A DePaul alum promotes positivity at the Writing Center

There are many unassuming beige hallways in DePaul University’s Schmidt Academic Center, but only one of them leads to Katie Brown’s colorful world.  

Katie Brown works in her Writing Center office on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus. Photo by Elizabeth Gregerson

Her world just happens to be DePaul’s Writing Center, where she has worked in various capacities since her time as a university student. The Writing Center has offices on both the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses and is where DePaul students can work with a tutor on any writing assignment or project. Though Brown is now the Writing Center’s associate director for operations management, she started as a Writing Fellow during her undergraduate years.  

Brown has since earned three degrees from DePaul, one bachelor’s and two master’s, all while continuing her work at the Writing Center. She is currently working towards her fourth DePaul degree: a PhD at the College of Education for Higher Education Leadership. 

“I started getting a little bit itchy to go back to school again,” Brown said. “Because here, everybody is talking about writing and being in school all the time. I start feeling like I’m missing out.” 

Katie Brown’s diplomas from DePaul University are displayed on a chalkboard in her office. She has a BA in Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse, an MA in Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse, and an MS in Human Resources Management. Photo by Elizabeth Gregerson.

The “here” Brown refers to is of course the Writing Center, where she oversees the staff of peer writing tutors like Aryanna Rent and Nena Trifunovic.  

Sitting together on one of the Writing Center couches, Rent and Trifunovic both light up at the mention of working with Brown.  

“She is just so personable, very warm and bubbly,” Trifunovic said. “Anytime a writer comes in and is a little frazzled, sometimes people take it out on either the receptionist or the tutor. Katie is really able to defuse the situation and make sure everyone feels like they’re heard. She really does help this thing run.” 

“She is a huge problem solver,” Rent said, agreeing with Trifunovic. Rent only recently started working at the Writing Center last quarter, but says she has already been positively impacted by Brown’s leadership.  

“Katie was kind of instrumental in instilling in me confidence that I could do this job and that I was an important part of the Writing Center,” Rent said. “She believed in the newcomers and really made sure that we understood the importance of our work.” 

Students socialize and work with tutors at the Writing Center. Photos by Elizabeth Gregerson.

Brown’s ability to inspire student tutors stems from her own journey as a writer and reader. She readily admits she did not enjoy reading as a child; her mother had to bribe her to read with Pixie Sticks. She also freely concedes to being a procrastinator. 

“I’m the worst procrastinator that I know,” Brown said. “And I know some pretty bad ones. But part of why I like working here is that I almost feel it works as an advantage. Some of the best teachers are the ones who struggled as students.” 

Beyond leading by example, Brown fosters an environment of safety and camaraderie alongside the Writing Center’s fellow administrators. Working a shift at the receptionist desk, tutor and second-year graduate student Nic Job describes one example of the safe working environment Brown and her team have created. 

“If we have any problems, with work or out of work, we can approach them with those problems and not be afraid of it impacting our positions at all,” Job said. “That is a huge stress relief compared to a lot of other jobs I’ve had.” 

Brown credits the positive atmosphere to her staff and wants any student who is anxious to visit the Writing Center to understand that everyone working there is nice. 

“That actually is something we prioritize when we’re hiring,” Brown said. “Friendliness, approachability and the desire to really, really want to help somebody wherever they’re at.” 

In another world, perhaps one without Pixie Sticks, Brown may not have accepted the Writing Fellow position that began her journey at DePaul’s Writing Center almost 15 years ago.  

“When I was a teenager and a kid, I always thought I was going to be a nurse because my mom was a nurse,” Brown said. “But I have a very weak stomach. Going into education has very similar skills except without the body fluids, you know?” 

Luckily for Brown, there is nothing nausea-inducing about the Writing Center. Brown says the positive work environment is one of the reasons she has stayed with DePaul for so long. The intentionally welcoming atmosphere is a reflection of Brown and her staff’s eagerness to sit down with a student and help them succeed. 

“You get to really connect with somebody,” Brown said. “I think that’s kind of what’s kept me around.”

Header by Mei Harter