Associate Podcast Producer & Interviewer · Macalester College · Kira Schukar

The pivotal moment in my writing career was my dramaturgical work with Macalester’s theater department, where I experimented with historical and oral storytelling. This experience prompted me to start thinking more seriously about the power of storytelling, and the role I may play in the literary world. After college, I hope to work for an arts nonprofit while also finding ways to share my stories, either through poetry or theater.

I have an incredible admiration for great storytellers, whether they work in visual, literary, or oral art. I believe that the best stories connect us across boarders (both physical and social) and encourage us to love one another, no matter our differences or disagreements. To me, podcasts are one of the most powerful forms of storytelling, because they place the listener in the moment, sitting across from another human being. My favorite podcasts have always told the stories of ordinary people and have helped me find profound moments in my daily life. Through my work with The Creative Process, I am learning how to transmit these moments to the audience and create more evocative stories.

Young Writers and Artists Curator · Brown University · Chloe Zilkha

Throughout high school, my world was centered in room 123 — the fine arts room.Starting in freshman year, hours were poured into projects and relationships, becoming integrated into the art community myself. I admired the older students for the skills and passions that drove their work forward, and their dedication to the program permeated into the lives of younger students, inspiring us to grow into artists ourselves. When National Art Honor Society was introduced to my high school in my sophomore year, it was only natural that I clung to the group, excited to be included in a body of people that would bring more art into the surrounding community. I grew as a person and as an artist through this club, ultimately becoming a leader in the position of vice-president during my senior year. From admiring the work of the older kids to becoming one myself, I understood that I could help have an impact on the art community. While being an officer in NAHS, the club had increased membership, raised hundreds of dollars for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico through the sales of student-made ceramic necklaces, and instituted an “artist-of-the-month” display in the entryway of my high school to highlight talented student artists and raise awareness for the school’s art department. With National Art Honor Society, I experienced the satisfaction of making a difference through something you love first hand, encouraging me to continue to do so in the future.

This past year, I completed a full portfolio for AP Studio art during my senior year of high school. Within this portfolio I explored many different mediums, including creating a series of punch needle embroidery landscapes and designs, as well as a series of portraits in graphite pencil. My portfolio was displayed at our region-wide art show, where I designed and executed the plans for my artist booth. As a freshman at Brown University this past fall taking engineering classes, I utilized my drawing skills to create detailed hand drawings for engineering projects in our design workshop. As I continue my undergraduate studies, I plan to become more engaged with the artistic community on campus and explore more of my artistic interests — such as continuing to pursue my love for visual arts, as well as delve into more creative writing and research.

Young Writers and Artists Curator · Mount Holyoke College · Sarah Lancaster

Growing up, my mom took me and my sisters to the public library nearly every week. We’d get recommendations from the librarians and walk home with bags full of books. As we have grown up, this ritual has continued with our neighbors and friends. The Ann Arbor Public Library System is something that has greatly influenced me and my community. They have not only books but also artwork, musical instruments, science tools, games and more to rent. They encourage all types of learning and exploration, we have used their science tools at my sisters birthday party and projections systems for halloween. The library also hosts many events, partnering with local businesses to give lessons on food, music and art. They work on bringing the community together around learning and it has given me, and many of those growing up in my neighborhood a place to explore our interests. The library system and specifically the staff who work to create that environment, have given me the tools to explore my interests and the imagination to do so and I hope that this continues for future generations.

Recently I had the opportunity to work with the Emily Dickinson Museum through one of my UMass classes on their Replenishing The Shelves Project. They are restoring Emily Dickinson’s library by purchasing same edition copies of her books. We worked as a team to prepare object guides that included information on the book and its influence on Dickinson’s life and poetry.  These are to be used to teach tour guides a more in depth knowledge of her library and incorporate the space better on tours. 

For the future I hope to continue pursuing public history as a way to encourage public outreach and participation in cultural and historical institutions. I am currently working at Mount Holyoke archives this year and have worked on social media and research. I would love to combine public history with my studies in French and work on preserving cultural heritage. 

