minors in Japanese and education. In his free time, he can be found restaurant hopping, reading a book, or chatting with someone new he met that week. He is psyched to be a part of the Writers’ Center.
.
.
.
Lindsay Alston, ’13
.
Lindsay is an English major and philosophy and Italian studies double minor from Chicago, IL. She plays field hockey and loves to laugh, travel, and spend time with family and friends. In the spring, she will study abroad in Siena, Italy, where she plans to eat all the pasta she can get. She enjoys editing papers and believes that brainstorming is best done when eating Writers’ Center chocolate.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Elizabeth Anderson, ’14
.
Lizzie is a sophomore from New Hampshire, who is majoring in Environmental Policy. At Colby, she is a member of the Nordic Ski Team and Colby Cares About Kids. She is a fan of the Writers’ Center for its friendly atmosphere and, of course, for saving her the night before an assignment was due. Besides the Writers’ Center, Lizzie loves six-dollar burger night at Mainley Brews, adventures, and baking mean chocolate chip cookies. She would love to help you with any topic at any stage of your assignment, from brainstorming to final touches, so come and visit the Writers’ Center.
.
.
.
.
Alexander Barron, ’13
Alex is a math and philosophy major from New Jersey. He enjoys running and hiking, and he loves talking about anything related to movies. His favorite foods include sushi, naan, and pizza, though he has yet to find a decent Japanese, Indian, or Italian restaurant in Maine. Although he attempts to write fiction from time to time, he mainly likes working with long, complicated arguments. He is excited to develop this skill through tutoring (as it is useful for just about everything), and he looks forward to working with you in the Writers’ Center!
.
Katherine Bellerose, ’14
Kate Bellerose is a sophomore from Newton, Massachusetts, who is majoring in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Kate is a member of the Colby Women’s Volleyball team, and she also works as a campus tour guide. Kate loves the Writers’ Center for its friendly staff and helpful brainstorming sessions. Aside from working at the Writers’ Center, Kate loves to travel, cook, sleep, and eat 8-Grain bagels from the Spa; she also really enjoys meeting new people, so stop by the Writers’ Center sometime to say hello!
.
.
.
.
Olivia Biagetti, ’14
.
Looking for help beyond your professor’s office hours? No matter where you are in the writing process or what your subject may be, Olivia will guide you to a better paper that is the product of your own effort. Olivia follows the Writers’ Center philosophy by equipping her peers with the tools and tricks needed to defang their current and future papers. Aside from tutoring, Olivia is from the exotic lands of “just outside Boston” and is majoring in English with an education minor. She enjoys running, cooking, pottery and using WebMD to self-diagnose her nonexistent illnesses. A former camp counselor, Olivia is CPR certified so even those hyperventilating over their final papers can rest assured they are in safe hands.
.
.
.
Jess Boyle, ’12
.
Jess is proud to say that she hails from the north (Bangor). She appreciates honesty and would love to work with you in a productive fashion. She also loves attending music festivals and learning new things. She dreams of leaving New England for the first time. She likes all aspects of writing but especially loves brainstorming, thesis building, and organizing. Send any piece of writing her way and she will help you make it nice and concise.
.
.
.
Melanie Brown, ’13
.
.
Melanie is a junior English and psychology double major from Denver, Colorado, which she would love to show you pictures of sometime because it’s really pretty. She has them in her wallet sometimes, much like a grandmother. Also like a grandmother, she loves babies, cashews, Scrabble, yelling at cats, Werther’s originals, and hot tea. What she loves about the writing process is the infinite ability to make things better. She loves that no piece of writing is set in stone, and that with the right help you can only improve your work.
.
.
.
.
Jackson Clark, ’12
.
Jackson is a senior English major and chemistry minor. He enjoys being outside, playing the guitar, reading, and writing. Although originally from North Carolina, he has spent much of his life in central Maine. His favorite aspects of the writing process are brainstorming and organization. He also loves meeting new people, so come visit him in the Writers’ Center sometime!
.
.
.
.
