2025-2027 PDSM | Ella M.

As the Professional Development Student Manager for Continuing Education, you work closely with Associate Director Erin Herrmann, the Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Mentoring & Onboarding and the Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Communications to collaboratively coordinate all aspects of staff professional development across key programs and initiatives at the Writing Center, including tutor onboarding and ongoing education, the Mentoring Program, and events—from all-staff gatherings to staff socials.

In your role as PDSM for Continuing Education, your primary responsibilities include overseeing Tutor Talk, Linguistic Justice + Diversity Training (LJ + DT), and any other PD content and sessions for tutors throughout the year to support tutors’ continual growth as tutors and student employees. You take the lead on organizing all aspects of these PD sessions, including developing agendas and materials, preparing facilitators, and organizing groups and scheduling. Beyond Tutor Talk and LJ + DT, additional PD sessions may involve collaborations with other Writing Center and/or DePaul programs, such as Meet Me at the Mission, or Student Employment, or even collaborations with other writing centers in the Chicagoland area through events like high school writing center visits, trips to other college writing centers, or hosting mini-conferences among Chicagoland writing tutors. Your ideas and vision for shaping continuing education are also strongly encouraged as the PD team develops content and events to support tutors’ growth throughout the year.

In addition to the role-specific work described above, you collaborate with your fellow PDSMs on planning and hosting events, support your fellow PDSMs in their responsibilities as able, serve as a Mentor, collaborate with other student managers to facilitate Tutor Talk, attend weekly team meetings, and may work as a Student Manager on Call (SMOC) during regular Writing Center open hours each quarter.

✨ Principal Duties & Responsibilities

As a Student Manager, duties and responsibilities ebb and flow throughout each quarter and over the course of an academic year. We are committed to making sure your duties and responsibilities are realistic and manageable.

Develop and implement Tutor Talk (specific to this PDSM role)

• Prepare quarterly Tutor Talk agendas and related materials
• Support student managers as Tutor Talk facilitators through initial facilitator training and session-specific preparation throughout the year
• Organize small groups for Tutor Talk and ensure location is secured for each session
• Oversee scheduling—initial placeholders in WCOnline, record-keeping elsewhere as needed, and ongoing changes—for Tutor Talk
  • Follow the Writing Center Scheduling Order of Operations each quarter and communicate scheduling updates and placeholder updates regularly in the #smac channel of Slack
• Gather relevant resources and manage follow-up with any tutors who are absent

Develop and implement Linguistic Justice + Diversity Training (specific to this PDSM role) each quarter

• Oversee launch of Introductory Linguistic Justice & Diversity Training in Autumn Quarter for new tutors
  • Review materials and coordinate with administrators on revisions as needed
  • Collaborate with Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Mentoring & Onboarding to schedule this module and track completion as part of new tutors’ onboarding
• Manage all-staff Linguistic Justice + Diversity Training in Winter and Spring quarters
  • Collaborate on article selection, seeking input and suggestions from tutors and admin
  • Organize agenda and materials
  • Schedule sessions in WCOnline and track completion

Support additional PD opportunities for tutors (specific to this PDSM role)