Meet Our Staff

Jason McCormick, M.F.A.

Interim Director, University Writing Center

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Jason McCormick serves as the interim director of the Writing Center and a visiting professor of English. They are also a doctoral candidate at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He has taught for a decade, and before that, he worked in marketing and advertising as a creative lead.

Specialties: Jason’s scholarship focuses on increasing access in Developmental Writing spaces through interventions inspired by Critical Disability Studies.

Specialties in the Writing Center: Jason has worked as a tutor at several institutions and has been involved in development work for Writing Across the Curriculum, disability access training for faculty, and Developmental Education projects.

In addition to their work and studies, Jason enjoys cooking, reading comic books, and traveling.

Eugene Gordon, M.A.

Assistant Director, University Writing Center

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I am full-time professional staff and am the Assistant Director of the University Writing Center. My professional writing background includes journalism and technical writing. I have been with the Writing Center 12 years. When not working, I enjoy cooking, spending time with my family, and gaming.

AZ 

PhD candidate in Creative Writing (Fiction) 

Specialties: Modernism; Contemporary Fiction; World Literature; First-year Writing; Second Language (L2) Writing; Narrative Prose; Poetry 

Specialties in the Writing Center: Professional writing (Resumes, cover letters, etc.) ; academic writing (close reading, research, analytical essays, etc.); creative writing (stories, poems, etc.). 

Languages: English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi 

Caitlyn Burns 

Undergraduate English Major 

Specialties: Though I have the most experience with writing scholarly work, I also enjoy reading, writing, and editing creative works, particularly poetry.  

Specialties in the Writing Center: I love helping writers develop their work from any stage of the writing process. From brainstorming and outlining to organizing ideas, I am always excited to assist  students on their writing journey. I have more experience with MLA style, but I am comfortable with both MLA and APA. 

Fahmida Haque Chowdhury 

Graduate Student, pursuing PhD with a specialization in Shakespearean Studies 

Specialties in The Writing Center: I am skilled in helping people with graduate application materials. Additionally, my experience as a TA at my previous university (NDSU) has equipped me with strong expertise in teaching composition. 

Shelby Clark  

Undergraduate Junior English Major with a Minor in Strategic Communications 

Specialties: I am currently in the midst of preparing to write my Honors College Thesis, which will focus on the role of food in dystopian novels. I also enjoy writing short stories in my spare time. My specific interests include Contemporary Fiction and Gender Studies. 

Specialties in the Writing Center: My favorite thing to do is help with organization and outlining, but I am comfortable helping with any part of the writing process. I enjoy working on research projects of any kind. I love learning about new disciplines! I have the most experience working with MLA but am also comfortable with APA format. I also love fiction writing and am familiar with giving constructive critiques to creative works.   

Lauren Coghlan 

Lead Tutor 
Undergraduate senior majoring in history and minoring in philosophy.  

Specialties: My areas of interest in history are the Middle Ages, specifically religion and culture. For the past three semesters, I have been working on an honors thesis within the field of medieval history, and my specific area of focus is apocalypticism within Anglo-Saxon England leading up to the eleventh century.  

Specialties in the Writing Center: I enjoy working on format and citations; I’m particularly well-equipped to work with Chicago or Turabian styles. I also really enjoy brainstorming sessions and working with organization and structure! While I tend to gravitate more toward scholarly writing rather than creative works, I am more than willing to help with anything a student may need! This is my fourth year working as a writing center tutor, and I thoroughly enjoy engaging with students in various academic and creative projects! 

Marissa Davis 

I am an undergraduate student majoring in elementary education with a focus in English.  

Specialties: In my spare time, I enjoy reading and writing flash fiction and poetry. I am also interested in literary and film analyses, as well as research on early and middle childhood education.  

Specialties in the Writing Center: I would love to work with you on brainstorming, creating an outline, or any other activity to get the writing process started. I’m pretty good at finding online resources, and I am familiar with both MLA and APA. I also find workshopping personal essays and creative works to be very fun!  

Brooke Harries 

 PhD candidate in English and Creative Writing  

Specialties: My work has appeared in Bear Review, Denver Quarterly, Laurel Review, Puerto del Sol, Salamander, Sixth Finch, and elsewhere. My areas of interest are creative writing (poetry, fiction, nonfiction), modern and contemporary poetry, Victorian literature, Virginia Woolf, and digital humanities.  

