An Evening of Gratitude with the SOU English Program and Beyond
By Nylah Winchester, senior English major
April 20, 2026
Pictured above: Dr. Edwin Battistella and Dr. Margaret Perrow
On Friday, February 20, 2026, the English Program hosted a celebratory event; the gathering commenced in Central Hall, where they dedicated the English Writing Studio in honor of Emeritus Professor Dr. Edwin Battistella and celebrated Dr. Margaret Perrow’s recent retirement—and her accomplishments, of course! It was a pleasure to be in a space filled with community members, English alumni, current students, and SOU faculty. As I sat in my chair, holding my nanny kid while looking at new and familiar faces, I thought to myself, “Wow—I feel so lucky to be in this room.”
Planning this event required substantial time and effort. Dr. Alma Rosa Alvarez, the event planner, explains, “We actually began talking about an event over a year ago, when Mrs. Andrée Wickman and her family first gave us a donation in the name of Dr. Battistella to fund our Writing Studio.” Andrée Wickman, senior psychology major, notes that supporting the Writing Studio was her way of “returning kindness in a meaningful way.” During a time when Andrée was struggling, Dr. Battistella noticed, pulled her aside, and offered guidance that went far beyond academics. Andrée wanted to honor “not just what Ed did for [her], but what he represents as a professor who truly sees his students.”
For Andrée, the Decker-Battistella Writing Studio represents connection, support, and growth: “This space was created, in part, by a student for fellow students, reflecting a shared sense of purpose and what can be accomplished when support is extended and carried forward. I wanted to contribute to something that strengthens the connection between students and faculty, because that relationship is where so much real growth happens.” She maintains that creative spaces, like the Writing Studio, are important because “they transform what can often feel like an isolating and intimidating process into something shared.” The Writing Studio is a place where students can complete assignments and develop their voice, confidence, and critical thinking skills. “By creating a physical space for creativity, Southern Oregon University signals to students that their voices and ideas carry real value. Students have an area to move through creative blocks, collaborate, and support one another.”
Pictured Above: Event-goers gathered in Central Hall
When Andrée stood in the Writing Studio at the celebration event, it felt “bigger” than her: “It was honestly one of the most meaningful moments I have experienced in my academic journey. Being able to return, stand in that space, and see it come to life surrounded by faculty, leadership, and students was incredibly powerful.” She felt a “deep sense of gratitude and pride,” knowing that it all “stemmed from a simple act of kindness and the collaboration of a single student, along with a team of facilities team, the SOU Board of Directors, and faculty like Dr. Perrow, Dr. Alvarez.”
Although Alma and her colleagues faced a “number of obstacles” that led them to push the event “out and out,” she maintains that it was “well worth it.” “Having students, colleagues, and community members express gratitude for [their] event makes [her] think that [they] accomplished [their] overall purpose.” That “overall purpose,” as Alma describes it, was to “celebrate student accomplishments (past and present) and to celebrate the good work of [their] honored colleagues, Dr. Margaret Perrow and Dr. Ed Battistella.”
“This began with one act of kindness, but it became something much bigger, and I hope the Writing Studio and the English Program continue to be a place where that kind of support, collaboration, and generosity continue to grow.”
– Andrée Wickman
The English faculty, as Alma explains, can easily become “siloed.” They teach their classes, rush to their offices to get work done, and often eat lunch at their desks. This constant isolation hinders them from connecting with their colleagues: “We don’t always get to see our colleagues. An event like this helps us see beyond the English Studies silo and enjoy the company of folks from all over campus. A special treat, also, was seeing some of our alums, some of our retired colleagues, and staff from other areas.” Alma feels that moments like these—being able to see a variety of folks, with a variety of ages and stations in life—really help make some of the challenges SOU is facing bearable.
Some of these challenges include funding. Alma clarifies that the faculty in the English program did not have any particular funding goals in mind when they “embarked on creating a celebration.” However, with tightening budgets, they were aware that previous support—such as paying for students to attend conferences or supporting students with conference travel—was no longer available. In addition, the English program cannot support student workers who need additional hours: “While the federal government pays for work study, in the past, if a student needed more hours than those allotted to them by the federal government, our program could support students with additional hours. This is something also compromised by shrinking budgets.” The English faculty hopes to create a fund for student opportunities, though “fundraising was not a primary goal of the event.” To highlight the impact of the program and provide a way for potential donors to contribute to the student opportunity fund, Elle Stone created posters profiling SOU English Studies alumni that included a QR code for direct donations.
Pictured Above: Dr. Edwin Battistella getting a slice of cake
Elle, a sophomore English major, collected the alumni successes from previous English program blog stories: “I appreciate how thorough the bloggers have been. It made my job much easier.” Through this project, Elle gained “a new admiration for graphic designers and others who create promotional materials.” She realized that the “tiny details” such as colors and branding, make a huge difference in how professional the final product looks. Elle also felt a lot of “stress and anticipation” leading up to the gathering since “Designing the posters took several rounds of revision until [she] felt happy with them, and it was a test of [her] graphic design skills.” Elle credits Dr. Diana Maltz, Dr. Alma Rosa Alvarez, and Dr. Merrilyne Lundahl for proofreading and ensuring every word was perfect in her alum highlights.
Elle left the festivities feeling “grateful for all the SOU staff who helped put it together because it truly was an amazing night.” She was especially proud of the sense of community: “It was nice to see so much community support for the English Studies Program. Our program has impacted so many people’s lives, and it is encouraging to see people who care deeply about its future.” Like Elle, Alma was also affected by the turnout: “I was moved by what both students had to say about Dr. Perrow and what Andree Wickman had to say about Dr. Battistella. While each party spoke specifically about what each of our honorees did for them, the underlying shared value was that English Studies has faculty members who deeply care.”
“In English Studies, the faculty care about developing strong writers and critical thinkers; we also deeply care about students and each other in holistic ways. That is one of our core values. We saw evidence of it as folks shared their gratitude with our colleagues.”
– Dr. Alma Rosa Alvarez
As the evening came to a close, I thought about what stood out the most. It was not just the accomplishments of Dr. Battistella and Dr. Perrow—it was the network and support their work has helped build within the English program. From faculty and alumni to current students like Elle Stone, the celebration revealed the genuine dedication people have to the future of English Studies at SOU.
You can stay up-to-date with all of the exciting things happening in our department by following the English Program on Instagram (souenglish) and Facebook and by subscribing to this blog!
Interested in being featured on the English Program blog? Or know someone who is interested? Contact English Program blogger Nylah Winchester-Robinson at winchesterrobinsonn@sou.edu.
Learn more about SOU’s English Programs:
English Home Page | English BA/BS | English Minor
