Social Welfare writing consultant hosts Strengths Perspective workshop at Midwest Writing Centers Association Conference

School of Social Welfare professional writing consultant Joseph Bush hosted a writing workshop at the Midwest Writing Centers Association Conference from March 13-15 at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

The conference, titled “Promise and Practice: Tutoring Writing in Turbulent Times,” offered Bush an opportunity to present to other tutors on the Strengths Perspective. This social work-focused perspective presents a method for social workers to view their clients not by the challenges they present, but by their strengths.

Bush wants to help other writing consultants use that to help students hone their skills.

“A student should leave a writing consultation feeling more confident and more capable as a writer, not just that we're trying to help them get a better grade. Of course, that's still an aspect here. We're not ignoring that part of the process, but the ideal is that the student also takes something away and improves,” Bush said.

Bush joined the School of Social Welfare in March 2022. He earned a Master of Arts in Rhetoric & Writing Studies from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in English & French from KU.

As an in-house professional writing consultant for the KU School of Social Welfare, Bush helps students through every stage of writing research papers, academic assignments, resumes, cover letters, and statements of purpose.

KU School of Social Welfare faculty were among the first scholars to formally name the Strengths Perspective in the 1980s.