Kayla Diaz, ’14
One morning the person pictured to the left woke up with an essay due in less than 24 hours. In a fit of panic, she ran to the Writers’ Center with only a small idea and a sheet of loose leaf. In the 30 minutes with her tutor her small idea was transformed into an outline and that sheet of loose leaf became a tattered piece of essay forming gold. After that success, Kayla Diaz was inspired to help calm the minds of writers both in stressful and peaceful times. Kayla Diaz is a sophomore and proud member of Colby Posse 9. When she’s not tutoring EN112 or complaining about/doing schoolwork, she’s probably sleeping on a random couch in the Pugh Center, talking with friends, banging the Taiko drums loudly, or is hiding under her bed planning world domination.
.
Samantha Draper, ’14
Sammy is an English major from Chicago, Illinois. At Colby, she can frequently be found curled up somewhere with a good book, sleeping outside, or eating Foss dinner at five o’clock on the dot. Aside from reading and writing, she loves rainy days, mismatching socks, macaroni and cheese, bright colors and the words rambunctious and whimsical. She is also a champion procrastinator and understands better than anyone how tempting it is to write a paper right before the deadline. She loves the Writers’ Center because everyone is always so cheerful and welcoming, and nothing makes her day better than helping people edit a paper and seeing them smile because they’re proud of the outcome. She firmly believes that revision is what separates a good writer from a great writer, and she encourages you to come visit her in the Writer’s Center soon!
.
.
Lauren Fisher, ’13
.
Lauren is a sophomore government major with a minor in creative writing. She likes events that are themed, Bob’s lunch on Thursdays, birthday cards, summer camp and cream cheese on banana bread— in no particular order. When not in the writers’ center, she’s an avid cuddler. So swing by for a big, platonic hug and some tutoring!
.
.
.
.
Veronica Foster, ’12
Veronica is a senior English and WGSS double major from sunny Saco, Maine. You can usually find her in the Writers’ Center drinking copious amounts of coffee and playing with words instead of doing her actual work. Her favorite part of tutoring is reading about all the cool stuff other students are studying, so feel free to drop by with your psychology, history, math, and government papers (although she’ll be at her best talking about gender, race, class, or Shakespeare). Veronica’s favorite authors are Tom Robbins, Carl Hiassen, and Christopher Moore, but she’ll gladly read anything, including Help Wanted ads and the back of ketchup bottles. Challenge her to Scrabble, if you dare.
.
.
.
Jen Goldman, ’12
Jen Goldman is a senior hailing from the populated wasteland that is New Jersey. She is majoring in the art of procrastination (while simultaneously pursuing Psychology), and has minors in Human Development and Anthropology. She also plays softball for Colby, is a COOT leader, and is an RA in the psych department. She spent last fall studying abroad in Denmark, where she learned about happiness and honed her love for travel. This is her third year working at the Writers’ Center, and absolutely loves the process of taking a rough draft to stylistic perfection. In the spare time that she likes to pretend she has, she enjoys skiing, sunny days by the pond, singing along with bad 90s music, and meeting new people.
.
.
Kayla Gross, ’13
.
Kayla is a junior, who is majoring in biochemistry with a minor in creative writing, though, if she had more time at Colby, she would add English as a second major. She loves hanging out in Keyes, dancing with Colby Dancers, baking desserts, reading fabulous books (or the occasional scientific article), and laughing with her friends. Obviously, she also loves tutoring at the Farnham Writers’ Center. She is ready to discuss anything from comma placement to thesis revision to paragraph restructuring. Brightly colored pens are her weapons of choice, and brainstorming sessions are always fun for her to tackle. She can’t wait to work with any writer looking for a relaxed and productive tutoring session.
.
.
.
Alexander Gucinski, ’14
Being that he is a self-proclaimed “pretty big fan” of grammar, it only makes sense that Alex Gucinski found his way into the Farnham Writers’ Center. An English and government double major from Saratoga, California, Alex is, as he says, “rather enthusiastic” about tutoring. He is so enthusiastic, in fact, that he has spent hours trying to find a way to become one with the welcoming off-white walls of the FWC. When he isn’t reading, writing, or otherwise feeding his preoccupation with words, Alex enjoys receiving mail, fishing, and rock climbing. He looks forward to seeing you soon in the WC.
.
