ROWAN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF WRITING ARTS
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        • Alumni Success: Entering the Working World
        • Behind the Scenes of Rowan's Hiring Process
        • Writing Comedy
      • Fall 2018 >
        • Singularity Press: Rowan's New Start Up
        • Writing Arts Club
        • How Can We Evaluate Creative Writing?
        • More Inclusive Events for Technical Writers
        • Guest Speaker Manuela Soares
        • Glassworks Reading
        • Spotlight: Taylor Henry, Recently Published Rowan Alum
      • Spring 2018 >
        • Publishing and Writing for the Public: A Reconstructed Concentration
        • What You Think You Know About Technical and Professional Writing is Wrong
        • The Toni Libro Medallion Award Winner: Myriah Stubee
        • An Interview with a Publisher
        • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner: Sara Skipp
        • The College of Communcation and Creative Arts 6th Annual Student Awards and Showcase Ceremony
        • Rowan Alum, Marissa Cohen, On Self Publishing and Advocacy
      • Fall 2017 >
        • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department
        • The Writer's Journey Blog by Earl Garcia
        • Rewriting The Department's Social Media Platforms
        • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Reinvents Mission
        • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen
        • For Futuristic Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing
      • Spring 2017 >
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        • Growing the Technical and Professional Writing Concentration
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Picture

Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner:
​Sara Skipp

Picture
Sara Skipp

                                                                    by Alexander Geffard

Every spring semester, an undergraduate senior in Writing Arts is awarded the
Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion. This senior is chosen based on his or her outstanding course performance, strong leadership skills, and excellent course career potential as a writer and/or as a professor of writing.


This year, that senior is Sara Skipp. She is a standout student in the Writing Arts major—one who is among the very best.
​

But don’t let that high honor fool you into thinking that she’s full of hubris—Sara is just the opposite.  

She’s hard-working,  kind, approachable, and very down to earth. Upon learning of her award from Professor Jennifer Courtney—the chair of the Writing Arts department—Sara’s genuine elation couldn’t be mistaken:

“I am so honored and absolutely elated to hear this news!! Thank you so much—I am so excited! I have had an amazing four years with the Writing Arts department, and I am overjoyed to hear that I have received this Medallion Award from the professors and faculty I admire so much. Words cannot express my gratitude!”

In her first three years as a Writing Arts major, Sara dedicated a lot of time to academic and creative writing. This year, she chose to become a different kind of writer, exposing herself to new rhetorical situations by pursuing a Fundamental Computing Certificate of Undergraduate Study and adding technical writing classes to her schedule.  

She chose the Writing Arts department’s Technical and Professional Writing concentration as she was interested in the technological aspects of the field—the parts about computers and software, a common assumption of the concentration’s focus. However, she quickly learned the concentration also focuses on writing in factual,creative ways for more varied purposes.

“When I started the class one of the first things we did was talk about how Technical Writing appears everywhere,” she said. “It’s everything from instructions you see on a fire extinguisher, to medical brochures,s, to programming textbooks. And it’s amazing, it’s very audience-centric and not only about the widespread definition of technology...”

Currently, Sara is also enrolled in Scientific Writing and Rhetoric. Her goal is to communicate scientific information to a variety of audiences through research papers, feature articles and more.  Sara is studying better ways of achieving sustainable farming for an ever-growing population. She is currently looking into alternatives to traditional farming such as biological seed modification, and the widespread implementation of aquaponics and hydroponics.  

Sara is also enrolled in Tutoring Writing, a subject she took an interest in after visiting the Writing Center seeking advice on her senior portfolio project. She originally thought tutoring was about focusing on copy editing—fixing grammar and punctuation in a writing. But tutoring is more about working on the thesis and the construction.

“Tutoring  prioritizes big picture ideas and helping students learn, through conversation, how to improve their work and become more confident analysts,” she says.

The class is about learning to have such conversations and how to help and encourage students to feel better about their writing.
Portfolio Seminar was also very important to Sara.

“Rather than take the cumulative, ‘here’s all the work that I’ve done and my analysis about my growth as a writer’ approach, I chose to work on a narrative piece—the beginning of a book. That was really important to me because I wanted to carry something new with me into the world from graduation, something that could maybe go other places.”

She wanted to be in the shoes of an author. Since then, she elected to continue writing the novel, and now, as she’s leaving Rowan, it’s completed. She’s currently on her third round of edits, and is motivated to find an agent and work with a big name publishing company.

On her way out, she’s also bringing all of her technical skills and rhetorical analysis skills—accumulating all the knowledge she can. It’s part of the reason why she selected Technical Writing and Scientific Writing and Rhetoric. Through the novel and creative writing, she learned about the social power of written communication; through Technical and Professional Writing, she learned how to ethically convey accessible information to a specific audience, rhetorically adapting to different situations through all forms of expression.

