A passion for literature and writing sparked in his high school English class led Daniel Kasper to enroll in Southern Arkansas University, but the inspiration and influence of the professors have further fanned the flames of his passion into a desire to teach.
The 21-year-old English major from Forney, Texas has already been accepted to two professional conferences to present his work and is plotting his future, which includes pursuing a doctorate in gothic literature. While studying toward that goal, he serves as a writing consultant in the SAU Writing Center.
The Writing Center’s genesis is credited to Dr. Shannin Schroeder, a professor in the College of Liberal and Performing Arts. With the support of Drs. Elizabeth Davis and Lynne Belcher, the center opened in 2000 to be a resource to all students in helping strengthen writing skills.
“Without students like Daniel, there would be no Writing Center at SAU,” said Schroeder, director.
The center’s mission is to work with any writer, at any level, at any stage of the writing process, no matter the writing the student is doing, she said.
“Daniel in particular is an incredibly gifted writer,” she said. “Yet as a consultant, his own writing skills are not the center of the consultation. Without fail, writing consultants themselves improve as writers, because they are constantly thinking about the process and about what strategies work best for different types of papers.”
With a 34 ACT score, Kasper could have chosen any number of universities, but the affordability and caliber of education provided at SAU were pivotal in his choice. His younger sister, Kody, a sophomore art major/English minor, also attends the university.
“I’m not the only one in my family. I can’t exhaust the entire college fund for my education,” he said. “I’m glad I came to SAU.”
Inheriting a “double dose” of the love of reading from both of his parents, who equally value education, Kasper and his sister began reading as infants. His father, a fire fighter in Carrollton, Texas is an avid reader. His mother, who majored in horticulture in college, “conned” her father into paying for a Shakespeare course at the university. That is probably where the spark started, according to Kasper.
“That copy of Shakespeare has been on a shelf at home as long as I can remember,” he said.
Kasper said professors here, namely Dr. Schroeder and Dr. Linda Tucker, have challenged him and introduced him to literature outside of his favorite genre – gothic literature.
Ever since reading “Dracula” in high school, Kasper has been drawn to all versions of Gothicism.
“Dracula” was the first major feminist text. I’m drawn to that aspect of it,” said Kasper. He was introduced to more modern versions of gothic literature through Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” in Dr. Tucker’s African American literature course.
“You have the Victorian version of Gothicism (“Dracula”) and a modern version of Gothicism,” he said of the two books. “The novel form was essentially invented for gothic literature, which has been called ‘the most accurate way of looking at the world.’”
Though he isn’t a teacher yet, as a writing center consultant, Kasper gets a taste of his chosen career, which isn’t always like he imagined.
“I’ve learned that teaching isn’t easy, but it is worthwhile as long as you are helping someone get better. Every experience is a learning one, even the frustrating ones,” he said.
He describes his most satisfying moments as those that turn on a light bulb for someone he helps.
“The best part is translating knowledge that you have into something someone else can understand,” he said.
People not taking advantage of the valuable campus resource is a pet peeve of his.
“I hate to see people come through the door just looking for extra credit,” he said. “They are not interested in improving their work, so the whole exercise of introducing them to the abilities of the writing center is pointless. There is no paper written that can’t be improved.”
