Hi there! My name is Libby Biersach and I am a graduating senior at Wake Forest University. Throughout my time at Wake, I've cultivated a love for Writing and found purpose in the Interdisciplinary Writing Minor. As a Communications major and double Journalism and Writing minor, writing is at the crux of every assignment I've completed. 

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From a young age, writing was a major part of my life. My Dad is a high school English teacher so by the age of 8 I could not only read most chapter books, but I was always writing my stories. I've always been obsessed with storytelling. I love being able to communicate ideas, arguments, stories, or events through writing. I find great satisfaction in writing something I'm proud of. As a child, I spent hours in my room writing and illustrating my own imaginative stories and performing dramatic readings for my parents. 

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In 2nd grade, my teacher told my parents I had a very vivid writer's voice. At the time, I didn't know what it meant, but I was old enough to distinguish her comment as a positive one versus the negative comments I received from my Math teachers. My unique writing voice was colloquial, funny, and slightly self-deprecating. My animated writing voice contrasted with my lackluster performance in math class. In my reading and writing classes, I sat at the front of the room, hand perpetually raised, smiling wide. In my math classes, I hid in the back of the classroom and turned tomato red whenever I was called on for an answer. 

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In my angsty middle school years, I started writing (bad) poetry. Like most middle schoolers, I was fascinated with labeling myself and others. So, I labeled myself as a writer, a reader, a humanities student. I was so proud of my written work that I would read almost all of my pieces to my parents. They were usually able to bite their lips, stifle their laughs, and reply with, "That's great honey!" It was their support in my pre-teen years that allowed me to continue honing my craft. 

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In high school, I realized I had a love for writing I could translate into a passion and field of study. I became the editor of my high school's literary magazine and contributed some of my own pieces too. When it came time to apply to college, I was excited by the challenge of writing a myriad of essays for the Wake Forest application and found enjoyment in writing a humor piece for my common application essay. My dad, an avid writer, and literary scholar, all the while encouraged my love of writing and helped me with the not-so-fun aspects like grammar, syntax, and thesis writing. I wanted to make him proud of me. I wanted to show him that we shared a love for writing, but most importantly I wanted to be a good writer for him.

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When I got to Wake Forest I enrolled in Writing 111 with Dr. Laura Giovanelli. With little knowledge of the Writing Minor program, I soaked in the writing instruction in her class and relished our class sessions of brainstorming, freewriting, and workshopping. When Professor Giovanelli encouraged me to explore the Writing minor, I felt like I had someone rooting me on in the same way my Dad did. I enrolled in Writing 212 the following semester. After a successful semester in Narraritve Non-Fiction Writing (212), I was hooked on the Writing Minor. I will admit, I have a hazy memory of many classes I've taken in the last four years. My writing classes however are etched in my memory forever and are at the basis of my personal and academic development. The Writing minor gave me renewed purpose last year when I became a Writing Center tutor. Reflecting on the last four years, I cannot say enough good things about the Interdisciplinary Writing Program at Wake Forest. 

 

18 credits later, I have (almost) completed my Writing Minor and can honestly say participating in the program was a highlight of my Wake Forest education.