Serenada Sanchez

Cameron Dudzinski has been passionate about literature from a young age. In third grade he read Tuck Everlasting. When he finished the book, he was brought to tears and his love for reading was born.

“That story, not sure why, just really resonated with me at such a young age and from there I started to recognize that reading is actually really fun,” Dudzinski said.

His love for reading has led him to Texas Wesleyan where Dudzinski has earned departmental honors as an English major, with a minor in mass communication.

“I would say that doing my two semesters honors thesis with Dr. Smeller is the most fun I’ve had,” Dudzinski said.

Dudzinski highlighted Dr. Smeller’s role in his growth as a student.

“Dr. Smeller is really good about teaching and emphasizing how to not only write correctly, when it comes to grammar, punctuation, and attributing and all the things but still maintaining your voice,” Dudzinski said. “He gives you credit where credit is due.”

He emphasized that having departmental honors and being able to work closely with Smeller has provided him an opportunity to work on his auto theory thesis. This type of thesis combines personal experience with research and philosophy. His auto theory thesis is currently 12,000 words.

“For my honors project I decided to do auto theory which is creative writing that is nonfiction,” Dudzinski said. “I can analyze and connect that idea [an idea from another author] to what I experienced and come up then with some kind of conclusion.”

Part of his thesis is about labels in gender and sexuality. “One of the big claims was about labels and how I find them very dumb,” he said. “I do believe that when it comes to gender labels they should be used and should be communicated if that person is comfortable with it.”

Dudzinski started his college career in Steubenville, Ohio, where Dudzinski earned an associate degree with a full ride. His father’s employer provided this opportunity. Reading and writing are his biggest hobbies, the last book he completed was “A Quart of Thorns and Roses.” His mother had him read Beowulf at 12. Cameron shared that his mother, Dr. Stacey Flinner, earned a doctoral degree in education and has a certificate to teach English.

“She’s a role model for women of color, who is educated and stands out from the rest of her family. While also remaining in a place where she is a dominant masculine role model [currently working in Crowley ISD]. She doesn’t need a man, she raised me as a single mother for a while,” Dudzinski said. “Shes a first-generation college student so I’m second generation.”

Dudzinski tutors in the new Engage Studio. Dudzinski was hired as an Instructional Assistant (IA) for the Engage Studio along with three other students at TxWes. He also works as a Supplemental Instructor for English 1301.

“The purpose of this studio is to help students learn soft skills, that are necessary in their future endeavors,” Veida Dima said.

Dima works as a Program Assistant (PA) in the Engage Studio.

“He also builds a relationship with the students making them returning students,” Dima said.

Senior English major Cameron Pike-Rogers works alongside Dudzinski in the Engage Studio as an IA.

“We all [the IA’s] have a very unique and interesting relationships. I enjoy talking with Cam, not only about upper-level course work but also about shared interests,” Pike-Rogers said. “Sometimes I will ask Cam for help, since he’s our resident mass com person.”

Pike-Rogers explained that the Engage studio employees are largely self-directed, working one on one with students.

“I’m planning to apply to grad schools and continue my education,” Dudzinski said. His advice for current students is to “evaluate where you are and what you need to do in order to do in order to get where you need to go.”