Global Posts

On March 16, 2021, I sat down with Dr. Jennifer Miskec to conduct an interview over Zoom. She is my Children’s Literature professor, and she is very passionate about her subject matter, which is why I chose her as my interviewee. My main goal was to find out more about her career: what got her into it, what it’s like, and how she would advise others who wish to pursue it. 

LM: What initially got you interested in literature?

JM: I was a reader from a very young age. My mom always was a big reader, and she and I would read to each other, and as I got a little older, she would go to the library and get books, and I would start reading all of her books that she got at the library, and she would often read the books I brought home from school. That’s what got me into literature in the first place. It was just something we did at my house. I liked children’s literature, and I liked mysteries and young adult literature as a hobby, and that got me into wanting to study it.

LM: What draws you to children’s literature and YA literature specifically?

JM: It was something I enjoyed reading. My mom always liked it as well. We both always read children’s and young adult literature, even when I got older, and I always was really drawn to it. When I would find an author I liked, I would read everything that person had written. When I was in high school and having to read the classics, on my own time, I would still go and read children’s and young adult literature.When I was in graduate school, I met professors who reminded me that I could study children’s and young adult literature professionally, and once I knew that was a thing, then, you know, why not take the thing that you love doing in your free time and turn it into your profession? That seems like a no-brainer. 

LM: It seems like your mom had a lot of influence in all this.

JM: She’s cool, yeah. My dad had a pretty serious learning disability in terms of reading. It wasn’t dyslexia, but it’s something similar. So he never was a reader because reading was really, really hard for him. I mean, he can read, but he just wasn’t a person who read for fun. So my mom and I would often be reading, and he was watching sports or playing cards or something. He had different hobbies. But my mom and I are a lot alike. We can disappear into a book for hours at a time, and people can be calling our name, and we don’t hear them.

LM: What is one of your fondest memories of your time teaching here at Longwood?

JM: There are always students who are very memorable. Sometimes, those students are memorable just because they have a good attitude, and they’re fun to have in class, and I learn from them. Sometimes, they’re students who’ve taken many classes with me so I really get to know them, or we might go to a conference together, or we might study abroad together, so we might have a kind of outside-the-classroom relationship. That’s many experiences, but those are the things that I probably will always remember. It’s just those special students that were funny or interesting or interested in the classes. So it’s not really a memorable experience singularly, but it’s the thing that I think is most memorable about teaching at Longwood.

LM: I’d love to hear some of your stories about these memorable students.

JM: Well, one student I always think about is a student I had who probably graduated ten years ago. Her name was Amy McGregor, and she was such a good student. She was smart and loved being in the classroom, and she was just so easy to like, and she was a real leader. She and I started working on a special project together; her mother is deaf, and so we were looking at deaf characters in children’s literature. We ended up taking that project to an international children’s literature conference. She delivered this paper to a room of fifty people with such ease and grace. Afterwards, during the question and answer period, all these scholars were asking her serious questions. It was such a really cool moment. First of all, I’m so excited to see her succeed and be taken seriously, cause that’s my goal for my students, always. But I also felt very proud. She didn’t need me. She just needed a reason to be good. I just led her in that direction and gave her an opportunity to, but she was good regardless of who she worked with. That’s a good memory. 

LM: On your Longwood teacher profile, it said you spent time in Croatia as a 2019 Fulbright scholar. What was that like?

JM: Well, that was a dream come true! So Fulbright is an American organization that’s about making connections between American scholars to scholars around the world. When you apply for Fulbright, it’s very competitive. If you earn the position, it’s because the country you wanna work in also wants to work with you. I made it through the first round on the American side, they presented it to Croatia, Croatia wanted me too, and so I was able to go and live in Croatia for eight months, and the Fulbright organization paid for it. I taught a children’s literature class at the University of Zagreb, and I did a number of presentations all around the country. It was so much fun. I met really cool people, I went to a couple conferences, and I really got to know some of the small towns and some of the coastal towns. I just got to immerse myself in the culture in a way that really allowed me to better understand this country that I loved. My family’s Croatian, so I have always loved Croatia. To be able to go and live there for eight months…it’s magical.  It was really, really great. I would do it again.

