The Hosanna Effect

At Daytona State College, in the unpredictable spring weather, people walk around campus, either traveling to the cafeteria, the library or perhaps the ECHO plaza. Hosanna Rae Folmsbee, an Online Writing Specialist, is challenging to miss among the usual people’s ebb and flow. Her avant-garde fashion style makes her stand out, with each finger adorned in an array of golden rings and a carefully thought-out choice of sneakers. She frequently walks back and forth from the Student Center in Building 115 to the Quanta room in Building 150, eager to tutor students with their English writing.

Folmsbee is recognized as an invaluable member of Daytona State College. First, as a student in the class of 2022, in which she strongly excelled, then, as a Peer Tutor learning how to support students, and today, as an Online Writing Specialist at the DSC’s Writing Center. She has contributed significantly to how embedded tutors work with professors in the English department. According to Quanta-Honors students and alumni, she has highly supported their academic journey. 

When asked, “Where does your motivation to help others come from?,” Folmsbee thoughtfully began to reminisce about her life as a young child. 

She shared that when she was about eight years old, her family lost their home. They decided to pack up their entire lives in a big blue van named “Big Pablo.” Folmsbee and her family traveled across the country and visited nearly 42 states.

“The experience introduced me to people with different backgrounds and the need to be empathetic and humble,” Folmsbee said. She also emphasized how her parents’ upbringing made her aware of her conditions, and privileges, and how people’s perceptions of her might be preconceived based on her Caucasian ethnicity. 

In Maryland, Folmsbee’s urge to understand different communities and people revolutionized. She said she came into contact with four men from South Sudan who had arrived in the United States as refugees. 

“I became interested in their culture, their accents, and their story,” she said. Folmsbee described that the Sudanese men lived on the third floor of a non-profit house where they were offered a space to stay, while Folmsbee’s family occupied the basement. 

She said while smiling, “Imagine a little, eight year old, red-haired girl next to these 6’4 Sudanese men.” Folmsbee remembers how her curiosity made her wonder how four men, who held high ranks in their tribe, needed to depend on the support of a foreign country. Although Folmsbee said she was too young to understand the situation’s complexity, it exposed her to the realities of other communities. The story of the “lost boys” from Sudan awakened her. 

“I developed the ability to be reflective, self-aware, and appreciative of the universal values communities hold worldwide,” she said. Through her travels with family to Argentina, Peru, Ethiopia, and Kenya, Folmsbee said that she established contact with people who shared a strong sense of community and were willing to help her and her family navigate difficult times.  

“We owned nothing, but saw the impact of community building,” said Folmsbee. “Such experiences helped me forged my convictions and values.” She has been transmitting the knowledge she acquired to other environments, such as the Quanta-Honors College.

Although Folmsbee’s first semester at Quanta was online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said,  “I always felt supported by the program’s faculty. The sentiment to foster community, to see students beyond a grade, and to promote critical thinking over memorizing data made me feel comfortable.” She described her experience in Quanta as “the first time she felt at home in the United States.” 

The program allowed Folmsbee to develop a voice in academic and professional spaces. In 2021, she became an embedded tutor in Quanta. Dr. Benjamin Graydon, the Quanta-Honors College chair, indicates that Folmsbee’s impact has manifested in two primary ways: her role as a former Quanta alumna and the support she provides to current and previous students. 

“Students have an example in class of what they can achieve if they embrace opportunities, as Hosanna has done,” said Dr. Graydon. “When students see her, it is very powerful, they see her as model and example.” 

As a Quanta student, Folmsbee recognized her calling. At first, she was determined to become an immigration lawyer inspired by the four men from Sudan. However, her passion for English was forged, and her ability to help others with writing solidified in the form of working as a peer tutor at DSC’s Writing Center. Luis Mario Buendia and Jessa Ward, students in the honors program class of 2024, share that Folmsbee’s support has been instrumental to their success. 

“Hosanna told me, ‘Hey, you are good at writing,'” said Buendia, who wants to pursue an educational path in law. He recounted that during a session at the Writing Center with Folmsbee, she made him feel confident in his skills. 

