KU News Release

KU graduate students receive grant for oral history project

LAWRENCE — Two graduate students at the University of Kansas have received a grant to study the complex issues affecting the development of collegiate writing skills.

Zanice Bond de Pérez, doctoral student in American studies, and Moira Leigh Ozias, master’s student in social welfare, received the $750 grant from the International Writing Centers Association. The grant will help fund 10 interviews to discover how students’ personal histories with writing have shaped their experiences as academic writers at KU.

“Students’ histories with writing shape them as writers,” Ozias said. “Their ability to handle the demands of university-level writing is one factor that affects their ability to stay and succeed at KU.”

Ozias is the assistant director of the KU Writing Center, and Bond de Pérez is a writing specialist for graduate and international students. They intend the results of their research to improve writing curricula and to help KU writing instructors better serve students.

Bond de Pérez and Ozias’ research project is titled “Writer Outsider: Student Narratives and the Search for Social Justice.”

The KU Writing Center is open to Lawrence campus students and community members who want advice and coaching about their academic and professional writing. The center is based in Wescoe Hall with satellite locations throughout campus. The Edwards Campus in Overland Park also has a satellite location.

The International Writing Centers Association, a National Council of Teachers of English affiliate founded in 1983, fosters the development of writing center personnel by encouraging scholarship and dialogue within the field.

More information about the grant recipients is below.

Moira Leigh Ozias is a master’s degree student in social welfare from Downs. She earned a master’s degree in English at KU in 2004 and a bachelor’s degree from Baker University in 2001. She is the daughter of Gary and Wilma Ozias and a graduate of Lakeside High School in Downs.

Zanice Bond de Pérez is a doctoral student in American studies from Brownsville, Tenn., and Lawrence. She earned a master’s degree in English from Tennessee State University and a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in Athens. She is the daughter of Maltimore and Cynthia Bond.

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