LM: Do you think you would ever consider writing a book of your own?

JM: No, I don’t think I actually will. I feel like getting into writing as a professional is really hard. You sometimes have to be at the right place at the right time. It seems that there are so many good writers who never get any attention, and there are so many crappy writers who have connections, and so it’s just such a corrupt game. I don’t know if I ever actually wanna get into it. But Chris and I, my husband, he and I have both kinda dabbled in fiction, just for fun, but we don’t really have any dreams of taking it anywhere. We have good ideas for stories, but we’re not really serious enough to sit down and write it. So probably not.

LM: What advice would you have for someone interested in your field?

JM: The first step is making sure that you know the kind of literature you want to study. If you know you wanna study children’s literature, there are particular programs that specialize in children’s literature. My best advice would be to think long and hard about the kind of literature you wanna study. The other big bit of advice is, when you do know which way you wanna go, especially if you’re gonna study literature, go to a school that offers assistanceships. Make sure that you have a really good funding source, because going into debt to study literature isn’t very responsible. I would advise people to make fiscally responsible decisions. So that is the advice I would give.

In conclusion, what started out as a childhood love of literature eventually grew into a deep fascination with it that set Dr. Miskec on her current career path. Since then, she’s been at Longwood University, making memories with memorable students while turning the thing she loves into her profession. While she will probably never step foot in the writing world herself, she’s found happiness and satisfaction where she is, and she’s proud in the knowledge that she’s helping her students discover the joys of children’s and young adult literature.

About Dr. Jennifer Miskec:

Dr. Miskec is an English professor at Longwood University who specializes in children’s and young adult literature. Her courses include Children’s Literature, Young Adult Literature, Diversity in Literature for Young Readers, and Special Topics in Young Adult Literature. In 2019, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Croatia. She currently lives in Virginia with her family.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HZNVcoGFGdG7mEWAI1PEvqHWo_GTezbFfTljnCU9XjE/edit?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pAY3my5S1UWj-C5-GcgwJHLyklbsGO8N/view?usp=sharing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DG9nQEpI7KN5xGU1cDhyHpPCREocsWUN89lBWAsRHLY/edit?usp=sharing

I was browsing through the Longwood Parents Facebook page the other day and saw several questions that I thought a wider group of parents might be interested in. So I enlisted the help of some campus experts in housing, IT, financial aid and other offices to get the official answers, which are below.

If you have any questions that you think would be of interest to other parents, please feel free to send them to me at browncs2@longwood.edu. I’ll try my best to address them in a future Parent Pipeline post.

—Sabrina Brown

Does anyone know when financial aid packets (scholarships, etc.) will be sent for returning students?
RISING SOPHOMORES AND ABOVE
Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors should be able to access their financial aid information in mid- to late May. The information is available only by signing into my.longwood.edu. Students will receive a message at their Longwood email address letting them know when the information has been posted. No printed packets are mailed.

If your student has questions about the information in their financial aid award or any other issue related to financial aid, they should contact the Office of Financial Aid:
—livechat on the website (look for the orange “Chat With Us” button on the right side of the page at http://www.longwood.edu/financialaid/)
—email finaid@longwood.edu
—call 434-395-2077

FRESHMEN AND TRANSFER STUDENTS
Freshmen and transfer students who have been accepted for fall and filed their FAFSA by Feb. 1 should already have received their financial aid packets at their home address. They also should have been notified at their Longwood and personal email addresses that their financial aid information is available by signing in to my.longwood.edu.

If your student was accepted and filed the FAFSA by Feb. 1 and has not received the printed information or an email, they should contact the Office of Financial Aid:
—livechat on the website (look for the orange “Chat With Us” button on the right side of the page at http://www.longwood.edu/financialaid/)
—email finaid@longwood.edu
—call 434-395-2077

Packets will be sent out weekly to students who were accepted and/or filed their FAFSA after Feb. 1. Allow at least three weeks after acceptance/filing the FAFSA to receive the packet.

Other sources of information for incoming students are accepted student events, where financial aid representatives will be available in person to answer questions, and Zoom sessions with the Office of Financial Aid. More information is available here.

