Each year, we honor writing consultants for excellence in their work with students. Below are the award winners for 2025-26.
Meghan Pinkston
Judith Anderson Herbert Excellence in Writing Endowment Award for Excellence as a New Undergraduate Writing Consultant
Comments from the Awards Committee
Meg’s affirming, hospitable practice centers student agency, builds rapport, and strengthens writers’ self-efficacy through evidence-based consultation. The committee recognized her thoughtful, transferable strategies—including a memorable Fibonacci Sequence “ah-ha moment” that helped a student connect her ideas to her audience and to leave feeling more confident as a writer.
Sam Graff
Judith Anderson Herbert Excellence in Writing Endowment Award for Excellence as an Experienced Undergraduate Writing Consultant
Comments from the Awards Committee
Sam stands out for her enthusiasm and genuine curiosity, which build writing self-efficacy by helping students recognize their own agency. The committee celebrated Sam’s commitment to bringing joy into the writing process—supporting students through anxiety and idea overload and guiding them toward encouragement, excitement, and confidence.
Bronwyn Luitwieler
John C. Hodges Award for Excellence as a New Graduate Student Writing Consultant
Comments from the Awards Committee
Bronwyn’s practice is grounded in adaptability, collaboration, and a “philosophy of care” that meets writers where they are while fostering student agency and creating an encouraging, productive atmosphere. The committee especially admired her purposeful strategies—early goal-setting, open-ended questioning, calm adaptation during technical difficulties, and step-by-step support that helps students find patterns independently—alongside a reflective, growth-minded practice that values students’ “Ah-ha” moments.
Greta Gessert Dockery
John C. Hodges Award for Excellence as an Experienced Graduate Student Writing Consultant
Comments from the Awards Committee
Greta’s sustained commitment to “encouraging, examining, and equipping” writers is exemplified through her “interested interviewer” consulting persona that draws out writers’ motivations, concerns, and prior knowledge and builds on that foundation in her sessions. Across both her consulting philosophy and practice, Greta’s approach consistently helps students develop transferable strategies and strengthens writers’ self-efficacy by helping them recognize their capacity to evaluate and revise their own work.
Kaeleigh Damico
Judith Anderson Herbert Excellence in Writing Endowment Award for Excellence as a Senior Writing Consultant
Comments from the Awards Committee
Kaeleigh is recognized for the high quality and consistency of her consultation approach that scaffolds sessions to lead students to discovery while preserving their agency. Because of her open-ended questioning, allocation of time for students to write, and metacognitive prompts that produce multiple “Ah-ha” moments, students leave their sessions feeling encouraged, with a clear plan for next steps.
Meet with Us
Undergraduate and graduate students in any major, field, subject, or course can meet with our wonderful writing consultants. Make an appointment at WCOnline. Contact us at writingcenter@utk.edu with any questions.