Graduate School BIPOC Alliance for Excellence Writing Retreat Helps Students Stay Creative, Improve Publishing Opportunities

A group of graduate students came together on a recent Saturday morning at the University’s South Side Communications Center to write for nearly six hours. They were there not only to sharpen their writing skills but to engage with tools to help advance their goals around publishing.

The event, co-hosted by the Graduate School Black, Indigenous and other persons of color Alliance for Excellence (GSBA) and the Office of Academic Affairs, was designed to support students who are in various stages of advancing manuscripts for publication. Led by Marcelle Haddix, associate provost for strategic initiatives, the retreat included a series of pop-up discussions, free writing time and peer feedback. Pop-up topic discussions included Settling Into Writing/Free Write, Transforming a Class Assignment to a Publishable Manuscript, Anticipating and Responding to Feedback, and How to Find Space and Place.

“The writing retreat occurred in a pretty intimate, homey setting. It was wonderful. The idea was to have collective space for graduate students to come together to work, develop writing in progress, share space and work toward shared goals, and we did just that,” says Chelsea Bouldin, a doctoral fellow and the event organizer.

Bouldin is a Ph.D. student in the cultural foundations of education program in the School of Education and is pursuing a certificate of advanced study in women’s and gender studies. Her areas of focus are Black feminist theory, Black women’s processes of self-making and decolonial methodologies.

Carving a Writing Space

“We wanted to be able to write and hold each other accountable, because there is a need for this. I know many graduate students who are looking for writing support and guidance,” Bouldin says. “So just carving a space that was not only geared toward writing, but specifically had tips and was supported with a focus on publishing, was so important.”

GSBA plans to host more writing-geared academic events and initiatives, she says. “We all benefited from a dedicated and facilitated space that allowed us to write toward our specific goals. It’s evident that the need for writing space at all levels is something that graduate students appreciate,” says Bouldin.

Next Event: Dec. 13

The next Write In event, which will be in the form of a writing café, will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Inn Complete building on South Campus. It will be a time for graduate students to share a cooperative workspace, work on papers or study. There will be a complimentary hot breakfast in the morning, as well as coffee, tea, and snacks throughout the day.

Open to all graduate students, the GSBA’s mission is to support the academic success of master’s and Ph.D. students who self-identify as Black, indigenous or other persons of color together. The group holds recurring events and social activities to build a network of new and current graduate students, foster peer and faculty mentorship and professional development workshops and forums, and support long-term academic and career success. For more information, please visit the GSBA website.

Story by Cameron Kline