Skunk Writes

My name is Margie. When people use my full name, Marjorie, I feel like a character in a soap opera. I am ambivalent about pronouns, but she/her is fine. I am in my second semester studying Adult Learning and Development. I am particularly interested in curriculum development and online delivery. I have completed ACED 9410 and CIED 9400.

In “real life”, my husband and I are self-employed as financial and estate planners. We work with clients to ensure their money does what they want it to do. We bring in teams of people as dictated by the client’s needs. That means we work with attorneys, CPAs, bankers, jewelers, and an amazing variety of professionals since everyone is so different.

I am a Rotarian and do a great deal of training in the organization. Rotary is an international service organization made up of business owners and decision-makers. We are all volunteers. I write curriculum and conduct discussion-based training programs for a supporting group called Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI). I am responsible for the international curriculum and an online delivery program in Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. I am in the doctoral program to improve my skills. I have the honor of working with a team of amazing professionals who have taught me, coached me, and encouraged me to enroll in this program.

I am an excellent researcher. In high school, I was a debater and attended college on a debate scholarship. That means I had to do a lot of research! Luckily, I truly enjoyed it. I have a firm grasp of grammar and mechanics. Unfortunately, I have used MLA most of my life, so APA is a transition for me.

The skill I feel is weakest right now is scholarly language / academic writing. Most of my life (I am a silver-haired student!) I have written for the public. My style is plain-spoken, clear, and simple. I will need some specific feedback to transform my natural style into one acceptable for academia. I like lots of feedback, good and bad. I especially like actionable feedback. My favorite question is “why”. If I understand “why”, I can do it correctly the next time. And I can apply that “why” to similar situations. At the other end of the spectrum, if I don’t get an answer to “why”, I assume it is your personal quirk and therefore optional outside of the class.

I am a person who enjoys learning and trying new things. My Mom said I have a “curiosity bump”. Maybe she is right. My Grandmother said that the correct answer anytime someone wanted to teach me something was “yes”. She was right. Thanks to her advice, I have learned a lot of oddball things—fencing, growing orchids, handling wolves for movies, canning, making plastic garbage bags, quilting, and so much more. The world is a fascinating place. And I am a learner who is always ready to find out more. 

PS - the picture isn't me, but I love the attitude!