Clayton State Alumni and Faculty Share the Power of Mentorship
(April 15, 2026) - Clayton State was well represented at the 2026 Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA) Conference this year. Writers’ Studio Manager, Kandice Rainn Fowlkes, Dr. Cantice Greene, Jahedy Rojas (CSU alumna and admissions associate), Dr. Jessica Rose, and alumna Islah Raahman attended the conference, where writing center administrators, faculty, and students gather to discuss and present writing center scholarship. The conference was held in Florence, Alabama at the University of North Alabama (UNA) on February 26-28.
Ms. Fowlkes, Dr. Greene, Dr. Rose, and Ms. Rojas received a warm welcome from writing center administrators from Georgia universities, such as Kennesaw State, Agness Scott, Georgia Tech, and Berry College and regional universities, such as Florida A&M and Athens State. Fowlkes, Greene, and Rojas collaborated on the presentation, “Empowering Leadership through Intergenerational Mentoring: Tutoring Students + Faculty and Staff.” At the conference they joined with Clayton State faculty, Dr. Jessica Rose, and alumna, Islah Raahman who both presented scholarship with new or former colleagues from different institutions. Overall, their representation at the SWCA conference reflected professional development among colleagues and alumni, and it reflected CSU’s mission of social mobility.
Kandice Fowlkes led the presentation and collaboration. Serving as The Writers’ Studio manager, she gathered data from the Writers’ Studio consultants and faculty and staff who frequent the Studio. In her position, Ms. Fowlkes trains consultants to assist all members of the Clayton State community, and she inspires consultants to “professionalize” by seeking presentation and publication opportunities such as those at the SWCA conference. Jahedy Rojas received the Tom Waldrop award in honor of the SWCA co-founder. As an alumna of Clayton State and current employee, Rojas credits the Studio for training her to serve others, a skill she believes landed her the position as part of the Clayton State Department of Admissions. Dr. Jessica Rose presented her research on AI in a writing center in her interactive workshop, “AI for Admins: Empowering Writing Center Leaders with Generative Tools.”
The theme of the conference, Leading from the Center, bled into the Clayton State collaborations as Clayton State alumna, Islah Rahmaan, met and reunited with her former colleagues. Rahmaan, now a graduate student in Kennesaw State University’s Masters in Professional Writing program, is also a teaching assistant and a graduate writing assistant at Kennesaw State.
In a statement, Fowlkes reflected, “CSU’s mission of social mobility was stamped all over the weekend as the fruits of our labor—building the confidence of former students—has paid off. They have moved on to doing bigger and better things through what they’ve taken from our institution.”