✍️ Position Summary
This role consists of facilitating Escribir—Spanish for “to write”—which meets in a one-hour meeting 3-4 times throughout each quarter. This writing group was developed in Autumn 2022 by Latix Writing Center tutors, for Latinx writers here at DePaul University. Escribir was created with the purpose of providing the opportunity for Latinx creatives to meet while also offering a space for Latinx writers to share their work and receive feedback from one another.
This writing group is a space to creatively write, workshop writing, and to share ideas and written work with other Latinx writers within the DePaul community. Speaking Spanish or Portuguese is not required to be a facilitator or to attend meetings.
The group is typically run by two facilitators working in partnership to balance responsibilities.
✨ Principal Duties & Responsibilities
Facilitate Escribir meetings to support writers (70%)
- Research writing prompts online to share with writers in the meetings and in the post-meeting email, adapting prompts to the needs of the group when needed
- Collaboratively set an agenda for each meeting that takes into account the writers’ needs, the number of writers who want to share, and the time available
- Help foster a constructive dialogue about writers’ work by asking questions and encouraging others to share feedback
- Provide a space to discuss publication opportunities and common challenges among writers when time allows
- Provide a space for writers to check in with each other and build rapport
- Monitor how time is spent during meetings, ensuring that everyone has adequate and equal opportunity/time to share
Collaborate with Writing Center student managers and administrators as well as other campus organizations to develop and plan creative writing-relevant events (20%)
- Communicate with Writing Center leaders about group and facilitator needs
- Collaborate with the Latinx Cultural Center (LCC) to plan meeting dates and potential future events for the group and the DePaul Latinx community
- Assist in planning and executing any additional events
Perform other administrative and recordkeeping duties (10%)
- Promote the group via flyers, class visits, etc.
- Keep track of the email list in the Escribir table of the Writing Center’s Writing Groups Airtable base
- Send weekly emails to the Escribir email list
- Enter participants for each meeting into WCOnline for recordkeeping, recording email addresses and creating accounts in WCOnline as needed
- Brainstorm ideas for writing prompts, pre-session planning, and/or any related events
🏆 Position Qualifications
- Interest in creative writing of any genre preferred
- Identify as Latino/a/e/x and/or having Hispanic/Latin American origin or descent
🧑🏫 Principal Learning Objectives
- Understand the vulnerability of sharing writing—especially creative work—with the opportunity for facilitators to share their own pieces and participate as peers with the rest of the group
- Connect with and support the Latinx population at DePaul
- Learn to balance a group that may contain writers of many different experiences, such as writers who might have more professional or publishing experience and other writers who might be at the beginning stages of their creative journey
- Learn best practices for working with creative writers and managing large-group meetings
- Understand and utilize a variety of strategies to effectively lead a community and collaborate with multiple stakeholders
- Develop and execute practical event-planning and public speaking skills
🗓️ Hours/Schedule
Facilitators ideally commit to the role for one academic year with the potential to continue beyond that. Beyond initial training, the time commitment for this role involves working approximately 3 hours per week as part of your regular weekly Writing Center schedule, Weeks 2-10 of each quarter.
- 1-2 hours at the beginning of the quarter for new facilitator training when applicable
- 1-1.5 hours per week for preparation and wrap-up in addition to the 3-4 meeting times per quarter.
- 30-60 minutes each week for coordinating emails, open mics, and logistics
- 30-60 minutes mid-quarter for a facilitator check-in with a student manager or administrator
- Time as needed later in the quarter for organizing any additional events
🧑⚖️ Direct Supervisor
Writing Center Associate Director, Erin Herrmann