“I’m not taking them [the classes] for the sake of my resume,” Sara says. “They are useful to me on a personal level. It makes me feel empowered to have these adaptable rhetorical identities and communication skills.
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  • Home
  • Programs
    • Creative Writing Minor
    • WA Major
    • Minors >
      • Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • New Media Minor
      • Technical & Professional Writing Minor
      • Writing Arts Minor
    • Certificates of Undergraduate Study >
      • CUGS in Creative Writing
      • CUGS in Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • CUGS in Technical and Professional Writing
      • CUGS in Writing Studies for Educators
      • CUGS in Professional Communication
      • CUGS in Writing for the Environment
    • 4+1 (B.A.+M.A.) Program
    • Degree in 3
    • Graduate Programs
  • Advising
  • WA Major
    • Writing Arts Journey
    • Required Courses >
      • General Education >
        • Science and Mathematics
        • Social and Behavioral Sciences
        • Literature, History, Humanities, and Language
      • Introduction to Writing Arts >
        • History & Materiality of Writing
        • Issues in Writing
        • Technologies & the Future of Writing
      • Methods Choice >
        • Communication Theory
        • How Writers Read
        • Tutoring Writing
      • Creative Choice >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Writing Children's Stories
      • The Writer's Mind
      • Writing, Research & Technology
      • Literacy Studies >
        • Situating Writing
        • Writing With Technologies
      • Senior Seminar: Methods of Analysis and Evaluation of Writing
      • Portfolio Seminar
      • Free Electives
    • Elements of Language >
      • American English Grammar
      • Editing for Publication
      • Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics
      • Linguistics
      • Rhetorics of Style
      • Semantics
    • Concentrations >
      • Creative Writing >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Creative Writing II
        • Film Scenario Writing
        • Fundamentals of Playwriting
        • Magazine Article Writing
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Screenwriting I: Writing the Short
        • Screenwriting II: Writing the Feature
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Teaching the Writer's Workshop >
          • Publishing & Writing for the Public >
            • Applied Media Aesthetics: Sight, Sound and Story
            • Editing the Literary Journal
            • Environmental Writing & Rhetoric
            • Fiction to Film
            • Introduction to New Media
            • Media Law
            • Online Journalism I
            • Participatory Media
            • The Publishing Industry
            • Publication Layout & Design
            • Photojournalism
            • Professions in Writing Arts
            • Rhetorical Theory
            • Self Publishing
            • Writing for Popular Culture
            • Writing for the Workplace
            • Internship
            • Research Practicum
        • Writing Children's Stories
        • Writing Comedy
        • Writing Creative Nonfiction
        • Writing Fiction
        • Writing Genre Fiction
        • Writing Poetry
        • Writing the Young Adult Novel
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
      • Technical & Professional Writing >
        • Developing Health and Scientific Literacy
        • Introduction to Technical Writing
        • Medical Writing and Rhetoric
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Writing to Bear Witness
        • Writing for Nonprofits
        • Writing for the Workplace
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
    • WA Learning Community >
      • Publishers
  • Internships
    • Internal Internships
    • External Internships
  • Careers
  • Faculty
    • Faculty Resources >
      • Best Practices in Online Learning
      • Syllabus Requirements
      • HyFlex/Remote Learning
      • Canvas Support >
        • Writing Comedy
      • Accessibility in Online Courses
      • Racial Equity Online
      • Supporting Developmental Writers Remotely
      • Building an Online Classroom Community
    • Acknowledgements
  • Blogs
    • Writer's Insider Blog >
      • Spring 2022 >
        • Writing Diverse Characters
      • Fall 2021
      • Spring 2021
      • Fall 2020
      • Spring 2020
      • Fall 2019
      • Spring 2019 >
        • An Interview with Devon James & Rachel Barton
        • Confession Travel Writer
        • Self-Publishing: A Change in Perspective
        • CCCA Career Fair: Having Your Future in Mind
        • Alumni Success: Entering the Working World
        • Behind the Scenes of Rowan's Hiring Process
        • Writing Comedy
      • Fall 2018 >
        • Singularity Press: Rowan's New Start Up
        • Writing Arts Club
        • How Can We Evaluate Creative Writing?
        • More Inclusive Events for Technical Writers
        • Guest Speaker Manuela Soares
        • Glassworks Reading
        • Spotlight: Taylor Henry, Recently Published Rowan Alum
      • Spring 2018 >
        • Publishing and Writing for the Public: A Reconstructed Concentration
        • What You Think You Know About Technical and Professional Writing is Wrong
        • The Toni Libro Medallion Award Winner: Myriah Stubee
        • An Interview with a Publisher
        • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner: Sara Skipp
        • The College of Communcation and Creative Arts 6th Annual Student Awards and Showcase Ceremony
        • Rowan Alum, Marissa Cohen, On Self Publishing and Advocacy
      • Fall 2017 >
        • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department
        • The Writer's Journey Blog by Earl Garcia
        • Rewriting The Department's Social Media Platforms
        • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Reinvents Mission
        • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen
        • For Futuristic Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing
      • Spring 2017 >
        • Technical Communication: An Overview
        • A More Inclusive Future for Technical Writers
        • Easing the Tension: Breaking Down Technical and Professional Writing
        • Growing the Technical and Professional Writing Concentration
      • Fall 2016
      • Spring 2016
      • Winter 2015
      • Fall 2015 >
        • 2014 and Prior >
          • Archive
    • The Bulletin Board
    • RU Writing? Podcast
  • Creative Writing
    • CW Faculty Publications
    • CW Course Offerings
  • Writing Center
  • Alumni
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
  • Awards
    • 2022 Emerging Writers Scholarship
    • Denise Gess Literary Awards
    • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Award
    • AnToinette Libro Graduate Medallion Award
    • Past Awards >
      • 2008 Hollybush Writing Competition
      • Write Rowan, Right Now! Contest
  • Student Groups
    • Writing Arts Club
    • Avant Literary Magazine
    • The Whit Newspaper
    • Her Campus Rowan
    • Odyssey at Rowan
    • Singularity Press
  • Events
  • ECCCA
    • RU Deptartment of Writing Arts - Home
    • News & Announcements
    • Rowan University - Home
    • Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts at Rowan University - Home
    • Student Groups
  • About Us
    • Our Vision and Mission
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Our Call to Action