My senior knows nothing about the senior ring ceremony. Does anyone have any information?
An event celebrating the presentation of Longwood class rings is scheduled for Saturday, March 20, in Radcliff Hall, the new admissions building, with a photo op in the Rotunda. The day before the event, the rings purchased this year will arrive on campus, and they will spend the night in the Rotunda.

Students who purchased a ring by Feb. 1 this year or who purchased rings last year (when the ceremony was cancelled due to Covid-19 precautions) will receive an email allowing them to sign up for a 15-minute time slot between noon and 4 p.m. Each student will be able to invite two guests to the event.

Alumni and Career Services made every effort to ensure all students eligible to purchase a ring, and their parents, were notified about this year’s event and how to buy a ring. The information campaign included a series of emails they sent out from October through January to parents and students. Orders had to be placed by Feb. 1 for the rings to be available in time for this year’s ceremony.

Students who purchased rings last year can contact Alumni and Career Services at alumni@longwood.edu if they would like to drop their rings off to spend the night in the Rotunda or just bring them to the event.

If your Lancer would like to purchase a ring in time for next year’s ring event, they can get more information on the Balfour website here​ or they can make an appointment to meet with the Balfour representative who will be on campus March 23-24. All current juniors and seniors will receive an email with information about making an appointment. Second-semester sophomores also are eligible to purchase a ring.

Is there any benefit to buying a computer through the school—like tech support or a loaner program if something breaks?
At one time, Longwood did offer a “Longwood/Dell” for students. When the program started, many students participated. However, as people became more comfortable with making their own computer purchases, participation dwindled, and about six years ago the university decided to discontinue the program.

Since that time, Longwood has provided students and parents with a set of “minimum recommended specifications” for the purchase of a laptop. Those specs and other laptop information can be found at this webpage. Technical support for software, malware removal and other computer issues is available for students regardless of the type of laptop they bring with them to campus through via the student support technician (SST) program. Learn more about the SST program at http://www.longwood.edu/sst. Longwood does not perform hardware/warranty work on student machines.

Questions can be directed to Kim Redford, director of user support services, at redfordkc@longwood.edu.

Does anyone know where students can find a report card? We need to provide grades for new car insurance, and my daughter can’t find it online.
Longwood doesn’t print grade reports, but students can print an unofficial transcript once grades are posted for a semester through their my.longwood.edu account. Instructions for how to do this can be found here.

Related to this question, insurance companies often want verification of enrollment, which shows the student is attending full time and is in good standing. Instructions and the form to fill out for this purpose can be found here.

It’s important to note that parents can’t request this information. The student must submit the request.

Questions about these issues should be directed to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@longwood.edu or 434-395-2580.

My daughter received a remittance check yesterday from the university. Does anyone know what this could be for?
The Student Accounts Office sends out refunds weekly throughout the semester for financial aid refunds, including student loan refunds and Parent Plus loan refunds, as well as for refunds from dropped classes. If you have questions about a refund check, you should contact Student Accounts at 434-395-2067 or studentaccountsoffice@longwood.edu.

Did anyone look at the 1098-T form yet? Who do I call if it is not correct or to ask questions?
A 1098-T is a tax statement that all colleges and universities are required to prepare for students with tuition charges and payments in a tax year.

Students and parents (if the student has given parents access) can find their 1098-T statement in the student payment portal accessed through my.longwood.edu or the authorized user portal (parents). 1098-T forms are generated by Jan. 31 of each year.

Parents or students who have questions should can contact Student Accounts at 434-395-2067 or studentaccountsoffice@longwood.edu.

Please note that parents must be listed as an authorized user in the payment portal or on the student’s FERPA form to receive information about their student’s account.

How is the lighting at Lancer Park at night? Is the stairwell area well-lit?
Lancer Park is a well-lit apartment complex with lighting in front of each garden-style apartment and townhouse. There is lighting inside each apartment stairwell.

What is the difference between Lancer Park and Lancer Park North/South? How close do you get to park to your apartment?
Lancer Park consists of garden-style 2- or 4-bedroom apartments and 4-bedroom town houses. Each student has their own bedroom within the apartment unit. Students are provided with semi-private bathrooms and a shared kitchen/living room space.

