NATALIE PEARLMAN

Seattle, WA | Phone Number | natpearl@uw.edu

Dear Odegaard Writing and Research Center,

I learned about the OWRC peer tutor position from my former English professor, Kirin
Wachter-Grene. The support your staff offers to University of Washington students is
impressive and your mission of challenging writers to improve their own work, rather than just
“fixing” their work for them is admirable. My experience as a writer at UW has been a
positive and motivating experience that was very much influenced by encouragement
from my professors and my interactions with the OWRC staff during tutoring sessions. I would
love the opportunity to contribute to the writing community at UW by empowering other
writers to believe in their work as others have done for me.

I have had several experiences that are applicable to this particular job. I have spent a lot
of time working with diverse communities of people, specifically as an employee of the
YMCA as a swim instructor and through various volunteering programs. As a swim instructor
for adolescent and adult swim classes, I work with people who are seeking help but are also
frustrated and embarrassed with their situation. These can be tricky classes to teach
because the students’ swim abilities and confidence issues both have to be addressed
before any progress can be made. This is often the situation that arises when trying to tutor
someone, which I also have had experience with as a chemistry/calculus tutor to my peers
in high school as well as a fourth-grade tutor. When a student usually comes to a tutor it is
because they have hit a wall, something about the material isn’t clicking or they have the
infamous “writer’s block.” I’ve found that a lot of the times a student will actually know how
to proceed with the problem if they look at the problem from a different angle, but their
frustration at that point is clouding their judgment. As a tutor, or a swim instructor, I always
encourage my students to talk about the issue out loud. What specifically about this math
problem is not working? Why do you think the stroke feels awkward? Through guided
questions, a student will usually figure out the solution, or at least a better understanding of
what they need help with, and then from there it is simply up to me to provide them with
the tools to finish on their own.

In addition to my experience as a tutor in various avenues, I have also had an

interdisciplinary experience as a writer. The majority of my writing has been done in a
scientific setting for many of my natural world courses but I have also had experience
writing for other various genres, like academic research and fiction. My experience as a
writer is a continuous one, I am planning on challenging myself as a writer by pursuing
additional English courses that don’t necessarily correlate with my science courses but
interest me on a creative level. Essentially, I will be further strengthening my own writing
techniques though out my undergraduate career, which can only benefit the students I
would be tutoring if hired as a member of OWRC

I would love to be a member of the OWRC team and have the opportunity to help
students at UW find their voice through writing.

Sincerely,
Natalie Pearlman
 Natalie Pearlman
Address / Seattle, WA 98195
natpearl@uw.edu – Phone Number - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pearlmannatalie

EDUCATION:

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Bachelor of Science- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Expected June 2018
 Overall GPA: 3.67/4.0
 University Interdisciplinary Honors Program
 Course Highlights- Introductory Biology Series; Introduction to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies;
English 111 – Focus on Invisible Man; Epidemiology: Outbreak Investigation and Response

John C. Kimball High School, Tracy, CA

High School Diploma, June 2014

 Non-weighted Overall GPA: 3.9/4.0; Weighted Overall GPA: 4.5/4.0
 AP Exam Scores:
o English Literature and Composition: 4/5
o AP English Literature and Composition: 4/5
o AP Calculus: 4/5
o AP World History: 4/5

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

 Manipulations of stem cells

 Protein regulation and degradation
 Focus on virology and human disease that result from mutation or animals/environment (Zoonosis,
Malaria, Gonorrhea, Cancer, etc)

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE:

Young Men’s Christian Association (Seasonal 2013- Present)

Tracy, California
 YMCA Certified Swim Class Instructor for students of all ages and ability
 Adult and Child CPR and First-Aid Certified Lifeguard
 Works with students and patrons from diverse backgrounds in the local community

Volunteer Tutor (Fall 2012-Fall 2014)

Wanda Hirsch Elementary School and John C. Kimball High School
 Assisted in tutoring sessions for classmates in integral calculus and chemistry at John C. Kimball High
School
 Tutored in fourth grade classroom of Rechelle Pearlman and Molly Batrez with focus on algebra, grammar,
basic writing skills, and science

Student Office Assistant (August 2013 – July 2014)

John C. Kimball High School
 Responsibilities included filing, faxing, answering the phone, and other basic office tasks
 Managed the front desk and interacted with all guests in order to provide quality service
LEADERSHIP AND VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE:

Lobby Escort (January 2015 – Present)

University of Washington Medical Center
 Assists in providing quality and personal patient interactions
 Responsible for maintaining daily operations including flower and specimen deliveries, cleaning of wheelchairs
 Level One Patient Transport Trained (i.e. stable patients in wheelchairs)

UW Leaders (January 2015 – Present)

Associated Students of the University of Washington Entity
 Focuses on service and leadership development as well as emphasis on peer mentoring

ASUW Ambassadors (Fall 2014)

Associated Students of the University of Washington, Office of Volunteer Opportunity Entity
 Focuses on understanding how the ASUW operates and exploring all the entities in order to find area of
volunteer interest

