Hannah and Terrie Scheckelhoff
Springfield, Ohio — Hannah Scheckelhoff, class of 2011 from Columbus, Ohio, has shown excellence on the field for three years as a standout for the Wittenberg University field hockey team. Following the publication of her first nationally published article in Library Media Connection (LMC) in October 2009, co-written with her mother, Terrie Scheckelhoff, her fine writing skills are also on display.
Both mother and daughter are involved in different ways with guiding students: Hannah as a peer editor in Wittenberg's Writing Center, and Terrie as an administrator at Columbus School for Girls and a national presenter and author on youth-related topics.
"The summer before my freshman year of college, my mom received her Ph.D. in higher education," said Hannah, who is studying in London, England, this semester. "Between the two of us, we decided we had an interesting perspective on a variety of academic topics and wanted to publish something together."
They chose a subject that drew on their common experiences — the finer points of writing for students before entering college. The finished article, titled "Learn from the Experience of a College Writing Center Peer Editor: The Basics for Pre-College Students," takes a prospective college student through writing basics in a friendly, yet informative manner. Though she had only been working at the Writing Center for a semester at that point, she felt she had many helpful hints to share with aspiring college students.
"We had many ideas, but this particular one seemed to come to life very easily," Hannah said. "Because of my work at the Writing Center, I had been talking a lot with my mom about some of the major issues even college students still have with writing."
It helps that she so enjoys working at the Writing Center, where, she says, she has learned just as much as any of the students who come in for sessions. Majors of all kinds find themselves in the Writing Center, and that is a key point she makes in her LMC article: that writing papers is unavoidable no matter what you study.
As a political science major and English minor, Hannah is no stranger to lengthy papers. But she clearly loves writing: she has been published in Wittenberg's Political Science Journal Levitas, and she wrote a piece for her high school alumnae newsletter on college athletics. Though she has no plans to be a professional writer, she expects to do quite a bit of writing in law school, for which she is busily preparing.
Hannah has excelled in the classroom while balancing the demands of collegiate athletics. A midfielder, she has started 47 of 51 games over the last three years, contributing five goals and seven assists to the offensive attack. More importantly, the Tigers are 35-21 during her career, including last year's records of 12-6 overall and 10-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Wittenberg won the 2009 NCAC regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2004 and the eighth time in program history.
Hannah enjoyed working with her mother, and the two definitely plan future collaborations. In fact, it seems there may be no limit to what Hannah and Terrie Scheckelhoff might do together.
"Maybe we'll write a book someday," Hannah said.
Written by: Hillary Monnin '12 and Gabrielle Antonaidis
Photo by: Erin Pence
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