Lancer Park North/South consists of two buildings in the Lancer Park complex that are adjacent to Brown Commons. The two buildings have shared hallways that provide access to each apartment. Lancer Park North/South provides 2-bedroom, 4-bedroom and studio apartments.

Similar to Lancer Park, the apartments provide each student with their own bedroom. The apartments also provide semi-private bathrooms and a shared living room/kitchen space.

Parking is available in front of individual apartments and town houses in Lancer Park. In Lancer Park North/South, parking is available in close proximity to the two buildings.

My son is registered for fall semester. Is there a place on the website for roommate matching?
In early June, new students will receive instructions via email about how to complete the online housing application/survey. On the survey, students can either request a specific student to room with or can complete a roommate-matching survey to be paired with another student.

The housing application will also allow the student to indicate if they have a preference for a single room with no roommate and to indicate a building preference. Students will receive their housing assignments in early July.

Many students meet other students and find roommates on the Class of 2025 Facebook page run through the Office of Admissions.

How can my student access the housing app or ask questions about housing?
The housing application will be available to new students in early June. Once available, each student will receive an email with instructions. Any student with housing questions can email housing@longwood.edu or call the Residential and Commuter Life office at 434-395-2080.

When can student athletes move in on campus in the fall?
In compliance with NCAA guidelines, Longwood Athletics will communicate with each eligible pre-season team about their arrival dates. August early arrival dates are not available at this time.

 

 

Check out the changes and NEW course offerings in the Professional Writing Program (starting with the 2020-2021 catalog year)!

Here are the upcoming Professional Writing course offerings:

SUMMER I – 2021

ENGL 210 Introduction to Digital Writing – Online/2 sections – Guler OR Lettner-Rust: “What happens when we hit ‘enter’? And how can we ensure our efforts are being received with our intentions? Employing persuasion theories, we will create texts addressing multiple audiences, bringing together visual and alphabetic texts that involve readers in the construction of those texts. *For students in the catalog year of 2020-21, this fulfills an elective for the PW Concentration and Minor.”

ENGL 319 Technical Writing – Online/Lettner-Rust: “You will create documents that clearly and concisely convey complex, technical or scientific information to targeted audiences, demonstrating effective visual and verbal elements. Last semester, we watched the film Dark Waters and developed documents communicating an understanding of the properties of the manmade chemical C-8 in water and soil for the local residents in the film. Fulfills a requirement for the English major. Also required for PW concentrators.”

ENGL 470-B01 Professional Writing Skills – Online/Guler: “Writing for workplace settings from a rhetorical perspective. Students will study the foundations of professional communication, document design, persuasive writing, and promotional strategies. The course will culminate in a portfolio of documents commonly found in the professional world (e.g., applications, brochures, professional profiles, etc).”

FALL 2021

ENGL 210: Introduction to Digital Writing (Guler/2 sections/TR 12:30-1:45 OR TR 2:00-3:15): See the course description above.

ENGL 219 Introduction to Rhetorical Studies (Lettner-Rust/TR 9:30-10:45): We will examine the works of our modern world–monuments, architecture, speeches, and more–through the lens of classical and modern rhetorical concepts, design multimodal communication for specific academic audiences. Along the way, we’ll sharpen our concision, cohesion, and layout skills in written communication. Pre-req: ENGL 165

ENGL 303 Visual Rhetoric & Document Design (Green/TR 11-12:15):
Students will learn the art of communication through visual elements. We will explore how messages are communicated and arguments are made in both two- and three-dimensional contexts, including, but not limited to, fashion, photography, architecture, marketing, film, and restaurant menus.

ENGL 470 Professional Writing Skills (Guler/2 sections/MW 4:00 pm-5:15 OR MW 5:30 pm-6:45: See the course description above.

Important Note for Longwood Students who have declared PW as a concentration or minor before the 2020-2021 catalog year: the new courses won’t appear in your DegreeWorks , as you will still see the older versions of some courses. So, please plan your courses according to the following:

*ENGL 302 History of Rhetoric has now changed to ENGL 219 Introduction to Rhetorical Studies: The next offering of ENGL 219 is in Fall 2021 (this course is offered only on a rotation every other fall semester). If you still need to take ENGL 302 for your concentration/minor, please plan to take ENGL 219 in Fall 2021; ENGL 219 will automatically substitute for the ENGL 302 requirement.

