Schedule your 30- or 60-minute, one-with-one consultations through RooLearning+ by downloading the app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android). A website version is also available at umkc.tedu.app/student. You'll see all writing studio tutors in this schedule so if you'd like a graduate tutor specifically, look for the GWI Graduate Assistants Molly Doroba and Sarah Christian.
You can also email Graduate Writing Specialist Marcus Meade (marcusmeade@umkc.edu) if you'd like to schedule a writing consultation with him.
RooLearning+ is a new system for us so it may be a little rocky to start, but if you're having any troubles at all, feel free to email Marcus.
All GWI consultants are trained to assist graduate students in any field using a rhetorical/genre studies approach to tutoring writing. This means they will help you better understand the rhetorical conventions of the genre in which you’re writing (theses, dissertations, conference proposals, grant proposals, etc.), as well as assist with process, organization, grammar and style, brainstorming, or anything else that’s writing related.
Mary Jean Miller is a graduate student seeking a Ph.D. with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her academic focus is on the embodiment of health and healing in lay audiences through affective reading in late-medieval English romance. She earned her B.A. in English and Writing at Drury University and completed her M.A. in English with a focus on Manuscript, Print Culture, and Editing at UMKC prior to beginning the iPh.D. program.
Mary Jean is looking forward to engaging with graduate students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to help them better understand their writing process and work on projects they're passionate about. She seeks to highlight graduate student voices in their own work and help students build strong writing habits for success at UMKC and beyond.
In her spare time, Mary Jean enjoys playing the violin, going for walks with her two dogs, and volunteering in historical roles at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. She loves to learn and is excited for the opportunity to talk to others about their own fields of interest!
Crystal is pursuing an MA in Counseling and is currently completing her internship, providing mental health services in a community health setting. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of psychology and media, and she is currently conducting research at UMKC’s Laboratory for the Exploration and Application of Positive Psychology (LEAPP), examining media messaging strategies to better assist people coping with depression.
Crystal served as a broadcast journalist in the Army, among other roles. After her service, she studied comedy writing at the Second City Training Center in Chicago, where she later performed material based on her military experience. This work fostered a love for storytelling and inspired her to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing at DePaul University. Her MFA studies focused on using storytelling and humor as tools to promote mental health. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Arkansas.
Crystal approaches her work with a multicultural orientation and values collaboration with individuals from diverse backgrounds. She understands that the writing process is unique to each person and emphasizes partnership in identifying the best approach. She is also open to discussing broader topics related to the creative process, including challenges associated with writing.
In her free time, Crystal is passionate about volunteering, particularly with Hospice. She also enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, and reading.
For more consultant options, check out the wonderful staff at the UMKC Writing Studio.
