Reedley College’s Reading and Writing Center (RWC) is relatively young (22 years of service), but many of its tutors left lasting legacies. One such tutor is Stephanie Duarte. Duarte teaches English C1000 here on Reedley College’s campus and shares some wisdom for current and aspiring tutors of all subjects.       Reflecting on that time, she recalls some struggles. Some students would book her for “a couple of hours,” which felt draining some days. Not because she didn’t love the work, but...

Cows are everywhere these days. They’re eating in fields, drinking from and soaking in water troughs, chewing atop a hill, jaywalking on the dirt road, over here, over there. I’ve seen models sporting perfect cow physiques on billboards and appreciated their skill in acting in milk and cheese commercials. People draw them in cartoons, squeeze them into cartons, sprinkle them as fertilizer under heirloom tomato plants, slap their roasted loins onto white plates. Cows are even taking over...

The holidays were a one-Christmas-tree ordeal when I was a kid. My brothers would trudge through the dry snow in their bunny boots and snow shoes, I would trail behind, and together we would pick a tree, but the trees we chose were not plushy farm-grown varieties like the Douglas Fir, White Spruce, or Scotch Pine. No, the trees we picked grew in the woods around our house and had levels, like those tiered cookie trays at Christmas parties, and their branches didn’t arrange themselves along...

Filling my lungs in preparation to exhale Tanner Wareham’s “Bitterman,” I tried to steady the restlessness inside me. We were going to be late. I despise being late. To arrive even on time feels perilously close to failure. The traffic ahead was Gothic in its own right—a slow, mechanical dirge, like a funeral. I pressed the clutch, lifted my right foot off the brake, pressed the accelerator, and lifted my foot off the clutch. The car would be momentarily lifeless if my timing...

I see everything from this window. I spend most days here. I watch the creatures below roam the streets and enter this building, but I...

The Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society (G.U.O.O.F.S.—You gotta love that acronym!) was founded in the 1730s in England...

How much should you really drink on a hot California summer’s day ? I drink a lot of water. Even in the winter, I drink about a gallon of...

As the moon peeked over the field, Vanta stood in the dark and manure-filled barn longing for fresh air and freedom. She’d dreamed of...

“Herman! You stinking mass of smeared dinosaur dung, I need to buy a spatula.”  Herman did, in fact, feel like a steaming mass of...

The following piece of fiction contains a collection of fears voluntarily admitted by tutors within the RWC. Enjoy. (* cue creepy...

I am sitting in the front seat of a cruiser off the highway. I am watching through the windshield for the girl to turn and see me, but...

What is time? Is reality real? Do people actually exist, or are they simply elaborate holograms? Can time be measured, and if so, does it...

Although boba, lychee jelly, and popping pearls aren’t for all taste palates, the plethora of flavor combinations Popping Avenue Boba Tea...

RWC Paula Rawlings shares a personal, heartfelt story about the meaning of organ donation in February, and all year long.

Tutor Paula R. shares a letter with her younger self -- to give her confidence and tips.