Talking With the TEP's

Before being offered this opportunity, I had never heard about the Teaching Experience Program. Though, as a part of my internship duties, I had the pleasure of connecting and collaborating with the students and professors of TEP. Coming into this, I didn't quite understand what this program held and the vast opportunities it provides for Rowan Writing Arts students. The Teaching Experience Program allows students who are completing their Masters in Arts of Writing to also work at Rowan as higher education teachers. It is described that this program “allows students to teach college composition as paid adjunct instructors while completing a Master of Arts in Writing.”

I was given the task to interview the students of the TEP program to create unique introductions for Rowan’s Writing Arts website and newsletter. To start, I connected with Professor Royek who was a joy to work with. He gave me a brief rundown of the program and allowed me the creative freedom to ask questions and conduct research of the TEP students.

To do this, I first created a Google form to gather the following information; the hometown of the TEP students, their educational journey thus far, why they chose Rowan, and what they are seeking to get out of this program. Their responses were eye opening. For many, this program was quite literally a dream come true. Most of these students knew they were destined to be teachers and had Rowan on their radar to help them manifest this into reality. 

My favorite part quickly became reading their answer submissions and writing their introductions. I felt so personally connected to each thought-out response that I wholly intended to capture the true essence of these students as precisely as I could. My goal was to accurately showcase their tone, authenticity, and story within each bio. 

From all the responses, I noticed one common theme: gratitude. Each student expressed their gratitude toward this program, Rowan University, the writing arts community, and staff for offering a space for them to follow and reach their goals. It was truly an honor to read, write, and represent the TEP students in this way. If you are interested in learning more about this program check out the newsletter and Q&A here.