Patricia A Calzia
Writing Center
calzia@msudenver.edu
Personal Biography Statement
Master of Arts, English Literature -- University of Colorado-Denver
Bachelor of Arts, English, creative writing emphasis -- Metropolitan State College of Denver
Better known as Pam
Writing center hours: M 11-4; W 8-1; F 10-3
Teaching Philosophy
While not every student can write with flair and creativity, I believe students can develop their own voice, stemming from their unique insights and experiences. With encouragement and practice, I believe each student can come to appreciate the satisfaction of expressing thoughts and feelings as well as capturing life experiences in writing.
Beyond creative writing, I believe personal growth and professional development is either enhanced or restricted by the ability or inability to communicate effectively. Creativity cannot be taught but competency can. Students can learn to gather information, find a focus, and compose a coherent research paper; they can learn to structure a convincing essay. Such skills will carry over into their personal and professional lives and can be life changing.
My lifelong love of reading has influenced my own writing and influences how I teach as well. I believe that exposure to good writing encourages the desire to write. Responses to poems or other short pieces draw students into the world of written expression. Reading personal essays stirs the desire to tell one's story in one's own voice. All great writers bring their unique world to the reader, and students can be helped to see that their world, in its own way, is as fascinating and worth capturing as any other. Assignments that help them pause and reflect on their surroundings bring a greater appreciation for their own view of the world. As a result, some will develop the innate talent they already possess while others will gain a greater competency in written expression.
Conference Participation
As an ungrad at Metro, I won awards for Write's of Spring: 1st in poetry and in personal essay, and 3rd in fiction. I also presented papers at Sigma Tau Delta conferences in Savannah, GA and in Anaheim, CA, where I was awarded best in conference for personal essay.
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