With the first week of tutoring behind us, the Graduate Writing Center would like to extend a welcome to all students by telling you a little about who we are…
Kimby Murakami (Mon/Wed 4-6)
Kimby Murakami is an MATESOL candidate at the Monterey Institute. She has taught Business English to adults and integrated language skills to university students in Istanbul, Turkey. This past summer, she was an assistant teacher in the EPGS academic reading and writing classes. This will be her first semester at the Graduate Writing Center.
Leslie Hayner (Tuesday 4-6)
Leslie has a BA in French and is currently in the third semester of her MATFL and TESOL Specialization at MIIS. She has taught high school French and worked in literacy education. Before enrolling at MIIS last year, Leslie worked at Monterey Peninsula College in the Reading Center as a tutor for students who needed to improve their reading and writing skills. She has also worked in finance and healthcare in the past.
John Jordan (Tues/Thurs 6-8)
I am a third-semester TESOL student here at MIIS. Before coming here, I have been lucky enough to live and teach at different places around the world. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar, teaching at a rural middle and high school in the dirty south of the country. After coming home and substitute teaching in the States, I was lucky enough to be one of the first teachers at the Asian University for Women, teaching grammar and presentation class. Two years ago, I taught English in Tunisia with a U.S. government organization and got to live through Tunisia’s revolution. This summer, I taught reading/writing and oral communications with the ESL program here at MIIS. I always enjoyed reading (I think Steven King’s It is the best novel ever written), and my journalism major got me interested in writing. I am always looking for a good basketball game, and I have coached and refereed on three continents.
Sean Malvey (6-8 Mondays; 4-6 Thursdays)
Sean is a Human Security and Development student with a regional focus on Latin America. He has conducted research on transitional justice issues on-site in Chile as well as academic research for the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Most of his academic coursework has been devoted to migration economics, illicit markets, and small arms and light weapons. Prior to graduate school, Sean worked as a paralegal for a prominent immigration law firm in Vermont. He is a passionate supporter of the Boston Celtics and he loves teaching his international friends ridiculous English idiomatic expressions. Personal favorites include, “If you get lost, just follow your nose” and “Six of one, half dozen or the other.”
Jennifer Hickey (Friday 1-3)
Jennifer Hickey began working as a writing tutor during her undergraduate studies at the American University of Paris. She tutored students from all over the world on various topics from literature to international politics. Jennifer completed her MA degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at MIIS and worked at the Graduate Writing Center. Currently she is teaching in the Intensive English Program at MIIS.
