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Finding the ‘write’ way at UMass Lowell

Ben St. Pierre
Connector Staff

To write is to communicate. The skill of being able to communicate effectively can go a long way in students’ lives upon graduating, whether they enter graduate school or the full-time workforce.

Writing is an essential part of any career. Even if a job’s daily tasks are not focused around typing reports or essays, communication is key in any field.

Dr. Anthony Szczesiul, the chair of the English department, describes writing as the majority of his meaningful work.

“Everything is kind of an argument trying to persuade, trying to advocate, and so writing is pretty much what I do,” he said, stressing the value of being quick with emails, persuasive in discussions with colleagues and higher-ups and being able to sit back and write longer, scholarly works.

Szczesiul also said the relationship between North and South Campus has changed in the past few years, with writing serving as a connection between the two.

“There’s been a lot more communication and collaboration, I think, between the campuses,” he said. “We’re working with the College of Engineering they were very interested. The first-year writing coordinator, the Writing Center director and I went over and had a couple meetings with the dean of engineering and about 20 other faculty to help them think about writing in their curriculum.”

Szczesiul also cited how students can take Introduction to Professional Writing as a gen-ed class. “No matter how smart you are, unless you can communicate that through the written and spoken word, you’re not going to have any say on anything.”

Nursing student Kaitlyn Valle agrees that clear writing is valuable in the workplace, as written and spoken directions are important to both nurses and the patients they assist with those directions. “It’s important as nurses to be able to write effectively and use professional language especially when communicating with others in the hospital. It’s important for us to be able to be flexible with our writing and make it clear and concise,” she said.

Valle also stressed the importance of documentation in nursing.

“Something we always [say] through nursing school is ‘if you didn’t document it, then it never happened.’”

Likewise, chemical engineering major Andrew Guarente says that writing skills are greatly important even to engineering a math-dominated profession for clear communication and to ensure projects are done safely and correctly.

“It’s very important to express your findings and opinions precisely to ensure safety for others. Efficient writing and communication between engineers is always emphasized from our professors,” he said.

“In most cases, for engineers, people’s lives are at stake,” he said, while stressing the need for accuracy and clarity in reports and research papers.

Writing is an essential part of any work environment, but it also has its more recreational side.

Reid Kapala, an English major concentrating in creative writing, said he values the exploratory and personal aspects of writing more than the analytical side.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating that the school requires so many classes that involve the analysis side of writing because it takes away from the creativity. When I write, I don’t want to think about how others perceive it because it’s not necessarily for them, if that makes sense. Writing a 20-page thesis is completely different from a 20-page story, and my major requires that I’m able to do both of those. It’s definitely difficult to go the creative writing route because there aren’t many job opportunities there, but honestly it’s just more fun to me.”

“I get to explore the creative side of language,” Kapala said.

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