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Meet Rachel Averitt. Rachel was homeschooled through the sixth grade and then began attending a small Christian school in Oklahoma called Mingo Valley Christian, where she first encountered writing with IEW. This past spring she graduated from high school and spent her summer working for IEW on a variety of special projects. Rachel will be attending the University of Oklahoma at Norman this fall. Enjoy learning a little bit more about this special young woman.
Rachel, share a little bit about yourself.
I lived in Texas until I was nine years old, and then my family moved up to Oklahoma. I’m the second oldest of five siblings and have two sisters and two brothers. I was homeschooled until I started attending Mingo Valley Christian in my seventh grade year.
How old were you when you used IEW? What courses did you take? How did they help you?
IEW was taught in my English classes in seventh through ninth grade. I especially remember going through the Fix It! Grammar books. Little Mermaid was probably my favorite! I likely remember Fix It! Grammar the most because I enjoyed following along with the stories. It's an effective program because it teaches you the grammar rules with very memorable examples. By implanting the rules directly into the story, Fix It! makes it easier to remember them the next time you need to use them. There are still times I mentally reference the comma rules I learned in middle school through IEW!
IEW also helped me prepare for college. After all, it was my foundation of learning how to write clearly and in an organized way. Even though I didn’t take a specific IEW course in high school, I used the IEW tools I learned in middle school all through high school. I believe they also helped me earn six hours of college credit when I took the AP® Language and Composition exam, which involved writing three essays in response to various prompts on the spot, because I was able to think about the prompts and outline them well.
What was your favorite part of IEW?
I really enjoyed learning about how to compose a key word outline. I had always enjoyed writing growing up, but the key word outline gave me a tool to organize my thoughts. I recall using it in other classes, too. For example, I would scribble a key word outline in the margins of my history test before I would begin to answer the essay questions. It really helped to keep me on track and focused.
Do you have any plans for the future where writing and communicating will be needed? If so, how?
Because I anticipate going to law school, this fall I plan to major in a program called “Letters.” It’s comprised of one-third English courses, one-third history courses, and one-third philosophy courses. Additionally, the program requires me to study a modern language as well as an ancient language. All of those classes will require a lot of writing. Previously I had planned to just major in English, but I decided to switch to the Letters program because it will enable me to study a lot of different subjects that I enjoy rather than focus on just one. Also, it’s supposed to be an excellent program for people who are interested in studying law.
I guess liberal arts are in my blood. My mom was an English major, and my dad majored in history and minored in philosophy. But what truly drew me to my major is that I love learning, discussing, and communicating clearly about ideas that shape the world, no matter where they’re encountered, in history, literature, or somewhere else.
We enjoyed having Rachel work with us in the office this past summer and know that she will do well at her new university. Her foundation in reading, writing, and thinking is strong. It will be exciting to see her write the rest of her future, and we wish her all the best as she pursues a career in law.