Rachel Haines, ’13
Rachel Haines is an English major with a minor in anthropology. She loves reading essays from different concentrations and is fascinated by the opinions and interests of others. While she adores Colby and the Writers’ Center, she regrets having to leave her cat, Tortellinni, back home in Topsham, Maine. She doesn’t like blueberries and is a fan of “Lost,” Chelsea Handler, chocolate, Harry Potter, and all kinds of music. Rachel is considering becoming a teacher, working in publishing (preferably as one who corrects grammar), or going to nursing school, but she can’t imagine a life without reading and will continue to read until she is so old that she can’t move her eyes back and forth.
.
.
.
Nicole Hewes, ’12
Nicole is an in-denial senior English and educational studies double major, who is spending the year researching Dr. Seuss. While she is from New Hampshire, she always wears a seatbelt – preferring to live safely than to die. She loves working at the Writers’ Center because we have the coolest t-shirts, free candy, and a great staff. When not at work, Nicole enjoys playing Scabble, re-watching every episode of “Friends” with her roommate and hoping it’s baked potato night at one of the dining halls. She just returned from a semester in England, so stop by so she can tutor in a horrible accent and try to convince you to use extra u’s to add colour to your writing.
.
Lindsay Hylek, ’12
.
Lindsay thrives off of humor and not just in life, but during the tutor process as well. If we come across a wordy sentence or a misused word, then we can laugh it off, break out our pencils, and move on. As a student of psychology and anthropology, she can assist you with APA style writing or your good old-fashioned two pager on Tanzanian hip-hop. Mountains move her to tears, she aspires to plow side walks for a living, and street artists are her deities. Keep this on the DL; if you want to bribe her in any way, shape, or form, then give her a fresh ‘n juicy mango.
.
.
John Iseman, ’13
John is a member of the class of 2013 from Cambridge, NY. At Colby, he is a member of the Colby College Club Coordination Group and Colby Outing Club. He enjoys playing and watching just about every sport and is also an avid hiker and camper. He decided to be a writing center tutor for two reasons. First, he wanted to help people develop their writing. Second, he wanted to improve his own writing. His goal for any tutee he works with is not only for the tutee to leave the session as a better writer but also with a greatly improved piece of writing.
.
Lucas Killcoyne, ’14
Lucas is a New Yorker, who is majoring in American Studies. His passions include biking, both throughout New York City as well as into Waterville, and playing frisbee, which he does on the Colby Ultimate team. He likes spicy food, meatball subs, and chili, among other dishes. He is excited to be a part of the Writers’ Center. Lucas plans on broadening his tutoring horizons while at the Writers’ Center but has always found himself most comfortable in the realms of English and history. He would be happy to help you with your paper.
.
.
.
.
Mariel Lambrukos, ’13
Mariel is an economics-mathematics major and creative writing minor. Although she is originally from New Hampshire, Mariel currently spends most of her time in Bixler, where you can often find her either playing the violin in a practice room or hogging a four-person table in the library. She loves listening to stories and collects unusual things like devil rubber duckies. When editing your writing, Mariel recommends that you try reading each sentence out loud to yourself. She believes that this is one of the most useful ways to edi, and something that she utilizes often in her own compositions. As both a tutor and peer, Mariel hopes that she will get to know you and your writing!
.
.
.
Michael Langley, ’13
.
Michael is an English major from New Jersey. Though currently doing intense English-related research in New Zealand, Michael will be back and tutoring for the spring semester. Apart from his academic pursuits, Michael is a member of Colby’s various running teams, a columnist for the Echo, the editor of a joke magazine, and an amateur rapper. Michael’s favorite writers are Ernest Hemingway, Charlotte Brontë, and Busta Rhymes. Michael approaches his tutoring sessions like an asteroid approaches Earth. Wait, that did not come out as Michael intended. What Michael is trying to say is that he is very excited about his tutoring sessions and looks forward to taking a collaborative approach towards revising tutees’ papers.
.
.
John (Jack) Lewis, ’12
Jack is a senior English and German Studies double major from upstate New York. When passive constructions are not being explained by Jack, you can find him working with Colby Emergency Response, playing guitar, or just listening to lots of different music. He looks forward to working on and explaining the finer points of grammar, coming up with the most concise thesis possible, and is even willing to work auf Deutsch. As a devout revisionist, he understands the necessity of multiple drafts and long discussions focusing on a single sentence. Jack is most interested in modern literature, various theories of literature, and emergency medicine, so be sure to use due caution before talking about any of those topics during a session. Oh, and he looks forward to working with you.