Collaborating Curator · University of Michigan · Albert Che

I’m from Shanghai, China and majoring in art and design. I’m collaborating on celebrating the creative and educational community of Michigan with The Creative Process, as well as working on design elements. As an artist and designer, I love to collaborate and interact with people from different backgrounds.
I’ve recently worked on a discursive design project creating a reparations app that allows people to send money for reparation to people who are eligible to initiate conversations about reparations. I was also involved in a project that collaborated with high school students from the Detroit community high school to create a business model of a footwear company by teaching them design skills to make products like sandals. My plan for the future is to work on more projects that initiates conversations and could create an impact on people. I love to collaborate with different artists or people with different skill sets because it is an opportunity for us to learn from each other and gain more inspiration to create the most interesting work.

I think the important part of the the arts/creativity is inspiration and communication. I think we need to communicate with different people and do a lot of research in order to have a good source of inspiration and have enough source to create something that a lot of people would appreciate. As I was doing research for many of my projects, I’m often surprised by how much information and knowledge I’m able to get from researching. From collaborating with the creative process, I hope to learn from other members and share my experiences and stories with them as well as our creative processes. It is an amazing opportunity for us to gain more insights and become more open minded about things as we work together. I am looking forward to the projects I’ll be working on and meeting new people along the way.

Young Writers and Artists Curator & Podcaster · University of Washington · Andrew Jawort

A teacher that made a difference in my life was my high school physics teacher. She was younger at least as much as I could tell and I was having a hard time in the class. I was struggling with the material, physics, and the accompanying math did not come easy to me. So, to remedy this I stayed after school to study with her, hopefully having the teacher there as a resource would help me out. It did to an extent and I did alright in physics, but more than anything she helped me reevaluate what it was I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I probably did not want to go into any Stem field. That sort of knowledge did not come naturally to me. We talked about my interest, I explained I really liked English and history, how I thought I might want to become an attorney someday, an immigration one so I could help people come to the United States and start their new lives as my own mother did as a child. And this seemed particularly important to me because in the political climate of the day and now immigrating to the states is seemingly getting harder, Trump had just out a ban on immigration handful of Muslim majority countries. She told me about her friend who became an attorney and how they enjoyed it and their path from undergrad to law school to practicing law. She was someone to talk to who was not my parent but had some amount of wisdom and time to listen. At the time I needed that and found it very comforting, it helped illuminate for myself where I was going. Today I'm still unsure of what I'd like to do after undergrad but at the time it gave me some ideas as to what I could do. 

I am going to conduct an interview with a first-generation immigrant their experience leaving their original nation and coming here. I'm planning on interviewing my Grandpa who emigrated from Vietnam. Along with this interview is a term paper. As well I am enrolled in a "Task Force" class for my major wherein students come up with advisory policy papers on current events. My group is studying the European Union and the supernational parties that operate there. We are to analyze how the system is currently functioning and offer suggestions as to how to make it operate more democratically. I am also involved in "The Dream Project" a high school mentoring program wherein current University of Washington students go to local high schools as mentors to try and help inform students on the available resources for plans after high school whether that be college, trade schools, the military, or finding a job.

I'd like to start conducting my own personal interview series. One with a video and written component, the starting topic would be suicide but I'd also like to cover gender, race and other topics. I’m very interested in law, arts, non-profit, social work, or educational fields.

Young Writers and Artists Curator & Podcaster · Rutgers University · Kristianna Chanda

There are many teachers that have made an impact on my life. One teacher who I have in mind is my 9th grade English teacher, Mr. Besler. I was a rather shy, reserved student in high school however he helped me discover my voice through the art of writing. Everyday my class had an assigned writing prompt where we would provide our response to a discussion question. Mr. Besler commented on our responses. I felt liberated that I could provide my own thoughts and beliefs without being influenced by others opinions. His class helped me gain confidence in my writing abilities throughout high school and into college. 

I am currently pursuing a Masters of Information with a specialization in Archiving and Preservation at Rutgers University. I am currently volunteering at the New Jersey State Archives where I am organizing 19th century documents from East and West Jersey proprietors. My plans for the future include working in a museum, library, or archival institution where I would archive and digitize documents to provide greater public access.

