Heather Ward

3723 N. Washington St.

Stillwater, OK 74075

Mrs. Tamera Davis

Northern Oklahoma College
615 North Monroe, Room 344
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078

May 5, 2020

Dear Mrs. Davis,

I just want to start off saying that I have enjoyed having you as my teacher the last three
semesters and I am sad that this is my final assignment to do for you. The collection of essays I
have chosen for my portfolio demonstrate who I am not only as a writer but as a person too. I
have chosen my top four favorite pieces that really show who I am and what I care about the
most. The first two essays were written in Mrs. Watkins Comp 1 class and the last two were
written this semester in your class. They show my progression as a writer over the last year and a
half.

The first piece is titled “The Social, but Socially Ignorant Generation”. This essay talks about the
positive and negative effects that social media has on us and how we can be so connected yet
disconnected. My second piece I have chosen is probably the most important one, because this
was the first time, I had written about a program that I one day would like to start. The piece is
titled “At Risk Youth is a Community Problem”, and it outlines the importance of having a
program like this. Since writing this paper I have gone on to write about it again in Comp Ⅱ and I
presented a PowerPoint on it as well, in Oral Communication. I hope to one day make this more
than just a dream that I write about in college because I feel like it could change so many life’s.
The third piece was one I wrote at the beginning of the semester titled “Why I Love America”. I
talk about what makes me thankful everyday that I am an American. Last but not least, a piece
titled “My Personal Code of Honor”. Not only did enjoy writing on this topic, but I got to have a
once in a lifetime experience. I had the chance to work with a group of fourth grade students in
Edmond and a group of high school students at Lincoln Academy.

Coming to school was one of the most nerve-racking decisions I have had to make in a long
time. I was afraid that I was not smart enough and I would fail all my classes. I truly believed
this because I had dropped out of high school in tenth grade and received my GED right after
dropping out. After fifteen years and four children, I finally decided it was time to follow my
dreams that I had given up on so long ago. With every essay I get stronger as a writer and with
every topic I am given a chance to put my thoughts on paper. Writing has not only helped me
improve my sentence structure, but it has also helped me grow as a person and become more
confident. I still have a lot more growing to do as a writer and I have to remind myself to use the
tutors that the school provides. My writing slowly improves with every essay I write. I find
myself needing less and less time to work on an essay because I am becoming more confident in
myself.

Like Stephen Kings toolbox, I stick to my own style of writing and I do not just copy someone
else’s writing style. I want to speak to my audience and have my personality show through my
writing. I want to use his “don’t use passive voice” and learn to “avoid adverbs”. I feel like my
strength comes in how I welcome feedback and criticism. I want to learn more, and I want to be
told what I did wrong so that I can learn to do it better. My weaknesses are then/than, citations,
using the different formats, and sentence fragments. I am being to catch myself when I switch
back and forth between first and second person, which is something I didn’t even notice before. I
am becoming a stronger writer and who knows one day I might write a book.

I will miss my time at Northern Oklahoma College, and I will miss my professors even more.
This fall I officially start at Oklahoma State University and begin the next phase in my life. The
skills that I have learned during my time at Northern Oklahoma College are going to help me in
the future. I plan to teach secondary education and hopefully start an afterschool program. The
writing skills that I have learned will prepare me for when I will be writing a lot of letters
requesting grants and letters asking for donors. Thank you, Mrs. Davis, for being such an
incredible teacher and showing your students so much kindness. You are such a joy to be around
and I’m a little sad that I won’t have another opportunity to sit in your class. Have a blessed
summer and thank for your time.

Yours Truly,

Heather Ward