Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Randall Monty

Second Advisor

Alyssa Cavazos

Third Advisor

Andrew Hollinger

Abstract

The student body of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) consists primarily of Latine students, a population that is reflected in the Writing Center’s tutor demographics. Tutor practices connect to the training sessions that are based on disciplinary expectations but also incorporate each tutor’s epistemology, cultural beliefs, and lived knowledge experiences. To reflect on the practices, memories, and experiences that tutors collected at the Writing Center, the concepts of testimoniando and testimonios will serve as the praxis and means of sharing the experiences and lived knowledge of tutors who identify as part of a marginalized group; this allow marginalized voices to bring awareness to issues while also calling for systemic change. This research will examine how tutors and their shared testimonios reflect practices and concepts such as relationality, positionality, confianza, and humanization. To do this, tutors shared their testimonios. The goal of this testimoniando is not to evaluate tutors and their skillsets, but to analyze how tutors used these concepts and to understand the ways tutors perceive themselves and how reflective practices can be used to help revisit their sessions and emotional reactions. As a result, this project calls for attention and systemic change to be brought to the work of Writing Center Tutors, the practices they engage with, and the impact that these sessions have on both tutors and students.

Comments

Copyright 2026 Emily Michelle Rodriguez. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3371261504

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