Testimonials
Just a few things our participants have said about the UCWP.
2009
"As I reflect on the third week of the UCWP I cannot believe how much growth I have made as a person, educator, and a writer. I am leaving a better person, wife, mom, educator, and a better Lori." - Lori Sapp
"I knew coming in that this would be a great experience, but I did not realize that it would be an experience that I would NEVER forget! I thought UCWP Summer Institute would change my teaching strategies on writing in my classroom; however, the summer has changed my entire view of teaching. It has even changed my outlook on life in general. I will never forget my time with the UCWP. It has simply made me… a better person." - Erica Woodard
"The UCWP is UNFORGETTABLE! The UCWP has been the best thing I have done professionally in the last sixteen years. What surprised me the most is the personal growth that also came as a result of the UCWP. I am still in shock." - Brenda Goins
"Looking back at the time we spent together in the UCWP, I find it difficult to completely describe the experience. It truly does defy description and has to be truly experienced. I’m not sure I could accurately describe it to myself, let alone an outsider. The four weeks we spent together has inspired me to be both a more dedicated writer and teacher." - Gary Gravely
2008
"I take away from this UCWP experience a new desire to teach. As a teacher, I know that in the coming year I will be more consistent with my traveling journal. The institute has changed me forever." - Leslie Goad
"Experiencing one morning of the UCWP institute gave me confidence in myself as a writer. I will transfer all that I have learned in the Summer Institute into my own classroom so my students will come to believe that they, too, are writers." - Martha Ramsey
"I feel empowered to explore this world via a pencil and piece of paper. I feel empowered to model this for my students. I feel empowered to open their eyes to writing for writing’s sake. I feel empowered to learn something today in order to share tomorrow. I simply feel empowered!" - Amanda Robinson
"The teacher demonstrations showed ways to let students know that they have stories to tell . . . ways that are engaging and nonthreatening. I know this has changed the way I look at writing in my classroom. What a difference it makes when a child writes for more than a grade." - Stacy Rhea
"My life has been positively changed by attending the summer institute. Not only has my husband began a traveling log of our family outings and mini-vacations, but my sons and I began working on our first ABC book. Writing has definitely moved to the forefront of my life now. I want to write. I need to write. I hope to write." - Jennifer Magnusson
