Alum Spotlight Fall 2009
ALUM SPOTLIGHT: Elaine Corum
Elaine Corum, a 2005 graduate of MALS, agreed to talk to us about her life after the MALS Program. Elaine also holds an MA in Psychology. She is currently a full-time instructor of writing at UCA.
How do you think the MALS program prepared you for your work as an instructor of transitional writing and reading?
I really wanted to go from the MALS degree to a full-time teaching position in a college or university. I knew that I needed at least 18 hours in the academic discipline in order to teach. By working with Dr. Hunter in MALS and Dr. Sally Crisp in Writing, I designed my major area to include 18 hours of rhetoric and writing basics. When I graduated, I started working right away at ASU Heber Springs as an adjunct. After a year teaching developmental writing, UCA gave me the chance to teach full time in University College.
In your thesis for the MALS program, you focused on issues of mourning, death/dying, and the healing qualities of writing. Can you briefly describe your findings? Do these issues find their way into your classroom?
I was particularly interested in working with my parents concerning the deaths of two of my brothers and my paternal grandmother. As a result of intense interviews I conducted with my parents, I wrote three non-fiction pieces. Part of my goal in the thesis, “The Valley of the Shadow,” was to integrate and understand my parents’ and my own reactions to these deaths. My research focused on the process of mourning studied in the sociological and gerontological literature combined with the healing effect of writing from the rhetorical and psychological perspectives. I found that many research studies have described the positive effects of writing about grief as a way of coming to terms with that grief. My thesis confirmed that writing helps in the healing process of those dealing with the deaths of individuals close to them. My students sometimes use death and grief as themes for their narrative papers. I’m glad to have my thesis as a reference point for working with them as they revise and shape their own experiences.
How did you get involved in the local radio program, “Tales from the South”?
I took a class with Paula Martin Morell, an exceptional writer who became my mentor. From that class, Paula and I created a company called “A Way with Words” which taught non-credit writing classes. Paula and I formed a partnership called A Way with Words which was geared to giving voice to others’ true stories. Paula’s vision gave birth to the show, “Tales from the South.” Thanks to Ron Breeding’s belief in the concept, “Tales” became a regular feature on UALR’s 89.1 FM. From there, it was history. Although I no longer host the show, my students and I are frequent contributors to Paula’s monthly show which is taped at her restaurant, Starving Artist Cafe, in North Little Rock.
Are you currently involved in other research projects or creative endeavors?
I am currently involved in two research projects here at UCA. One study is focused on helping developmental writing students improve their in-class participation through sensory deprivation. The other experiment involves panel grading across liberal arts disciplines within University College. I am also in the process of writing memoir and short story.
Since you are now a writing instructor, what advice do you have for students currently enrolled in the MALS program about their theses and final projects?
Choose your topic early so that you can use some of your optional papers in various courses to start your research. Then find professors who are interested in your subject, and sign them up early. Make sure your thesis is clearly stated, and don’t be pulled away by the many interesting ideas that come across your radar during the MALS program. Focus early and persist. The thesis can be overwhelming, but it is certainly doable if you stay focused and if you have a good committee.
Good luck! I hope you all get as much out of your degree as I did!