Traveling, researching, and networking aren’t always the first activities that come to mind when a student decides to become an English major—but that’s exactly what five WKU English students did at the Naylor Workshop for Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies. In September, five undergraduate researchers and two faculty members represented WKU’s English department at the Naylor Workshop, hosted by York College in Pennsylvania. To attend, English majors Taryn Deckard, Sarah Gamble, Shatazha Mattingly, Priscilla Riggs, and Aimee Scott all proposed research projects focused on writing and literacy studies and were selected for the workshop. Dr. Jane Fife and Dr. Jessi Thomsen attended as faculty mentors.

The Naylor Workshop celebrated its tenth anniversary of welcoming undergraduate researchers and faculty mentors from across the country to the intensive weekend-long event. The endowed workshop provides funding for lodging and meals and helps cover travel expenses for attendees, making it an accessible option for undergraduate professionalization and research development.

“I was a bit nervous beforehand,” says Sarah Gamble, professional writing and Chinese major (’27). Sarah workshopped a research project that considers the genre and rhetorical choices of student-instructor emails in classroom contexts. “I had never done anything like the workshop before, and beforehand I had no idea about undergraduate research especially in the humanities. I feel like you only ever see biology or chemistry or psychology so it was like a door being opened that I never knew was even there.”

The workshop invites interdisciplinary perspectives on writing, pedagogy, and literacy. “It’s an extremely supportive environment,” says Aimee Scott, who is pursuing degrees in literature, psychology, and corporate and organizational communication, along with a professional writing certificate (’25). “If you’ve never been to a workshop or a conference […] it’s a really great first experience because you get to interact with all of these really supportive professionals who want to see you grow and succeed.” During the workshop, Aimee further developed her research questions and potential methods for studying specifications grading for the Intro to English Studies class assignments, a project that directly relates to her teaching internship and to her goals to pursue graduate studies.

Priscilla Riggs, who is majoring in professional writing, TESOL, and business strategic marketing (’26), noted that not all professional writing majors at WKU have a specific focus in research like she does. She describes the value of meeting other researchers at the workshop: “You can talk with them and feel supported and feel like you’re bonding with people.” These conversations and connections are facilitated through a series of “what/why” sessions on research questions and “how” sessions to develop research methods. Undergraduate researchers engage in small group and one-on-one time with faculty mentors. As Dr. Fife, who attended as a mentor, says: “It was just a lovely vibe the whole weekend.”

Shatazha Mattingly, who is pursuing a literature major, creative writing minor, and professional writing certificate (’25), echoes that feeling of support: “My experience at Naylor was out of this world. The Naylor workshop opened my eyes to new possibilities concerning career opportunities, and it also gave me the opportunity to network with amazing people.” Shatazha’s project considered the value of reading genres that are not traditionally included as literary texts in academic contexts.

Taryn Deckard, creative writing major and professional writing certificate ‘25, was in the unique position of returning to Naylor after first attending in 2023. She explains, “This experience really helped me see the growth I’ve had as a person, and I guess as a researcher from last year to this year.” She is now considering applying for graduate school. “People who I’ve talked to who are in their first or second year in a master’s program—I feel like I could do that but I did not feel like that last year, so that’s a new thing.” Taryn was awarded a FUSE grant and is now building on her project from Naylor, with support from Dr. Jessi Thomsen, to further research queer inclusivity in language practices. 

Dr. Thomsen has regularly served as a mentor at the Naylor Workshop since 2019 and hopes to continue guiding WKU students to participate. She is planning to facilitate an informational meeting and proposal workshop during the spring 2025 semester to encourage students to apply to the Naylor Workshop and attend in September 2025. For any undergraduate who has an interest in research in writing and literacy, Sarah Gamble recommends applying: “It’s fun, and it’s unique. And there’s not really anything I’ve experienced like the Naylor Workshop so far, and I think a lot of undergraduates in our discipline are going to feel that same way. So I would just say, you know, try something new.”