When I was about to graduate from Swarthmore, I blithely told the father of a friend that I either wanted to be a folk dancer or a sign language interpreter. I didn't actually have the skills to do either. But, thanks to the WA program, I did have the skills to run a Writing Center and be a writing teacher, and that's exactly what I did for the next twenty years.

The WA program trained me in composition--theory and practice. I learned how to make someone comfortable at an initial meeting, how to give critiques that can be heard, how to respect someone else's intent and help them meet their goals. Life skills. I loved being a WA because it was intellectually stimulating, it paid, and it was fun. Lots and lots of fun.