Dr. Juliet Wahleithner, assistant professor of literacy and director of the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, mentored four liberal arts students — all with goals to become teachers and each from different towns and countries — who created a unique bond and are preparing to graduate together later this month.

Claudia Gutierrez, Alondra Aguilar Chavez, Alma Perez and Andrea Gutierrez met through Fresno State's First Year Experience program for first-generation freshmen needing to complete English and math remediation requirements.

The four are among 13 liberal studies students Wahleithner mentored for the past four years, meeting with them multiple times a semester from their freshmen year to graduation.

“I thought it was really helpful being with the same group of students the whole year. Because most of us were first-time college students,” having courses together aided in growing friendships, Aguilar Chavez said. The girls would meet to work on classwork and group assignments together. “We have been in touch ever since.”

Wahleithner has dedicated her career to studying writing instruction. Early in her teaching career, she said she realized teachers needed instruction on how to teach writing. Most teachers receive very little preparation to teach writing, she said, yet students are expected to complete increasingly complex writing tasks in high school, college and the workplace.

At Fresno State, Wahleithner taught an academic reading course to 50 First Year Experience students whom she saw twice a week. She also reached out to students in the program to see if any would be interested in participating in her research study on understanding literacy development throughout students’ undergraduate education at Fresno State.

Wahleithner’s research focuses on how the preparation students received in high school and the support they received in the First Year Experience program prepared them for the reading and writing demands of their future courses at Fresno State.

“I didn’t think about how close I would get to these students,” she said. “I feel like I have become somebody they can turn to for support and when they have questions. They have trusted me with their stories and have trusted me to be a resource for them.”

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