Bridget Fullerton is a writing educator, writing program administrator, and writing center director who seeks to center and uplift all student voices in the academy. Helping others tell their most honest and courageous stories is what she loves to do. Bridget, who goes by “Dr. B” with her students and tutors, has over 30 years of experience working in public and private secondary and post-secondary classrooms across the country and has been at Bates since the fall of 2017.

Bridget holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education, a Master of Arts in English and Technical Communication, and a Doctorate in English, with a specialization in Rhetoric and Composition, or Writing Studies, and a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her dissertation, entitled “Undergraduate Student Perspectives on Electronic Portfolio Assessment in College Composition Course,” used a qualitative approach to listen for the messy truths and emergent learning insights students offered about their e-portfolio experiences and called for writing instructors and program and university administrators to attend closely to the evolutions and performances of students’ writerly selves throughout any assessment experience.

She and three of her graduate student colleagues were recipients of the Council of Writing Program Administrators’ (CWPA) Award for Graduate Writing in WPA Studies for a co-written article that later appeared in The WPA Journal as “Preparing Graduate Students for the Field: A Graduate Student Praxis Heuristic for WPA Professionalization and Institutional Politics” and she recently co-wrote a book chapter with three of her WPA colleagues, “This Will Never Be 20/20: What Reflection Teaches Us About Assessment,” which will appear in the edited collection Writing Assessment at Small Liberal Arts Colleges (forthcoming, Parlor Press 2024). She is also working with her father, Michael Heaney, a Vietnam Veteran and historian, on completing his combat memoir.

Prior to joining Bates, Bridget taught English in public middle and high schools in New Jersey, North Carolina, and East Palo Alto, California, and she tutored and taught writing at community colleges in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and San Jose, California and at the University of Rhode Island. She also spent some time working in New York City at a children’s book publisher and then as a curriculum and teaching specialist for a non-profit educational technology firm that designed computer simulations for 6th-12th grade students in which they could apply literacy and quantitative skills in an adaptive workplace environment.

Bridget’s work in Writing Program and Writing Center Administration is centered on anti-oppression and linguistic justice, on thoughtful and meaningful assessment, and on research, collaboration and leadership development. At Bates, Dr. B teaches a First Year Seminar (FYS) entitled Writing Ourselves, Writing With Others; EXDS 201: Writing Process, Tutoring Practice (offered every Winter semester); and EDUC s19: Teaching and Tutoring Writing (With) Power (offered every Short Term).

If you can’t find Dr. B in her office or in a classroom, you’ll probably find her working with students or talking with tutors in the new Peer Learning Commons (PLC) on the Ground Floor of Ladd Library. Otherwise, she’s enjoying a break in the local community: hiking with her dog, making music with her husband and friends, or playing soccer or a good board game with her son.

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Esmeralda Alfaro is a December 2024 graduate from Bates College. During her time as a student, Esmeralda, who goes by “Esme” held various on-campus positions that center around supporting the Bates community as a LAMP Fellow and Writing Fellow, now known as Writing Tutors. As a CMS major, Esme took a variety of classes that focused on exploring ancient Rome. Her senior thesis focused on exploring the sociopolitical relations between the audience and the elite that were facilitated through the venationes, beast hunts.  

While new to the post grad world, Esme has held a variety of student leadership and support positions such as: Resource Representative for the Academic Resource Commons which is now  the Peer Learning Commons, Spanish Native Language Tutor, General Writing Tutor, and a WCAT to FYS Classical Myths; she also worked as a Student Manager for the Student Writing and Language Center for two years. As a first generation Latina student, Esme has always highly valued helping students from all backgrounds and providing holistic support in order to uplift and empower her peers and students through writing.

Outside of her academic support work, Esme has experience in the museum field, working as a Summer Intern at the Frances Perkins Center in Damariscotta, Maine and a Collection Management Intern at the Bates Museum of Art. Exploring and sharing narratives through social and physical interaction drew Esme to her lines of work as she prioritizes creating human connection and facilitating a deeper understanding of the world and people around her.  

You can usually find Esme in her office in Coram or with tutors in the Peer Learning Commons (PLC) on the Ground Floor of Ladd Library. You might also see her taking a stroll around the Puddle!