“She helped me understand that a major in English is advantageous for admission into law school, which was exciting since I wasn’t sure what to do,” Buendia said 

Ward, who planned to become a nurse, will now instead attend Stetson University to pursue a major in English. She said Folmsbee, who went through a similar path, inspired her. 

“Talking to Hosanna, getting to see her college path, it was similar to mine. She was willing to answer my questions; it solidified my decision,” Ward said.

As a tutor, Folmsbee supports students with English grammar, efficient writing, brainstorming, and project outlines. She often emphasizes the importance of ethos, pathos, and logos in essay development –concepts that students perceive as beneficial and transform their writing process completely. She also stresses that her role has not only been solely as a tutor. 

“I have spent 100% of my time channeling and fostering community to empower students,” Folmsbee said. 

According to Billie Jo Dunaway, assistant director of the Writing Center, Folmsbee has a tremendous ability to build relationships with students, staff, and faculty. She understands the “bigger picture.” Both her peer mentorship program leadership and her work at Quanta, where she has become more than a tutor have been vital in continuing to build those relationships and bring more people to the Writing Center.

 “She helps full time and some part time staff be embedded with faculty to create that relationship, so that students feel comfortable coming here,” Dunaway explained. 

Ali Farrer, a 2023 Quanta alumna, shares that Folmsbee’s support and presence in the classroom were vital for her academic journey. 

“She was able to give me advice like a big sister,” Ferrer said. She is now a psychology major in the class of 2025 at Stetson University and stated that her transfer process from DSC was easier to accomplish thanks to Folmsbee’s help. 

Folmsbee’s impact also carries over into her new educational institution. At Stetson University, she is part of the Bonner Program, which matches students with non-profit organizations to support communities in West Volusia County. She first connected with Hispanic Health Initiatives. 

“I was able to find a very unique need that they had, which was grant writing, that I could fill,” Folmsbee added. That’s how she and her classmate applied for the Social Innovation Fund for students from the United Way organization in Volusia. The proposal was awarded $2,000 from United Way and $1,500 from a private donor. Folmsbee explained that the funding went toward developing the food pantry program called “Right to Nutrition,” which provides nutritious food to anyone in need. 

“The organization also emphasizes the need to offer services in Spanish as an effort to serve the Latinx community in West Volusia County,” Folmsbee said. 

Folmsbee says her involvement in Bonner reiterates her values for the collective good. However, she also holds a passion for literature, which is reflected in her current projects. She is the first English literature major at Stetson University in six years to be awarded a SURE Grant to conduct original research on Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein.

The Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience Grant has supported Folmsbee in conducting a rhetorical analysis with 50 bibliographic sources and a conference-length paper in addition. The research focuses on Literary Theory, which Folmsbee describes as a unique aspect of her career that differs from her previous work. 

“It is essentially looking at how the 19th century informs our contemporary ideas on trauma theory,” she said. “I am using Frankenstein as a case study and tracks the historical significance of how trauma is represented and how we talk about it linguistically.”

Between research, grant writing, and tutoring at DSC’s Writing Center, Folmsbee is set to graduate from Stetson University with a major in English Literature in May 2024. She is also embarking on envisioning the future that awaits her. Folmsbee expresses that she hopes to continue the work she has accomplished so far. 

“I want to grow community,” Folmsbee said. Upon earning her Ph.D. at a renowned institution in the United States, she plans to become a professor and continue to share her passion for literature, writing, and community development. 

English faculty member Frank Gunshanan, and an English professor at Quanta-Honors emphasized that Folmsbee has a “God-given” ability to empathize and disseminate information specifically to each student. 

“Hosanna has an almost ethereal and innate ability to know people’s needs,” he said. “Her ability to listen, formulate responses, and share what she knows in a meaningful and empathetic way demonstrates how much she loves what she does … She teaches as if she has been doing it for a quite a long time as a career. I cannot wait to see what she decides to do.” 

The “Hosanna effect,” as Professor Gunshanan described Folmsbee’s contributions, has been evident in various spaces at Daytona State College. Her efforts to make English Writing and students’ college experience more accessible and enjoyable have transformed the academic community at DSC, impacting how they receive orientation and support.