West Virginia University graduate students recently established a Professional Writing and Editing Graduate Student Association (PWEGSA).

The PWEGSA is open to students enrolled in the Masters of Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) program in the Department of English, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

The mission of our organization is to build a community of professional writing and editing masters degree students focused on enhancing education through professional development and outreach activities,said Weslie Boyd, a graduate student in the PWE program and president of the PWEGSA .We are a new organization, and I am excited to see how we will grow over the next year.

The PWEGSA will work to enhance membersgraphic design, document packaging and desktop packaging skills. The association will also provide members with a sharper perspective on the range of employment opportunities in the field.

The association will serve others in the University by bringing professional writers and editors to campus for lectures and conducting a resume-writing and revising workshop. Members of the PWEGSA will also serve as adjudicators for the Jon Scott Nelson Writing Contest for Undergraduate Students and for the PWE Internship/Capstone Poster Exhibit.

This fall, the PWEGSA hopes to organize computer workshops tailored specifically to the field of professional writing and editing.

Drs. Laura Brady, Catherine Gouge, Brian Ballentine and I are all impressed by the efforts of the PWE students in forming this group,said Scott Wible, assistant professor of English and PWEGSA advisor.We feel that this group shows the studentsclaiming ownership of their education.

We believe that PWEGSA will add significant intellectual energy to our program as it continues to grow, make the masters program even more inviting to prospective students and help these students to enter the PWE community once they arrive here at WVU ,he added.

The professional writing and editing major enables students to take courses that sharpen the writing skills necessary for working in areas of business, industry, public relations, journalism, science, medicine and government. The concentration also focuses on developing studentsgraphic and textual skills for the production of reports, manuals, grants, research proposals and other business and technical documents.

For more information, contact Wible at 304-293-3107 ext. 33436 or Scott.Wible@mail.wvu.edu .