Associated Student Body President (August 2013 - June 2014)

John C. Kimball High School, Tracy, CA
 Developed lesson plans and managed a class of forty students with direction from advisor
 Oversaw large scale student body events and school activities budget

Mentor (April 2013- April 2014)

Distinguished Young Women of California Foundation
 Past local representative for Tracy, California, Class of 2014
 At both local and state scholarship competition acted as “Big Sister” to candidates and helped them during
rehearsal and prepare for interviews
 Spent summers promoting program’s message to businesses and advocating importance of providing
scholarships to young woman

Elementary School Volunteer (2009-2014)

Wanda Hirsch Elementary School, Tracy, California
 Organized classrooms and helped create bulletin boards
 Routine Filing, Grading, and Laminating
 Volunteered primarily with fourth grade students to tutor them in math and to assist in revising writing

HONORS & AWARDS:

Dean’s Quarterly Honor Roll (Fall 2014, Winter 2015)

University of Washington
 Maintained an academic GPA of 3.5 or above for the specified quarter

Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient (May 2012)

Girl Scout Heart of Central California
 Highest ranking award in Girl Scouting, only 5.4% of all Scouts earn award
 Fundraised twelve thousand dollars in order to implement service project focused on education about
Autism to elementary school students and designed specialized toys to aid in development of
cognitive/sensory skills for children with Autism
AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES:

Healthcare Alternative Spring Break

University of Washington RSO
 Focuses on educating students interested in any form of health care about the needs of rural communities
for doctors
 Week long spring break trip in Grand Coulee, WA shadowing various physicians and registered nurses

UW Med Life
University of Washington RSO
 Organization on campus that is affiliated with the national Med Life group
 Spends summer and fall quarter fundraising in order to send a group of students to South America over
winter break to provide relief to rural villages and assist in mobile clinics run by local doctors

PRESENTATION:
Pearlman, N. (May 2015) “Exploring the Medical Field Through Experimental Learning Opportunities.”
PowerPoint and speech presented at Spring Celebration of Service and Leadership, University of Washington.
 This piece was written as an assignment for my English 111 composition class. The

prompt for this particular paper encouraged students to pick any issue inspired by Ralph

Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man, and to develop a researched academic claim. I chose to research

the effects of gendered stereotypes on women in leadership roles, specifically female leaders in

the political realm. While I had a general idea of what my claim would be, the more research I

did on the topic the more I realized that I had a lot more that I wanted to say than the ten page

limit would allow. It took me a substantial amount of time to pick only the most relevant sources

and to edit my writing until it was as concise as possible. The whole process overall made me

realize that when I find a topic that I am passionate about and interested in, then the actual

writing comes naturally. I realized that even with a narrow list of topics to choose from, if I

could spend the time to find a topic that I actually have an opinion on and want to write about, I

produce a much more convincing paper. Despite how time consuming it may be, I have learned

that spending some time doing basic research on several topic options before picking the actual

topic can be beneficial, and help to avoid the dreaded “writer’s block” in the long run.

Excerpt from: Gendered Stereotypes: The Barriers Holding Back Madame President

To understand how gendered stereotypes negatively affect female politicians, a basic

understanding of specific stereotypes needs to be established. The focus in this essay are

stereotypes specifically of professional women, or women who work in upper level jobs or in

generally male-dominated sectors. It is in this category of professional women that female

politicians can be placed. The first stereotype category is aggression, which includes

“boastfulness, loud speech, using swear words, showing anger, and speaking aggressively”

(Robson 208), which is a sharp contradiction to the submissive and gentle persona most often

attributed to the ideal woman. This “aggressive” nature is most often attributed to men and is
viewed as a skill or leadership style, but when a professional woman is seen as “aggressive” she

is stereotyped as a “‘bitch’- heartless, mean, emasculating, and conniving” (Ezzedeen 252)

simply because she is in opposition to the traditional “socially desirable traits” (Robson 207) of a

woman. The demeaning slur of “bitch” is a fitting description for how aggression in a

professional woman is viewed by society. Unfortunately, this stigma is not something only seen

in movies, it transcends into real life and professional women everywhere who are career

focused and driven are plagued with this image of being seen as undesirable bitches. Most

female politicians are subjected to this stereotype; it is an unavoidable consequence of

participating in a male-dominated occupation. This stigma was demonstrated in 2007 when

Glenn Beck, a popular radio political satirist, said that female politician, Hillary Clinton, “cannot

be elected President because . . . there’s some- thing about her vocal range…something about her

voice that just drives me—it’s not what she says, it’s how she says it” (Bligh 560). How she says

what exactly? Glenn Beck essentially does not like that Hillary Clinton, a woman, is aggressive

and speaks about her causes and platforms in a firm tone that does not allow for doubts. He

would never vote for her for president because why would he want a “bitch” to lead the country?

