Maybe it was the beauty of the Hudson Valley.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it was the mess hall that served 4,500 people in 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
It could have been three simple, yet powerful words: Duty. Honor. Country.<\/p>\n
This trip felt different. The two students accompanying Wabash Writing Center Director Dr. Zachery Koppelman, Erich Lange \u201919 and Kolby Myer \u201918, were going to be leading discussions with U.S. Military Academy cadets.<\/p>\n
Welcome to West Point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great honor,\u201d Myer says. \u201cI haven\u2019t been on an immersion trip or studied abroad, so having this experience was the icing on the cake in my senior year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koppelmann was invited by the West Point Center for Enhanced Performance to visit in early March and share best practices with the staff and cadets. With invite in hand, he selected two of his writing consultants to help with the presentation.<\/p>\n
While on post, Lange and Myer sat in on three classes \u2013 American Political Thought, Math for the Social Sciences, and American Politics \u2013 and discovered there were plenty of academic similarities to their Wabash experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rigor, the vested interest their professors take to help them, to see those similarities was reassuring,\u201d Lange says. \u201cAt the core, the academic sides are very similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
While in the West Point writing center, the student duo guided discussions that mirrored peer-to-peer sessions at Wabash. Aside from being a bit nervous himself, Lange appreciated the professional courtesy afforded him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you are introduced as a writing center consultant who is here to collaborate and teach,\u201d he begins,\u201d the amount of respect they give is very genuine. Even though I wanted to say, \u2018Look, I\u2019m your age, I\u2019m not an expert,\u2019 I appreciated being viewed as an authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lange did have reason to be nervous, as Koppelmann slated him to lead a session on technical writing, and area Lange has little experience. Koppelmann knew Lange could pull it off. So with a 10-minute refresher and the handouts to go with it, Lange led a discussion in a room filled with a West Point senior about to graduate, a few mechanical engineers, and a combat engineer, and he nailed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cEric never flinched in the role of the leader,\u201d Koppelamnn says. \u201cHe adjusted perfectly, he knew how to lead without being overbearing, and he answered their questions. It was impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myer noticed that the cadets in his session were struggling with some of the same things he sees in the Lilly Library\u2026the why.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy to state what\u2019s going on,\u201d says Myer, an\u00a0economics major from Delphi, Indiana. \u201cGetting to the why of that statement is very critical. That kind of why \u2013 why is that important \u2013 they were struggling with it, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal here is to make better writers, not write better papers. Focusing on those conversations allows them to open up and think about ways that they can become better along their process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koppelmann believed his student\u00a0consultants do well. Looking back, he says their professionalism and dedication paid off handsomely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we have a student here who excels, they have learned how to push and to prioritize their time,\u201d says Koppelmann. \u201cThey understand how their education actually works, and on top of that, they’ve begun to realize that I know this and this is something I can share. And we saw that at West Point.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Lange, it was a weekend he won\u2019t soon forget.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will always remember West Point. This is why you come to Wabash\u2014to get those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Who else gets to go on a military post like West point and actually interact like we did? You can\u2019t pass that up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Richard Paige<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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