Email: ryanmadan@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x6561
When new acquaintances find out I teach writing, it’s not unusual for them to lament a broad decline in the nation’s writing skills. How does it make me feel, they ask, that students, say, don’t know the difference between adjectives and adverbs? Or, can I believe it that people hardly even know what apostrophes do, let alone where to put them? As someone who treasures good, careful prose, I’m sympathetic to these worries. But as an educator, I think it’s important to steer the conversation in a different direction. What makes us think that students’ knowledge of the parts of speech would ...
view profileGraduate Tutors
Sahil Nawab
Education: MEng Biomedical Engineering (WPI), BS Biochemistry and Professional Writing (WPI)
Academic writing experience: business writing, medical writing, visual rhetoric, application materials
Fun fact: I've worked on kid's books about marine biology (Jonathan Bird's Blue World)
Name: Sammi Dorfan (she/her/hers)
Program: DVM at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Other Academic Interests: Professional Writing, Public Health & Policy
Extracurriculars: Tennis, cooking & baking, pilates, crochet
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Fun Facts: I was born in South Africa and lived there until I was 10.
Danielle Cook (she/her/hers)
Program: MS in Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Major: Biomedical Engineering and Professional Writing
Other Academic Interests: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
HUA Depth: Writing and Rhetoric
IQP: White Mountains, NH, A'23
Extracurriculars: BMES, SWE, ACS on Campus
Hometown: Coventry, RI
Fun Facts: I have a fraternal twin sister and a serious coffee addiction.
Name: Eliot Szary (he/him)
Program: MS in Interactive Media & Game Design
Other Academic Interests: Creative Writing, Game Development
Extracurriculars: WPI IGDA
Hometown: Loudonville, NY
Fun Facts: Have you seen the movie "The Place Beyond The Pines" with Ryan Gosling? That movie was filmed on the same street where my mom's childhood home was in Schenectady, NY.
Elizabeth Papa (she/her/hers)
Program: MFA in Interactive Media and Game Development
UG Major: Interactive Media and Game Development (BA)
UG Minor: Computer Science
Other Academic Interests: My degree concentration is in writing.
GPS: N/A
HUA Depth: Writing & English
IQP: On campus, A'23-C'24
Extracurriculars: Creative Writing and Women in Computer Science
Hometown: Johnston RI
Fun facts: I earned my black belt when I was 13 years old after 8 years of experience in Karate.
Undergraduate Tutors
Jaden Gitlow (he/him/his)
Year: Senior
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Minor: Astrophysics
Other Academic Interests: Patent Law
HUA Depth: Writing
IQP: Bucharest, Romania, D’24
Extracurriculars: SDC
Hometown: Providence, RI
Fun Facts: I have my seaplane and glider ratings!
Alexandra (Alex) Weiss (she/her/hers)
Year: Senior
Major (intended): Electrical and Computer Engineering
Other Academic Interests: Renewable energy and energy sustainability
HUA Depth: Spanish
IQP: Puerto Rico, B'24
Extracurriculars: Outing Club, Green Team, WECE, IEEE
Hometown: Santa Cruz, CA
Fun Facts: I love rock climbing, hiking, and cooking.
Ethan Rosensweig (he/him)
Year: Junior
Major: Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Minor: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Other Academic Interests: Ecology
HUA Depth: Writing and Rhetoric
IQP: Upcoming: Rabat, Morocco, D'26
Extracurriculars: SOMA
Hometown: Newton, MA
Fun Facts: I have had an organ removed twice because it grew back
Nate Randa (he/him)
Year: Senior
Major: Civil Engineering and Professional Writing
Minor: N/A
Other Academic Interests: Urban planning, linguistics
HUA Depth: Writing & Rhetoric
IQP: London C'25
Extracurriculars: WPI Campus Radio
Hometown: Sherborn, MA
Fun Facts: I'm a DJ and have a twin brother who also goes to WPI.
Ava Waddell (she/her/hers)
Year: Junior
Major: Mechanical Engineering and Professional Writing
Minor: N/A
Other Academic Interests: Aerospace Engineering
GPS: N/A
HUA Depth: Writing & Rhetoric
IQP: Pending
Extracurriculars: Alpha Phi, SWE, CHA, ISC
Hometown: Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Fun Facts: I was on the national water polo team for my home country
Grace Ghaly (she/her/hers)
Year: Junior
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Minor: N/A
Other Academic Interests: Bioinstrumentation
GPS: N/A
HUA Depth: Writing & Rhetoric
IQP: In progress
Extracurriculars: BMES, SWE, Coptic Club
Hometown: Marlborough, MA
Fun Facts: I have collected over 70 keychains from all the different places I've visited!
Ally Paik (she/her/hers)
Year: Junior
Major: Computer Science and Professional Writing
Minor: N/A
Other Academic Interests: Software engineering
GPS: N/A
HUQ Depth: Writing & Rhetoric
IQP: Santa Fe, B'25
Extracurriculars: Engineering Ambassadors, Christian Bible Fellowship
Hometown: Sharon, MA
Fun Facts: I was born in Canada and grew up in Washington state
David Bradbury-Roy (he/him/his)
Year: Junior
Major: Computer Science and Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Minor: N/A
Other Academic Interests: Pretty much anything.
HUA Depth: Creative Writing
IQP: Upcoming - Acadia, E'26
Extracurriculars: Creative Writing Club
Hometown: Newton, MA
Fun Facts: I've spent three days at the top of Mt. Washington twice.
Charlotte Dugaw (Any/All)
Year: Junior
Major: Interactive Media and Game Design, Computer Science
Minor: N/A
Other Academic Interests: Accessibility in games
Extracurriculars: IGDA
Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
Fun Facts: You can find my personal game dev projects at https://dugawdev.itch.io/
You can also find me in the Creative Writing Club's zines!
Melica Zekavat (She/her/hers)
Year: Senior
Major: Data Science
Minor: Bioinformatics
Other Academic Interests: Political Science
GPS: N/A
HUA Depth: Art
IQP: Thessaloniki, Greece, D’25
Extracurriculars: Ketones A Capella
Hometown: Natick, MA
Fun Facts: I have 4 cats, I built a skateboard this summer, and I took piano lessons for 8 years.