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Encouraging one another is what Hamilton students do every day. There’s an unspoken yet unwavering commitment among them to lift each other up.

The quill atop the Chapel is no idle boast. From its beginnings, Hamilton has revered its commitment to writing, and our faculty across disciplines, continually seek ways to help students develop into accomplished communicators.

Bryce Fan ’20 intended to study world politics and Chinese before he discovered his passion for writing. Follow Fan’s path to a job he’ll begin after graduation with the political speechwriting firm West Wing Writers.

It’s nearing the end of the semester. Classes are hitting their peak, and Martin’s Way is bustling with busy students. In the middle of all the activity is the Nesbitt-Johnson Writing Center — a haven where students can pause to focus on improving their essays, reading responses, reports, and more.

Speaking on Friday, Oct. 26, to a standing-room-only crowd of parents, students, and faculty on careers in defense intelligence, Greenan chronicled her career path from that internship and another with U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), to working for alumnus and former U.S. Congressman Michael Castle ’61 to the Pentagon to defense contractors.

Jennifer Ambrose and Amy Gaffney have stepped into the roles of director of the Writing Center and Oral Communication Center respectively, filling the vacancies left by two longtime center leaders. Writing Center Director Sharon Williams and Oral Communication Center Director Jim Helmer retired this summer after serving, collectively, more than 60 years at the College.

Hamilton emphasizes its students’ ability to write and edit effectively, and this summer Olivia Valcarce ’15 is taking advantage of those skills through an internship at Writers House Literary Agency. Valcarce, a Writing Center tutor on campus, is receiving financial support from the Joseph F. Anderson ’44 Internship Fund, administered through Hamilton’s Career Center, to pursue a long-term career interest in editing.

The Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center noted its 25th birthday on March 6 with a festive celebration at the Center in KJ. Writing Center director Sharon Williams, Center assistant Dori Critelli, Writing Center tutors, students and faculty gathered for cupcakes and refreshments.

The year 2012 is certainly one for celebration. It marks not only the 200th anniversary of Hamilton College’s founding, but also the 25th anniversary of an institution that has become virtually synonymous with the College itself: the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center. Its presence on campus today embodies a value that College luminaries like former President Melancthon Woolsey Stryker (who once penned a three-page treatise on the value of concise writing using only one syllable words) held dear—the ability to write well and clearly.

Maeve Gately ’12, Allison Eck ’12, Courtney Flint ’11 and Olivia Wolfgang-Smith ’11 participated in a joint conference by the International Writing Centers Association and the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, Nov. 4-6 in Baltimore, Md. The students, all peer writing tutors at the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center, were accompanied by Director of the Writing Center and Lecturer in English Sharon Williams.