FAITH AND SERVICE
Finding Their Voices
Brother John Perron, CSC, makes students better communicators through the written word.
By Hans Christianson MLA ’11
Jessica Attie ’04
Brother John Perron, CSC, sits in his office and listens patiently as a St. Edward’s University senior discusses the latest draft of her capstone paper. His office is exactly what you would imagine for an associate professor of English — tall shelves overflowing with classic novels and nonfiction books on the written word. Artwork from around the world offers a small window into his Holy Cross life that has taken him to Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Italy, Sicily and France, as well as around much of the United States. The student stops over a sentence that has been marked up by Perron. “What are you really trying to say here?” he asks. This is Perron’s life work — helping students become better writers. Over the past four decades at St. Edward’s, he has done so by co-founding the university’s Writing Center, directing the Freshman Studies Program and directing the English Writing and Rhetoric major. Still, he says that his favorite place to be is in the classroom in front of students. “The students energize me with the lively conversations that happen in class. In turn, I enjoy sharing my love for the written language with them,” says Perron. It’s in the quiet moments, though, when Perron sits one-on-one with a student, that he really comes alive. His gentle prodding and nudging, his quiet encouragement, lead students toward clearer thoughts, a realization of what they’re really trying to say. It’s during
these meetings, say his co-workers in the Writing Center, that he reveals his uncanny ability to spot language-based learning disabilities, like dyslexia. Perron, though, shies away from this acknowledgement often made by his fellow Writing Center tutors. “I can identify many indicators of writing problems, but I have no expertise in treating or solving neurological problems,” he says. Ask the students who make up his fan base, of sorts, and they would surely disagree. He most often spots problems by identifying mixed up letters or misplaced words in a sentence. Then he settles into his role as translator and patiently helps students adapt their speech to the written page. Time and again, the students return to him for that gentle prodding. Perron’s motivation goes beyond simply helping students write better research papers. He wants to give students the skills that enable them to reach their full potential and achieve their goals. This often means mastering the English language in the written form, which can be a challenge for students in the College Assistance Migrant Program, particularly those whose first language isn’t English. “Being a part of Holy Cross means that we are constantly seeking out those who have been ignored or left behind by society. We don’t always have to look outside campus to find those who need our help,” says Perron.
10 St. Edward’s University
75490 St Eds.indd 10
9/30/11 12:17 PM