.
.
Josephine Liang, ’14
Josephine is not sure about her nationality; she was born in the United States, grew up in the buzzing Hong Kong SAR of PRC, studied two years in beautiful India, and somehow inherited the British citizenship from her Chinese father, even though she has never been to England. Josephine tries to be a patient and encouraging tutor, since English is her second language, and she understands that writing can be tough. She thinks that reviewing one’s work is very important, and it never hurts to get a second opinion from a tutor, friend or stranger. Josephine enjoys traveling (without much money), reading, taking long walks, and has passionate affairs with oriental art forms: Cantonese Opera, Kabuki, Bharatanatyam are just a few of her lovers. Although she might seem timid and weak at first glance, but she would open up to anyone and anything after 10 minutes; after all, she had seen peacocks running around free and witnessed pink and purple lightening on a clear night. She had since converted her faith to anything the world has to offer.
.
.
Madison Louis, ’13
.
Madison is an International Studies and French major and an Anthropology minor. She enjoys working in the Writers’ Center because she meets numerous students and learns about a plethora of subjects while working on writing. At Colby, she is also involved in the Colby Volunteer Center. She loves cheese, bananas, and Pad Thai (even if they are all put together). In Maine, she likes running through the beautiful trails, hiking the wooded mountains, and swimming in the refreshingly cold ocean.
.
.
Patrick Martin, ’13
Patrick, a former submarine captain and bounty hunter, hails from Japan and is currently completing his History major. He loves to see people become more confident in their writing abilities and in their development of ideas. He avoids exercise, but often wears a hat, which takes a great deal of physical effort to pull off. Patrick just returned from studying abroad in Lebanon, where he studied Arabic, learned how to make spinach curry, and slept on the beach.
.
.
.
Abott Mathews, ’13
.
.
Abbott is a government and Latin American studies major from the small southern town of Wilson, North Carolina. She loves playing soccer and reading book after book. Although she sorely misses sweet tea & fried chicken, she has succumbed to some new addictions at Colby: Foss, Glee, and coffee.
.
.
.
.
Matthieu Nadeau, ’12
Matthieu is a senior from Orono, Maine, double-majoring in English and history. He also has a concentration in creative writing and writes both fiction and poetry. He runs cross country and track here at Colby and enjoys reading, nature, and saying very little. That being said, however, he’d love to talk to you about your writing. In fact, he’s had plenty of experience breaking up overly long sentences and would be happy to help you rein in your own runaway clauses.
.
.
Emily Nadel, ’14
Emily is a sophomore anthropology and English double major who runs a lot and enjoys small geometric patterns and indigenous arts and crafts fesitvals. Though as a tutor her strengths lie in the humanities, she loves learning about any subject. Creating topic sentences and sketching outlines are among her favorite Writers’ Center activities. If she had a time machine, she would travel to the late 1920′s. If she were a tree, a willow she would be. Oatmeal crasin toffee cookies are her favorite. Emily also enjoys human foosball, photographing inanimate objects, rooibos tea, Ovaltine, squash, and the Arboretum.
Kelsey Naruse, ’13
Imported from the faraway, mystical islands otherwise known as Hawaii, Kelsey is your typical island girl. She’s chill and laid back and loves surfing, hiking, and basking under the tropical island sun. She is a Biology major and Chemistry and Anthropology double minor, but don’t let those science titles fool you! Despite her extensive background in writing analytical lab reports, she also has a creative side (hence, the Anthropology minor). However, this technical background does come with a few benefits, including her knack for grammar and mechanics and an interesting sense of humor.
.
Jean-Jacques Ndayisenga
Known to many as JJ, Jean-Jacques Ndayisenga hails from Kigali, Rwanda. He is an economics major hoping that one day poverty in the world will come to an end. With his love of languages and his willingness to help people, he is excited to work with you at the Writers’ Center. On a good day he can be a comedian, otherwise he enjoys playing all kinds of sports, singing, and absorbing some sun because Maine is too cold for him. For breakfast he reads news on his I-pod while drinking orange juice. Exploring new places and things is his habit; and this is the time to explore your writing. Come join him on this adventure, bring your paper at any level. He will help you brainstorm, work on grammar, form a great thesis and assure that your writing is coherent.
