People

Susanne E. Hall, Campus Writing Coordinator in the Hixon Writing Center

Ph.D., English, UC Irvine, 2008

Dr. Hall began her work at Caltech in Fall 2012, having previously taught and done writing program administration at Duke University. At Caltech, in addition to her work with students and faculty in the Hixon Writing Center, she teaches English Composition for ESL Writers (En 1), Introduction to College Writing (En 2), Writing Tutorial (En 3), and Writing About Science (En 84).

Her current research interests include questions of discourse communities and transfer, particularly questions about how writing skills acquired in one context do (or don't) translate to writing tasks in different contexts. She is also interested in the issue of student engagement, including what engagement means for STEM-oriented students and how writing centers can help foster the kinds of engagement that have short and long-term positive outcomes for STEM students. She has recently presented her work at the International Writing Center Association Convention and the International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference.

Email Dr. Hall

Professional Tutors

Nareen Manoukian

M.A. English, CSU Northridge

Nareen recently completed her graduate work in English at CSU Northridge, where she focused on rhetoric and composition pedagogy and literary criticism.  She has taught writing at CSU Northridge, Pasadena City College and Los Angeles City College. Her own background as a multilingual teacher and writer has led to a deep interest in supporting multilingual student writers.  She values the experience of personal discovery that allows writers to meet a new challenge of academic writing, and she works to foster that experience using varied approaches in her one-to-one sessions with Caltech students. 

Charlyne Sarmiento

Ph.D. in progress, Education, UC Santa Barbara
M.A. English, University of Chicago, Illinois 

Charlyne is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara with an emphasis on Language, Literacy, and Composition.  While pursuing her M.A. at the University of Chicago, Illinois, Charlyne was an Assistant Director of the Writing Center. She has taught writing at UC Riverside, the University of Illinois, Chicago, and Glendale Community College. 

Her current research interests include genre theory, writing research across the disciplines and communities, and civic engagement in the teaching of writing.

Peer Tutors

Nerissa Hoglen

Caltech undergraduate, Class of 2013

Nerissa is a senior majoring in CNS and English. She is interested in the process of language acquisition and child development, and she is currently doing research about the genetics of autism and development/aging.

This is her fourth year of involvement in the writing tutoring programs at Caltech. She would love to see clarity made a top priority of scientific writing for both technical and general audiences.

Vivian Zhang

Caltech undergraduate, Class of 2013

Vivian is a senior pursuing her degree in mechanical engineering. She is also currently working part-time in a robotics laboratory at JPL designing a chassis for parts of the ATHLETE rover. 

She began her training as a writing tutor for the Hixon Writing Center as a sophomore and continued tutoring students throughout her junior and senior year.