Hillary Clinton is an example of a female politician whom epitomizes this

aggressive/bitch stereotype. From 1993 to 2001, during her time as the First Lady of the United

Sates, Clinton was “castigated [by the media] for being pushy, meddlesome, and ‘bitchy’”

(Anderson 106) due to her involvement in her husband’s policies and with her own political

activism. While Clinton did not hold other political positions during her time as first lady, she

heavily advocated for public reforms to healthcare, education, and women’s rights. She was

essentially a professional first lady but not in the traditional sense of “reflect[ing] ideals of

home, family, and womanhood” (Anderson 108). The American media did not know how to
treat this woman who so blatantly disregarded the roles of traditional femininity so they targeted

her ruthlessly for her deviations from it. What is interesting though is how the media’s

perception of Clinton changed throughout her political career. While she was never able to shed

the imposed image of a bitchy professional woman, and probably will never be able to, Clinton

was able to reestablish her primary image in the media and within the realms of politics during

her time as the senator of New York. During her campaign she was heavily bombarded with

gendered stereotypes regarding her role as a mother, spouse of an adulterous husband, and

woman but she meticulously combatted these stereotypes so that “she went from being viewed

primarily as a woman to being judged predominantly as a candidate” (Anderson 109). Even with

this transition by the media, Clinton could not completely remove the ideals of femininity from

her various political campaigns and run for president. Instead of embracing them or aggressively

disregarding them, Clinton strategically displayed small amounts of femininity through rhetorical

strategies in her speeches so as not to allow her femininity to define her or be removed from her.

One example of a rhetorical strategy included utilizing a “‘feminine style’ of discourse [in] her

speech…[she] employed concrete language, personal tone, and anecdotal evidence, because it

invited audience identification” (Anderson115) automatically due to the emotion she portrayed

for the audience. Clinton is an example of a woman who took the stereotype assigned to her and

turned it around for her own political gain; she went from the bitch to the “woman leader”

(Anderson 1115) through sheer determination and strategic planning.

Another crippling stereotype attached to professional women are those centered on

relationships with family members, or rather the lack of ability to form these relationships.

Robson identifies this category as orientation towards family because “[an] ‘appropriately’

feminine woman, the ideal woman, and the good female role model is a wife and mother”
(Robson 212) while the stereotypical professional woman has trouble with intimacy, rejects

relationships because the career comes first, is divorced, is an inept mother, or is struggling to

find a balance between career and family (Ezzedeen 243). The media routinely portrays this

double bind in which women are faced with two contradictory expectations, the expectations of

femininity and the demands of a career. With so few portrayals of professional woman being

able to manage both a family and career, or choosing to not have a family without being

stigmatized for it, it is no surprise that this stereotype is prevalent more than ever in the political

spectrum. Female politicians are often first judged based on whether or not they have a family

because somehow the presence of one is indicative of one’s morals. Women are often trapped in

a double bind, “single women are morally suspect, and married women without children are

deemed deficient” (Robson 212) but woman with children who are vigorously campaigning for

an elected position are seen as unloving and irresponsible for leaving their families. With the

way the media is portraying professional women, there seems to be no way to win.

While the traditional professional woman is viewed as disregarding her family and

essentially being unfeminine, Elizabeth Dole, a one time presidential candidate, embraced her

femininity and is seen in contrast to the non-family oriented stereotype of a professional woman.

The media portrayed Dole as a family woman, an “appropriately cheerful and submissive

political wife” (Anderson 121). Throughout her husband’s failed presidential campaign and her

own presidential campaign several years later, her image was “inextricably linked to her

femininity” (Anderson 121). In the media, Dole was always solely described as the female

candidate and the word female became extremely defining. The media at the U.S. Naval

Academy wrote how great it was that a female could “‘talk tough on military matters’”

(Anderson 121). Other news sources used similar language in articles that seemed to celebrate
the fact that a woman could comment intelligently on political matters rather than writing articles

about the actual politics Dole spoke about. Essentially, Dole’s embracement of gender roles and

traditional female stereotypes “[made] it hard for voters to imagine her as president” (Anderson

107). The media belittled Dole for her embracement of femininity because by being in contrast to

the expected stereotypes of a professional woman, she was viewed as incompetent and a weak

leader.

The media’s portrayal of female politicians “influence[s] consumers’ perceptions of

political candidates’ images as either positive or negative, as well as voters’ overall evaluations

of candidates” (Bligh 565). The way the media depicts a politician can have dire consequences to

their campaign. The media’s use of “gender-stereotyped language (e.g., gentle, warm, weak

leader)” (Bligh 565) can become internalized by individuals in society and be reflected later in

the voting polls. Michelle C. Bligh’s scientific study demonstrated that voter’s feelings toward

female politicians’ likeability and competence after reading various articles about them varied

heavily based on the language and topics discussed in the article. Some would argue that despite

what Bligh’s scientific study concluded, demeaning articles and representations by the media can

only have so much affect of society’s perceptions of women when “female politicians [appear]

on C-SPAN, news programs, in campaign ads...[which should] eventually dismantle or neutralize

occupational stereotypes that disenfranchise women in the political arena” (Robson 206). It is

true that more women than ever are involved in politics and can be seen frequently in society,

their presence though does not negate the many other images of women that society is

bombarded with.