.
Nick Nowak, ’13
Naturally, Nick is a proponent of baba ganoush and all things associated. He studies English and education but saves ample time for soccer, skiing, and the kids. With 50% of his blood coming from South Africa and an unknown amount hailing from countries such as Poland and Scotland, he considers himself a northern southerner from the east side, with a western influence. In terms of tutoring, Nick welcomes any topic, but he admits that subjects outside of the humanities are not his specialty. Finally, he believes in creativity and the writer’s voice. Stephen King is a boss.
.
.
Allison Rigby, ’14
.
Allie is an environmental studies major with an art minor who loves tutoring eager tutees and seeing people surpass their writing goals. Her favorite thing about the Writer’s Center is the relaxed and friendly atmosphere in addition to the awesome and enthusiastic staff. On campus, Allie also runs for Colby’s cross country and track teams and is a member of the Outing Club. When not outside, Allie can be found iniatiating a game of nighttime flashlight tag, listening to Jonsi’s music, or baking cookie-logs. Come on by the Writer’s Center and we’ll bond over some essays!
.
.
.
Adam Spierer, ’13
.
Adam Spierer is a junior from New Hampshire. He is the Community Adviser for Coburn and a member of the swim team and water polo club. Academically, he is a Biology: Biochemistry major but find himself in the Writers’ Center week after week helping students with lab reports and various other assignments. He spent this summer traveling Israel as the counselor on a counselor-in-training leadership program with his overnight camp. In his free time he will most likely be found eating, burning off sugar, doing the unexpected, or sleeping…it all depends on where you catch him in his cycle!
.
.
Kristen Starkowski, ’14
Kristen hails from a small cow town in Connecticut. She is double majoring in English and sociology. En route to a career as an English professor, she is naturally a big fan of the revision process and all elements of composition. Kristen especially enjoys tutoring authors of analytical English essays. However, her favorite thing to do in the Writers’ Center is organize and re-organize an essay of any discipline, which is somewhat ironic, because when it comes to her dorm room, she does not see a need for organization. In passing, you might find Kristen obsessing over coffee, archaic diction, dangly earrings, Ed Westwick, or golden retrievers.
.
Arvia Sutandi, ’13
.
Arvia is your typical wordophile, often found lurking in the library & helpfully supplying people with those pesky words that linger just out of reach on the tip of the tongue. She has never met an essay she couldn’t beat into submission. She has been a Writer’s Center tutor for a year and is proud to call the place her home (you can find her camping out in it during finals week). She fully encourages you to come see her there – she will be waiting with coffee, potentially witty banter, and a hug (optional). She is currently majoring in Psychology: Neuroscience with a minor in Creative Writing. Her habitats include the the gym, Selah Tea House, the dance studio, and Cloud Nine.
.
.
Cale Wardell, ’13
.
Cale was born in London, England but currently resides in Lake Forest, IL. She studies psychology neuroscience at Colby and plays on the field hockey team. When not lost or missing her key card, Cale can be found bouncing around campus or napping. Cale’s small stature is by no means indicative of her large personality and incessantly loud voice. In terms of writing, she is the product of two lawyers, and consequently values concision and precision. Finally, Cale can’t spell to save her life and understands that everyone who walks into the Writers’ Center has both strengths and weaknesses.
.
.
.
Madeline Wadington, ’12
.
Maddie is a psychology major with a minor in education. On campus, she’s involved with Crew, CCAK (Colby Cares aboout Kids), the Colby Volunteer Center, and almost any other organization that involves community outreach. In her sparse free time, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and reading. Helping others has always been important to her, which is why she’s looking forward to tutoring! Although she’s new on the block, she enjoys working with creative writing pieces and psychological topics, but she encourages all topics to be brought in to the Writers’ Center!
.
.
.
Winsor Wesson, ’12
.
Winsor is a senior English major with a concentration in creative writing and a chemistry minor. He enjoys tutoring across a variety of subjects, and he has good experience in both the humanities and the sciences. Particularly fond of tight grammar and good mechanics, he likes paying attention to the small stuff just as much as the big stuff. Winsor grew up in a few different countries, so working with students from different backgrounds makes him feel right at home. Come on in and get revising.