Specialties in the Writing Center: I particularly enjoy breaking challenging assignments into smaller pieces, brainstorming, pointing out online resources, and supporting students through revision.  

Tejus Kotikalapudi 

Undergraduate student majoring in Math and Computer Science with minors in Biology and Chemistry 

Specialties: I am interested in Bioinformatics/Data-Science and generally bridging the gap between mathematical theory and practical sciences. I have experience presenting at technical conferences and writing statistical analyses. Currently, I am working on a manuscript detailing micro-RNA stratification via gradient-boosted trees.  

Specialties in the Writing Center: I am experienced at helping students throughout the entire process of writing a technical paper—from big-picture stuff like building a narrative around research findings to little-picture stuff like figure synthesis and citation style. My tutoring methods are more conversational, and I like to spitball ideas rather than prescribe changes. While technical writing is my forte, I absolutely can help with any type of composition that a student might bring me. 

Bella McGill 

Graduate student specializing in Creative Writing (Fiction) 

Specialties: My main area of expertise lies in creative writing. My debut novel, Princess and the Pauper, will be published on May 6, 2025 by Wild Ink Publishing. In addition to writing, I am also very interested in young adult fiction, folklore, and retellings. 

Specialties in the Writing Center: My strengths include supporting students through their projects and teaching them the basic tools of how to do things so they can do it for themselves. In addition, I am knowledgeable in both MLA and Chicago style format. I also have experience with job and college application materials. 

Katie McKenzie 

Creative Writing, Poetry PhD Candidate 

Specialties: My poetry has been published in Gulf Coast, Denver Quarterly, The McNeese Review, and BOOTH. My areas of literary interest are contemporary poetry, Victorian Literature, and Irish Literature. 

Specialties in the Writing Center: I am particularly good with brainstorming, supporting students through outlining, and with creative projects. I’m also familiar with MLA formatting.  

Britt Page 

Graduate Student specializing in Children’s Literature 

Specialties: I focus on 19th Century and contemporary children’s and young adult literature. Specifically, I focus on Fat, Gender, and Disability studies. 

Specialties in the Writing Center: While I am skilled in many areas, I am particularly good at both MLA and APA citation forms. I also have expertise in organizing and brainstorming for literature papers. Additionally, I understand the requirements for lab reports. 

Nishrenika Pokhrel

Undergraduate majoring in Chemistry 

Specialties: I am currently in a supramolecular lab and synthesizing a molecular probe for Sarin. Our lab combines inorganic, organic, and analytical chemistry to detect chemical warfare agents, trace elements, and drugs. 

Specialties in Writing Center: I am particularly good with lab reports and formal writing. I can also help writers format their scientific findings in a way that is understood by the general audience. I also have some experience with journalism.  

Caden Robin 

Sophomore, Digital Journalism 

Specialties: Outside of my work with college essays and projects, I have years of experience working with graphic design and website organization for aid in projects that are not typical papers. I also have a strong interest in creative writing, particularly narrative fiction and poetry. 

Writing Center Specialities: I am adept at problem-solving and organizing literary works, whether creative or more analytical. I am very familiar with MLA and have experience in APA formatting as well. 

Charlie Thompson 

Lead Tutor 

Undergraduate English Major 

Specialties: My main focuses are composition and creative writing; however, I am both qualified and willing to work with any written assignments. I have been working in writing centers for 3 years and am currently a senior here at Southern Miss.  

Specialties in the Writing Center: I thoroughly enjoy working with students on creative pieces and am quite good at helping students with brainstorming and revision. I am also good at helping students with formatting essays in MLA or APA style.  

Elijah Williams 

Sophomore Undergraduate pursuing a BFA in Theatrical Performance 

Specialties: My particular focus in writing is creative writing with a focus on writing for the stage and screen. I have many completed screenplays and am always working on new material. I am also skilled in media analysis and research projects 

Writing Center Specialities: I excel at being able to find the creative spark in clients and help them turn their ideas into fully realized works. I am familiar with MLA format and citations. I am also particularly skilled at helping clients structure essays and research projects.