LYNN QUITMAN TROYKA
Portrait of a Volunteer
In this feature, Lynn Troyka provides her perspective on volunteering at NCTE, particularly with TYCA and CCCC.
Lynn Quitman Troyka, PhD, taught for many years at the City University of New York (CUNY), including Queensborough Community College and the graduate program in Language and Literacy at City College, until she retired to turn to full-time writing and volunteering.
Lynn is the recipient of the 2001 Exemplar Award of the Conference on College Composition (CCCC), the highest national award given for scholarship, teaching, and service. She is a past chair of the Two Year College Association (TYCA) of NCTE; CCCC; the College Section of NCTE; and the Writing Division of the Modern Language Association (MLA). In 1995, she received TYCA’s Nell Ann Pickett Award for Service and, in 1993, she was named Rhetorician of the Year.
Lynn has published in College Composition and Communication, College English, Journal of Basic Writing, and Writing Program Administration. She is an author in composition/rhetoric for the Encyclopedia of English Studies and Language Arts, Scholastic, 1993, and in basic writing for the Encyclopedia of Rhetoric, 1994. In addition, she is former editor of the Journal of Basic Writing (1985-88).
She is the author of numerous textbooks including the Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers; the Simon & Schuster Quick Access Reference for Writers; the Third Canadian Edition of the Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers; Structured Reading (co-authored with Joseph W. Thweatt); Steps in Composition (with Jerrold Nudelman); and seven others.
"All this information," says Dr. Troyka, "tells what I've done, not who I am. I am a teacher. Teaching is my life's work, and I love it."
What motivated you to volunteer for NCTE service?
Being of service is a family tradition. After I joined NCTE and CCCC in 1968, I immediately admired it tremendously, and I wanted to pitch in after a few years of observing and tentatively speaking up. My first tap on the shoulder was in 1972 to serve program chair of what’s now TYCA-Northeast. TYCA is the Two-Year College Association, which started as a CCCC committee years ago. Thanks to our many heroic two-year, four-year, and university supporters who worked tirelessly [despite surprising obstacles and frustrations] through the years to help two-year college members of NCTE and CCCC evolve into our currently successful, visible TYCA, an NCTE constituent.
What has kept you interested in volunteering your time over the years?
The people, the absorbing issues, and my simple curiosity about what challenge lies over the next hill.
What does your current role entail?
Nothing official this year, but an exciting grab bag of activities other years ever since I joined. I’m ready for more, though in 2003-04 I’m avoiding extensive travel while my husband recovers from heart surgeries and a burst appendix (he’s doing beautifully!) and I complete some demanding writing projects.
What key roles have you played and what did you find most satisfying in carrying them out?
It’s hard to say what “key role” means in a collegial, participatory organization like NCTE and its offshoots CCCC and TYCA. I found enormous satisfaction as an officer of CCCC, serving as its chair in 1981; being on the Steering Committee of the College Section, serving as its chair in the mid-1980s; and serving as chair of the first national Two-Year College Association (TYCA) in 1996-1997 I also hugely enjoyed less visible roles on various NCTE and CCCC committees, especially when mediation and consensus-building were involved. And I’ve been privileged to represent NCTE, CCCC, and TYCA on some fascinating committees of other professional organizations.
What satisfactions do you derive from volunteering?
I love attempting to think outside the box and innovate to help operations run more smoothly. I particularly like innovations that keep up with scholarship and growth in our groups. Most of all, I adore working with such a diverse, caring, energetic, smart folks. Frankly, without the diversity of opinions and cultures, I’d probably turn elsewhere to volunteer.
Why would you recommend volunteering to another NCTE member?
Nothing beats it for learning and growth—and for having a grand time with colleagues at all levels of English education. Frankly, again, if NCTE did not include elementary, secondary, and college groups, I’d likely have lost interest pretty quickly.
How or has your affiliation with NCTE and (project/service) improved your professional development and career?
No matter how much I’ve contributed to NCTE, CCCC, and TYCA, I’ve learned far more. Where else could I meet such delightful, dedicated people, whether old timers or newcomers? (Might sound corny, but it’s most definitely my truth.)
Do you have a favorite NCTE publication?
Yes, Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC), the journal of TYCA, which is available as an alternate to College English. It’s not only a hands-on, practical journal of teaching ideas based on research, scholarship, and practice in rhetoric and composition but also it’s a lively forum for inquiry and theory building. (I always got a kick out of seeing four-year and university folks, along with two-year faculty, stop by the TYCA booth at CCCC annual conventions to exclaim as they pointed to the TETYC display. “That’s it! That’s the one indispensable journal I read cover to cover each issue.”)
What is the one book, article, or professional development experience you would recommend to other educators?
Easy answer. Attend the CCCC annual convention. And, especially if you teach in a two-year college, attend your regional group of TYCA (NE, SE, MW, SW, W, PNW, and Pacific Coast, a.k.a. ECCTYC).
How has being part of an educational community like NCTE improved your abilities as a teacher and as a leader?
Practice, practice, practice. Patience, patience, patience. Joy.
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