Teresa Chen of Shanghai said she asked few questions about her stories during her weekly instructor conferences. Her instructor, John Kupetz, provided “exhaustive comments” ahead of time. Chen said she spent the remainder of her 20-minute sessions speaking to Kupetz about how she was adjusting academically and socially in the program.
“You can really feel that he cares about you,” Chen said. “It’s fun to interact with him in that informal capacity.”
Sophie Gardiner of New York said speaking up in large lectures could be “intimidating,” but the one-on-one conferences provided her a space to ask questions and receive constructive feedback on her work.
Taariq Ahmed of Chicago said “hard” feedback from instructors should not be taken “personally.”
“You have to learn to understand that your instructors want the best for you,” Ahmed said.
Wallis Rogin of Memphis, Tennessee, said instructor Ava Thompson Greenwell did “live editing” during conferences.
“Having her to help me guide and organize my thoughts and put together what the finished story is going to be really, really helped me complete it on time and produce a story I was proud of,” Rogin said.
Instructors hosted conferences across Evanston, as well as on the Northwestern campus. Brooke Ebner of Dallas said her instructor, Joe Grimm, conducted conferences at a new location each week, whether at a coffee shop or French bakery. She said he kept locations of group meetings a secret, too.
“Anytime any other group of people saw us walking, he would try and run so nobody else could see us,” she said.
Ebner said when she was having trouble locating sources, Grimm “cheered her on.”
Instructor Ceci Rodgers created an “informal” conference experience by having a candy bowl in her office, said Camilla Lowe of Seattle.
“It makes her approachable and I also think it makes you feel more comfortable around her,” Lowe said.
Oliver Konopko of New York said he believes every instructor wants to see cherubs succeed.
“They are really a kind group of people who are taking time out of their very busy lives to educate us and us alone, which is very, very generous,” Konopko said.