Young Writers and Artists Curator & Podcaster · University of Colorado-Boulder · Brett Sklare

My history teacher Junior year of High school had a profound impact on my learning experience. Mr. Huff taught me a writing style which has greatly benefited me in my academic career, and I continue to use his techniques when writing college essays. He was also a great mentor and role model. Mr.Huff continued to challenge his students, increasing his students' level of knowledge on not just history, but on life as well. My recent projects have included a meta-analysis in the realm of Clinical Psychology. Me and three other students reported on several peer-reviewed studies related to treating Conduct Disorders in children with the use of the Incredible Years program (behavioral therapy and informative sessions for children and parents conducted by clinical psychologists and masters students).

As far as the future is concerned, there are a couple of things I’m interested in. First, I would love to be an art teacher. I love working with children and art instruction is something I’ve always been interested in. I also have thought about owning my own business someday. I have different ideas of what I might want it to be. My favorite at the moment is owning a Color Me Mine-type of art studio where I would get to teach people (preferably children) about art and have fun.

Associate Podcast Producer & Interviewer · University of South Carolina · Della Bryant

Reading has always been an interest of mine.  One of my earliest and best memories ensured this interest would continue.  There was a program within my school, which encouraged reading through a contest for prizes.  At first, joining was a sensible decision since reading was already a fun off-time activity.  Throughout the year there were small prizes, such as color-changing pencils, that were handed out for a certain number of books read.  As the year went on I realized I would have to read more than usual to receive prizes.  By the end of the year, I had read enough to be in the top 3 and received a bonus, which I still have to this day.  However, this contest was worth more than the prizes that were awarded, as it has continued my love of reading throughout my life.  It developed a habit that, as a university student, has assisted with understanding assignments and developing creativity.  

One of my recent projects occurred while studying abroad in Wellington New Zealand through the University of South Carolina’s Study abroad program, I was very excited to be chosen as the lead character modeler for a 3-D video game design project. This phenomenal experience taught me how to work collaboratively with a highly diverse team from several cultures. Our team ultimately received a perfect score for the assignment, and I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment that started with a brand new team. 

In the near future, my plan is to continue my education into graduate school at the University of South Carolina in the Advanced Masters Program, where I will graduate within a year.  Currently, my thesis project is about understanding how artists are using new media and technology to produce artwork that bridges different forms of contemplation such as social interactions and animated motion through creating a shared environment with various topics. Currently, this focus is on Augmented Reality's influence on social behavior and community building to make positive impacts on shared human experiences. 

Young Writers and Artists Curator & Podcaster · Fordham University · Elizabeth McLaughlin

A teacher who has influenced me greatly was my high school art teacher, Mrs. Doemel. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I discovered my love for drawing, and she is the reason I discovered it. The only reason I took Studio Art I my freshmen year of high school was for the fine arts requirement, but I very quickly realized how much I loved it. And much of that came from Mrs. Doemel’s passion. She is an enthusiastic and passionate teacher, and her excitement about whatever project we were working on was infectious. In that class we explored many different mediums and she helped me see that art wasn’t just about drawing and pencils. In the following years of high school, she helped me develop my technique and learn the confidence I would need to take an art class in college.

As an art major, I always have different kinds of projects ongoing. As the fall semester concluded, I had just finished a painting that was the final project for one of my classes (see picture). It is something I am incredibly proud of for a number of reasons. The inspiration behind the painting was about an emotional journey I experienced this summer regarding my relationship to patriotism and America. I was also very proud of myself because I’ve never had any formal instruction in painting. It is very large and abstract: two things I have shied away from in the past. This painting was a bit of a risk for me and I am very proud of how it turned out.

As far as the future is concerned, there are a couple of things I’m interested in. First, I would love to be an art teacher. I love working with children and art instruction is something I’ve always been interested in. I also have thought about owning my own business someday. I have different ideas of what I might want it to be. My favorite at the moment is owning a Color Me Mine-type of art studio where I would get to teach people (preferably children) about art and have fun.