*ENGL 301 – Rhetorical Criticism will be offered next in Spring 2022. Currently, the theme for the course is “Rhetorical Criticism of Popular Culture.”

*ENGL 305 (Special Topics in Rhetoric/PW) will be offered next in Fall 2022. If you still need ENGL 305 to complete your concentration/minor requirements and you need to graduate before Fall 2021, contact Dr. Guler at gulere@longwood.edu so we can find a course to substitute for ENGL 305.

Please contact Dr. Guler with any other questions/concerns as well.

Congratulations to Amber Thomas for recently receiving the Maria Bristow Starke Scholarship Award, nominated and awarded annually by Longwood’s English and Modern Languages Department to one student for excellent performance in English studies!

Ms. Amber Thomas is a junior Longwood student who is majoring in English with a concentration in Professional Writing and a minor in Communication Studies. Ms. Thomas is also working as a consultant for Longwood’s Writing Center, where she is gaining valuable insight into undergraduate students’ common needs to be confident and successful writers.

In order to bring you new and fun recreational reads, the Greenwood Library participates in a book leasing program through McNaughton. These titles are shelved on the small bookcases in the middle of the Atrium and are designated with green labels. You can browse the entire collection here and if you’re interested in what’s new, look out below!

One of the things I love about working at Longwood is the thoughtfulness and deep emotion our president, W. Taylor Reveley IV, feels about Longwood and the students we’re here to nurture and help grow into their best selves.

This week President Reveley sent a message to your Lancer and their fellow students about the need for continued vigilance but also optimism for the remainder of the spring semester and next year. Like all of us, he is looking forward to the time when the campus returns to normal and the Longwood community will be able to express and experience their trademark connectedness fully in person.

Here is the text of his message:

Dear Students,

Halfway through the spring semester, I just wanted you to hear from me with a note of encouragement and—yes—optimism.

We are not yet through this challenge. Recent large outbreaks at other college campuses remind us how quickly Covid-19 can spread if we let our guard down. Important restrictions related to gatherings, masks and social distancing remain in place across Virginia. I suspect they will for some time, until we are more surely in the clear.

But with the first feel of spring in the air, I am more hopeful than I have been in some time. Thanks in great measure to the continued citizen leadership and responsibility of the vast majority of our students, our plan to navigate the epidemic on campus is working. Now, the weather will allow us to be outside more. Case numbers have been moving in the right direction in the Commonwealth. Every day tens of thousands more Virginians are getting vaccinated.

While I cannot be sure, I hope this spring we will see more and more aspects of life returning closer to normal.

It is one sign of progress (and pride) that all of our athletics teams are now competing. In the meantime, I have worked to convey across Longwood that a top priority these coming weeks will be to keep us connected to one another, and to honor our campus traditions, so meaningful to us all, as best we safely can. We’ve let the Class of 2021 know we will do as much as we possibly can under state guidelines for Commencement in May. As for next fall, I believe we really can look forward to a far more normal campus experience, closely resembling the deeply connected Longwood we know and love.

It has meant a lot that we have been able to be here on campus this year, and experience in-person learning more than most other colleges in Virginia or across the country. But I know it hasn’t been easy. I have heard from many of you that the precautions in place, which make it harder to connect with one another, have taken a real toll—and that you have been genuinely grieving experiences you have missed.

This next stretch will likely bring a range of emotions—that true sense of sadness and loss, but also I hope pride in how we have persisted, and real optimism for a future now within reach.

Please these next few weeks, in the finest Longwood tradition, keep looking out for one another. Ask for help if you are struggling, and offer it if you see someone in need.

And finally, I hope you will embrace the generational opportunity that follows from your generational challenge.

As students, you are caretakers of this place—our spirit, our traditions and one another. Amongst your friends and classmates and neighbors, on teams and in clubs and organizations, you can help keep vibrant Longwood’s traditions, culture and camaraderie. Each of you can help pass down what is most special about this place to those who will follow. I think you will find great purpose and reward in this work.

Be safe, take care of yourselves and one another, and savor Longwood and its campus, always so beautiful in the springtime.

President Reveley