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UWT meets the sea. Explore the wonders at home and abroad with Environmental Science.
UWT meets the sea. Explore the wonders at home and abroad with Environmental Science.
"The last two years at UW Tacoma were the most extraordinary and life-changing years of my academic journey. They have brought me the greatest awareness and have brought people into my life who have become mind mates in ways that I’ve never experienced. "
Walking from class one evening through the trees clustered around the UW Tacoma library, Nancye Tsapralis found herself thinking, "Does life get any better than this?"
Tsapralis, who is in her early 50s, cannot think of a better time in life to be learning. A single mother of three teenagers, she says that her experiences at UWT have really allowed her to grow.
"There was never a question in my mind that I wanted to come here. It was the perfect fit," Tsapralis says.
She says UWT’s Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program provided an ideal way to pull together her diverse passions: music, writing and inspiring others.
During the 70s and 80s, Tsapralis traveled in the back of a band bus for six years as a singer for a touring band, visiting all 50 states and eleven different countries before marrying a jazz musician and settling in the Northwest. In spite of being an accomplished musician, Tsapralis remained unsure of her skill as a writer, viewing authors as naturally “endowed.”
But during her first quarter at UWT, Dr. Michael Forman and Dr. Mike Allen became sources of encouragement that led her to have faith in her own writing ability. Forman nominated her Global Studies research paper on women and fascism for the Frederick T. Haley Writing Award. Allen also nominated a response essay Tsapralis wrote on Alex De Touqueville's “Democracy in America.” She was delighted when both of her papers received an award.
Through this experience, Tsapralis learned that while writing is a gift, it is a skill that needs to be honed. Tsapralis kept writing, and experimented with exploratory essays during an independent study with David Morris. Two of her pieces were published in Tahoma West, UWT’s award-winning literary arts magazine. You can check out her works “Mother Lode” and “Biker Babe” in Volume 11of Tahoma West.
Tsapralis’s experiences continued to be facilitated by her close relationship with professors. Dr. Joe Sharkey and Dr. Phil Heldrich were two professors she describes as significant writing mentors. She says they were instrumental in lighting the fire for creative writing.
After she wrote a paper in Sharkey’s Shakespeare class on Hamlet, Tsapralis won the Frederick T. Haley writing award a third time. She says she did some of her best writing in his classes because he raises the bar and inspires critical thinking. Heldrich encouraged her to think like a writer, to notice things, and become aware of the world around her. Tsapralis says that his class assignment to list 100 details in an unfamiliar environment still continues to inspire her as a writer.
“Every professor has been my favorite,” Tsapralis says matter-of-factly. “Every professor I would be honored to call a friend and have felt that kind of kinship with. But I have also felt a wonderful kinship with younger students in their twenties, and older students, obviously, in their seventies and everything in between. I just think we have so much to offer one another.”
In addition to gaining encouragement from professors and inspiration from fellow students, Tsapralis was stimulated by the topics she explored. She was particularly intrigued by an existential psychology class, which she says addressed issues of purpose and authentic, responsible living. Tsapralis found the class raised issues that she had been wondering about and discussions she had been hungering for.
“I certainly think that the last two years at UWT were the mostextraordinary and life changing of my academic journey. They have brought me the greatest awareness and have brought people into my life that have become mind mates in ways that I’ve never had before. The mind can be very lonely, and these are conversations that I’ve waited my whole life to have with other people.”
Tsapralis desires to pursue a master’s degree in creative writing and use her newfound passion to give back to others.
Tsapralis will also continue to pursue her love for music by singing jazz locally. Tsapralis greatly enjoyed taking a History of Jazz class Summer 2007 to fulfill her last graduation requirement at UWT and says that one of the highlights of her recent trip to France was being able to sing with a jazz group.
Now that she has graduated and discovered so much about herself and her dreams for the future, Tsapralis is looking forward to more free time with her family. She points out that they are continuing to be impacted by her experiences at UWT, as she is.
“There’s the education you receive in the classroom, and there’s the education you receive about yourself and your own life.” Tsapralis says this knowledge is passed on to her children. “They are watching their mother unfold in ways that are unexpected, and it raises the bar in their lives.”
If UW Tacoma fits your academic goals and life situation, take the next step. Check out the degrees open to you and then visit the campus for a true UW Tacoma experience.
