Clayton Students Attend Naylor Research Workshop for the Fourth Consecutive Year

(October 16, 2025) - Three Clayton State students recently traveled to York, Pennsylvania, to attend the Naylor Workshop for Undergraduate Research in Writing Studies. English Major, Juan Angarita, senior; Psychology major, Mya Arnett, senior; and Education Major, Alia Majors, junior, joined other undergraduate researchers from all over the country for a weekend of mentoring in research methodologies and dissemination methods that reach beyond academia into local communities that can best be impacted by writing and language-related breakthroughs and approaches.

The Naylor Workshop is in its 11th year, and this is the fourth consecutive year that Clayton State students have attended. This year, faculty mentors, Dr. Cantice Greene and Writers’ Studio Coordinator Kandice Fowlkes, accompanied the students and served as mentors at the workshop. The workshop provides an enriching opportunity for undergraduates to experience one-on-one and small-group mentoring and to network with other research-focused students from all majors.

Alia Majors said she decided to sign up to participate in Naylor for a second year in a row because “It's an opportunity to be in the room with professors and other students from across the country. We can get ideas and additional support from them by presenting our work and receiving feedback to improve it.”

Mya Arnett was amazed at how quickly all the students bonded during the Naylor weekend. She said, “We made friends easily through conversations over breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My favorite moment was the collaborative poem. It was fun because my partner for the poem had a sense of humor like mine.  We were able to be creative and express our personalities in our poem called “We Came to Slay."

Juan Angarita said Naylor was very different from what he had imagined.  “I was surprised because it was such a casual and creative environment. Because it’s described as a research workshop, and you think there's going to be a bunch of people with tons of binders, but no. I met a lot of people just like me.”

When not engaged in the Naylor Workshop, students explored York, including a visit to the local outdoor market. Students could also experience local culture by attending an art exhibit, having a Q&A with the artist-in-residence, and enjoying an escape room adventure together.

Faculty in the English department enjoy championing this research opportunity that is available to all Clayton State Students. Interested students apply for the Naylor Workshop at the end of May, and once accepted, their travel, lodging, and meals are all covered by the Naylor Endowment in Writing Studies, provided through a generous gift from Irvin S. Naylor. This year, supplemental travel costs and costs associated with providing a unified Clayton State experience of the workshop were supported by a UCARE grant, secured by Dr. Cantice Greene.

Please reach out to Dr. Greene or look for application materials for the next Naylor Workshop to be published and advertised in the English Department and the Writers’ Studio in spring of 2026.