Our writing consultants are available to assist through one-on-one consultations. You may book a consultation online using the button below
Tait Bergstrom
Director
Languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin)
Background: Applied Linguistics, English Language and Rhetoric
Tait is the Director of the Graduate Writing Center. Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, He received his A.B. in Chinese Language and Literature from Dartmouth College and did his doctoral work in language and literacy at the University of Washington. Before coming to Oregon State University, he taught English and rhetoric and served as the Director of the Writers’ Centre at the National University of Singapore. His research involves interactional sociolinguistics, multilingual literacy, and multimodal communication, and has been published in such journals as Applied Linguistics, TESOL Journal, and Composition Forum. He has also worked in China for an educational materials publisher and created comics for a children’s English language newspaper. He still makes comics with his friends when he can find the time.
Adam Haley
Senior Graduate Writing Consultant
Languages: English, some written Spanish
Background: Literary and Cultural Studies, Critical Theory, Rhetoric and Composition
Adam Haley (he/him) is the Graduate Writing Center’s senior graduate writing consultant and has been a part of the GWC since 2017. In addition to his role at Oregon State, he works as a freelance editor, thesis/dissertation coach, and technical writer; outside of academia, he has worked as a bookseller, medical transcriptionist, and wedding photographer. He earned his PhD in English from Penn State University in 2012, focusing on critical theory and contemporary American fiction and media, and has taught at the university level since 2006. In addition to a decade of writing and rhetoric classes, he has taught courses on science fiction, comics, fictional worlds, “weird” historical fiction, surveillance culture, and drones. His current research focuses on graduate student labor and identity formation as they intersect with writing, professional development, and wellbeing, towards the goal of building more robust
structures and practices of student support. In the GWC, he relishes helping graduate writers find their confidence, voice, and authority as researchers, practitioners, and educators amidst the typical crises of motivation, impostor syndrome, and disciplinary belonging. He is assisted in many of his remote writing consultations by three orange cats with little concept of privacy or personal space, and when he is not working in one capacity or another, he is typically playing or watching soccer.
Grace Endries
Graduate Writing Consultant
Languages: English
Background: Political Science, English, Philosophy
Grace is a graduate student in the MAIS program. She did her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin– Green Bay in Democracy and Justice Studies. The interdisciplinarity of her undergraduate degree influenced the decision to pursue an interdisciplinary Master’s degree as well, with areas of concentration in Philosophy, Political Science, and English. She began at Oregon State in 2022, and has been working with the Graduate Writing Center for two years. Before pursuing her Master’s, she worked in the non-profit sector, specializing in development and grant writing. Her academic research is very much influenced by her loves of literature, yoga, critical theory, and integral studies. Her thesis explores potential integrations between the Philosophy of Mind and Psychology. In the writing center, she specializes in interdisciplinary research. She also enjoys working with writers in the sciences, as her research often explores topics in Ecology, Biology and Physics. Outside of OSU, you can typically find her in a kitchen cooking for her friends and family.
Ashraful Islam
Graduate Writing Consultant
Languages: English
Background: Geography, Geospatial Sciences
Ashraful is a PhD student in Geography and Geospatial Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU) and holds a Master’s degree in the same field from OSU. He has extensive experience in academic writing and has authored several scholarly papers, including eleven published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. His research and writing cover diverse topics, such as geospatial analysis, remote sensing, environmental modeling, and urban microclimate studies. With a strong background in academic writing, Ashraful specializes in crafting clear, well-structured documents, including research papers, academic essays, and technical reports. He is really good at breaking down difficult concepts into manageable chunks and making a strong impression with them.
To learn more about Ashraful and his work, please visit: www.kmashrafulislam.com
Jeanne Yacoubou
Graduate Writing Consultant
Languages: English
Background: Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, TESOL
Jeanne Yacoubou is a student in the environmental science master's program at OSU. Her research involves studying pollinator-plant interactions comparing preferences of native bumblebees for straight species vs. cultivars. She plans on continuing this work at the doctoral level.
Jeanne is also a freelance environmental writer covering every major topic including energy, agriculture, and biodiversity. Since 2015, she has been covering the environmental impacts of diet as the research director for a nutrition nonprofit She is published widely on the web.
Earlier in her life, Jeanne earned three master's degrees: chemistry, applied ethics, and instructional systems development. For the latter, she focused on teaching English as a Second Language. Jeanne has years of experience teaching and tutoring ESL to people ages 3 to 73.
Sarah Sellke
Graduate Writing Consultant
Languages: English
Background: Biology, Ecology
Sarah is a 4th year PhD student in the Integrative Biology department, and this is her first quarter working in the graduate writing center. Her research focuses on intertidal ecology, specifically the processes that impact the ability of juvenile animals and kelps to grow into adults. She received her bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University, a small liberal arts school, where she worked as a teaching assistant in biology and chemistry as well as in a cancer research lab. Before graduate school she worked in stream restoration. In her spare time she enjoys spending time in nature, cooking and baking, and reading. She enjoys scientific writing, especially writing for grants and proposals, but is excited to work with writers from all fields.
Sheyanne Loose
Graduate Writing Consultant
Languages: English, some Spanish
Background: English as a Second Language, Creative Writing
Sheyanne Loose (she/her) is a first-year graduate student in the MAIS program at OSU. Her program brings together College Student Services Administration, Education (ESOL), and Adult and Higher Education to focus on academic support strategies for international English language learners in the college setting. She is also in the GCCUT program, or Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching.
In 2021, Sheyanne graduated from OSU with a BA in Creative Writing and a Psychology minor. Her coursework primarily focused on creative writing, writing pedagogy, and psychology.
Sheyanne has worked in Academics for Student-Athletes for almost 3 years as a mentor and writing tutor. As a writing tutor, she specializes in English as a second language, and often works with international students to support their writing endeavors. This year, she became the first official mentor for English language learners and international students, and she now provides specialized support to facilitate international student-athletes’ transition to OSU, both academically and culturally.
Outside of OSU, Sheyanne spends her time reading books, baking sweets, writing, and learning new languages. She’s practiced Spanish since high school and started learning Japanese and Chinese recently. With any luck, she’ll have enough Chinese to help with her teaching internship in Macau, China this spring.