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Family, Home and Social Sciences
FHSS Writing

About the FHSS Writing Lab

About the FHSS Writing Lab
Our Advisors
Preparing for a visit

The FHSS Writing Lab is a free writing service that assists students within the BYU College of Family, Home and Social Sciences. Our advisors are friendly undergraduate students from a variety of social science disciplines who have extensive writing experience and are trained in teaching writing. We offer individual, face-to-face sessions where we serve to help students become better writers by focusing on the global aspects of writing, such as thesis construction, organization, transitions, idea development, logical coherence, style, and argument clarity. Students can walk in or schedule an appointment via email or telephone, or by reserving a time online. We welcome writers and their papers at any stage in the writing process.​

The advisors in the FHSS Writing Lab are undergraduate students from a wide variety of disciplines within the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. They have been chosen as staff members based on their writing experience and tutoring skills. Each advisor has an individual approach, but all have the same goal: to help students better understand an​d enjoy the writing process.

Our Writing Advisors

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Ryan Bell

(Lehi, Utah) Ryan is a political science major and a Chinese minor. He plans to go to law school and hopefully end up arguing in a court room one day. When he's not reading about theories of warfare or trying to remember Chinese characters, Ryan can be found binge watching a TV show (his current favorites are "Suits" "Madam Secretary" and "Timeless") or playing board games. He loves spending time with his family and his friends. While Utah is a nice place, Ryan dreams to one day end up living in Washington DC. He also loves to travel and dreams to one day visit every continent. He loves warm weather and the beach is his happy place. Ryan served his mission in Arcadia, California Chinese speaking. Writing has always been a hobby for Ryan, so he is excited to help students in the lab this semester!
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Kyleigh McMullen

(Hollister, California) Kyleigh McMullen is majoring in psychology, minoring in family studies, participating in the honors program, and hoping to earn a language certificate for Spanish. If you asked her what year of college she is in, she wouldn’t be able to tell you, because this is her second year of university, but on her transcript it says she’s a senior, but she still has two years left of school (it doesn’t make sense to her either). After graduating, Kyleigh hopes to continue onto graduate school and one day become a professor. In her free time, she likes to read, do miscellaneous crafts (right now she’s into crocheting), watch TV shows, and spend time with her family. This is her first semester at the writing lab, and she’s excited to get started!
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Anna Nufer

(Columbus, Ohio) Anna is a senior studying psychology. She is planning on taking a gap year before applying for a master’s program, preferably at BYU as well. She is the ninth of nine kids, and enjoys hanging out with her siblings, as well as with her 31 nieces and nephews. Anna is already practicing her grandma skills and is quite excellent at knitting scarves. She has not moved onto more robust projects but hopes to be able to in the future. Whenever she is seen on campus, she typically has one earbud in, listening to a 23-hour clean Kpop playlist, as she enjoys the beat and the freedom of being able to shut off her brain to relax for a second and enjoy the moment. Anna served in the Texas Houston South Mission from 2019-2021 and is hoping to visit within the next couple of years with one of her old mission companions. She loves to help others, and is looking forward to assisting those who come to the Lab!
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Brooke Overly

(Orange County, California) Brooke is a psychology major and statistics minor. Her goal is to become a school psychologist so she can help children receive the resources and support they need to overcome the odds and succeed. Brooke is very family oriented as she loves spending time with her husband and calling her family back home. She also loves getting together with friends to play games such as Dominion, Super Smash Bros, Coup, etc. Additionally, one of her hobbies is watching behind the scenes or analysis videos on movies and tv shows, as she enjoys the filmmaking, acting, and psychology of the art. Brooke served half her mission in Huancayo, Peru and half in Boston, Massachusetts. She is excited to be back at BYU and keep on loving life.
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Serena Rivera

(Queens, New York) Serena is a sophomore majoring in psychology. She is not sure which area in psychology she wants to study as of yet, but is leaning towards counseling and would love to return to the east coast for graduate school! She loves to travel (next dream destination is Iceland), explore the world, hike, and be in the sun. She has lived in a few different places including New Jersey and Hawaii (Hawaii obviously being the cooler of the two). She served her mission in British Columbia, Canada where it is beautiful and rainy. She is stoked to be working as an advisor this semester!
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Sage Robins

(Highland, Utah) Sage is on her last year at BYU studying psychology, and is now trying to decide on a Master’s program. She hopes to one day become a therapist so that she can provide people support through the many challenges of life. When she doesn’t have her face buried in a textbook, it’s usually because she’s reading something more interesting. She loves all things music: singing, playing the piano or guitar, and jamming out in the car. Sage has also taught herself a handful of creative skills including crochet, cross-stitch, and embroidery. When she’s not jumping from hobby to hobby, Sage can be found playing (usually winning) high-speed card games with her friends and family. Her biggest addictions are Sweet Tarts and White Cheez-its. Finally, Sage loves building connections with people, and she is very excited to be working with students during the semester!
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Isabel Sanders

(Springville, Utah) Isabel Sanders is a family studies major with a minor in psychology. She is still working out the details of her plans after graduation, but wants to work with a service organization helping families. In the few hours when she's not at school or studying, she can be found FaceTiming her grandpa, soaking up the sun in a hammock, or playing card games with her friends. Isabel served her mission in Phoenix, Arizona and is always planning her next trip back to her favorite state. When she's not in Arizona (which is most of the time), she loves being at BYU, especially now that she gets to help students with their papers.
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Delaney Shaw

(Bentonville, Arkansas) Delaney is a psychology major and a global women’s studies minor. Delaney hopes to become a child psychologist and help kids receive much needed support. She served her mission in Fresno California where she developed a passionate love for Mexican food. She has the world's biggest sweet tooth and can often be found picking up a sweet treat or a caffeinated beverage. Delaney is a lover of animals and children and loves when she gets an opportunity to volunteer at animal shelters or schools. She spent the last summer working at a Spanish immersion program singing songs, reading stories, and hanging out with her five year old besties. She loves reading and writing and cannot wait to help students achieve their writing goals!
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Elena Storms

(San Antonio, Texas) Elena is a psychology major with a minor in family life. She plans to go to graduate school to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. Her father is a pilot in the Air Force, so she has lived in a variety of places including Hawaii, Rhode Island, and England. She served a mission in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the people are wonderful and the heat is dry. She enjoys watching Christopher Nolan movies, embarking on road trips, listening to alternative bands, and eating Chipotle. Though she has a serious case of procrastination and leaves most writing projects until the literal last minute, Elena has a passion for writing and literature and enjoys helping others with their writing journeys.
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Preparing for a Visit to the FHSS Writing Lab

To make the most of your visit to the FHSS Writing Lab, please come prepared with the following:

  • A copy of the assignment.
  • A copy of your draft, either hard copy or on a laptop. We will not work with a phone or a tablet.
  • You are welcome to bring in your writing at any stage in the writing process (e.g. thesis, outline, introduction, incomplete draft).
  • An idea of how we can help you with your paper. This can include appropriateness, focus, organization, development, introduction, conclusion, word choice, tone, or documentation style. Please note that we are neither grammar experts nor an editing service. By focusing on global issues, you can apply principles of writing on other papers and can become a better writer.
  • We are happy to assist all students with global writing issues and assignment-specific requirements. Our advisors cannot provide ESL-specific grammar help or proofreading.