Eveline Mol · Environmental Policy, Social Justice & Sustainability Podcaster · Barnard College

Tell us something about the natural world that you love and don’t want to lose.

There is so much I could say in answer to this question. I think of waterfalls, sequoia trees, a lush rainforest. But if there was one thing that I would truly want to save that means the most to me, it would be the pine trees in the Mediterranean area. I grew up in Rome, Italy, in an apartment that sat at the same height as the tops of the pine trees. Pine trees don’t lose leaves in the winter and fall, so they stayed a constant view in my life as everything else changed. I watched, however, as fire, drought, and cutting changed the landscape of my beloved pine forest. Drought, due to climate change, is the biggest threat to these pine forests. Climate change looms over my mind every day. So much so, that I have decided to dedicate my future career to protecting the environment. I am currently a college student studying Environment and Sustainability. In my daily life, I also follow a plant-based and low-waste lifestyle, buy only second-hand clothing, and use sustainable items whenever possible. That is my personal pledge to fighting climate change; my personal pledge to the pine trees.

Last summer, I interned at Battery Park City Authority, a state park in lower Manhattan. I was involved with their sustainability efforts, especially by creating and filling out a monthly Sustainability Report. Currently, I am working on several efforts, especially through my university. I am a part of the Columbia University chapter of Sprout Up. Sprout Up is an organization that trains and sends instructors into elementary schools to teach young children about the environment, sustainability, and more. I am a lead instructor, and I go into a New York elementary school weekly to teach kids about these important issues. I am also the Director of Sustainability at Flow Columbia. This is a Columbia University club that is dedicated to normalizing diverse menstrual experiences and fighting period poverty. As the Director of Sustainability, I lead the Sustainability Committee, give talks about sustainable periods, and more. I am also involved with restarting the Sunrise Movement at Columbia, potentially as its co-president in the near future. This is the biggest project that I am currently working on. In the next few years, I plan on finishing my studies while conducting research for my senior thesis in environmental policy. I am also considering going to law school in the future to become an environmental lawyer.

When I was in third grade, I did not know much about sustainability or climate change. One day, on Earth Day to be exact, my teacher told us that today was a day we are meant to celebrate the Earth. ‘What do you love about the Earth?’ she asked. Our answers were reflective of our age: rainbows, the sea, butterflies. Then, she asked us, ‘Do you think you treat the Earth well?’ We answered yes; most of us recycled at home. She asked us if we knew where our trash went when we threw it away. ‘Hmm, no, I guess not,’ we replied. Our teacher drew a big bubble on the whiteboard and a little stick figure in the bubble. The stick figure was holding a cup. ‘Do you see this?’ she asked. Then, she erased the cup and drew it again at the bottom of the bubble. Next, she drew a packet of chips in the stick figure’s hands. She then did the same thing; erased it and redrew it at the bottom. This went on until the stick figure was surrounded by containers, utensils, cups, and chip packets. Then, she said: ‘The stick figure is you, and the bubble is our Earth. Everything you throw away never goes away. It stays here forever.’ Yes, it was quite heavy for a young child to hear, but it made such an impact on me that I still remember this moment today, at twenty years old. I also credit that moment as the beginning of my environmental activism. It was not only the story itself that stuck in my mind, but the way it was told. Storytelling is important, especially in the context of environmentalism, because it can make people relate to concepts that would otherwise be so far removed from them. Storytelling brings about a sense of community; an element that is so fundamental to fighting climate change together.

What I get out of working with the Creative Process is a community that is working together to help bring awareness to environmental issues. Community is in the very name of the One Planet podcast. I get a chance to work on my creativity. Working in sustainability can often be bleak and frustrating, and I often forget how important it is to approach the subject with a creative and open mind. Working with the Creative Process helps me further my career in sustainability, gain creative experience and build a community. So far, I’ve had a chance to co-host interviews with Jeffrey Sachs, President of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and Seth Siegel, who discussed issues of water insecurity and management.

Marley Hinschberger · Sustainability & Urban Planning Podcaster · University of Minnesota, Duluth

The summer before my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to visit Costa Rica on a school trip. We traveled around the country, experiencing costa rican culture, which heavily includes the environment and sustainability. We got to spend 5 days in the rain forest with no service or electrcity, with our alarm clocks being the tucans that woke us up. I understood how important these areas are, and how we should appreciate forests and all the animals in them. Getting to experience true off the grid culture and sustainability within the country is something that I don't want to lose, and something I want to become a norm in the United States.
Storytelling and creativity are what I think drives our world. Imagine a world without any art. It would be dark, grey, and filled with only facts. Storytelling makes people think outside the box. When you understand people's stories, you better understand the world and how to appreciate it. Art and creativity make people think and become more empathetic. That is what I want to do. I want people to understand the world through others' eyes and see that we need to care about the environment.

Right now I mostly focus on school, which includes writing essays for classes about sustainability and environmental justice. In the future, I want to write about sustainability and try to make cities more sustainable by adding sustainable housing, adding green spaces, and bettering public transportation.

River Zhi-Hui Zhang · Documentary, Film & Feminism Podcaster · New York University

One of my greatest hobbies is hiking. Due to the covid and my transferring experience, I lived in four cities during my university studies (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and New York). Though they are big cities, even metropolitans, I have discovered mountains and natural scenes in each city driven by my love of nature. The essential charms and uniqueness from nature add a sense of continuity in my separated university life. The most unforgettable mountain I've been to three times is Sunset Peak in Hong Kong. My hiking partner and I will spend five hours reaching the top to set up a tent, waiting for the sun to rise the next day. The variability and uncertainty of nature itself are infinitely magnified on mountains. We were exposed, without the protection of reinforced concrete, becoming extremely insignificant but authentic. I hope that all the natural world can keep its original appearance, but it's impossible since the human world will develop. However, the harmonious balance between well-developed civilization and well-protected nature in Hong Kong makes me believe that humans can reach a balance point with the natural world. Though China did a lousy job protecting the natural world in cities, I wish people could raise environmental awareness and responsibility to protect what we have right now, the mountains with colorful forests in autumn that I can find in Western Beijing.

For me, the most important things are the creator's personal physical and emotional engagement about the project/story and empathy that can be delivered to the audience. That's also what I am trying to approach during my creativity and study, to connect to the world, connect to my subjects, to my stories, and to myself. With The Creative Process, I am learning how to become a good storyteller via various media. This is a platform that gathers artists and storytellers that I want to learn from. I have many reflections and willingness to deliver in-depth stories from around the world. There are so many stories happening every day in every corner of the world, but we don't see them or have the courage to approach them. The Creative Process inspires me and helps me push myself to start exploring and developing daily but extraordinary stories.

Currently, I am working on a short documentary project called Ladies on the Barge. Though the barge runners are males' jobs based on common sense, females play an essential role on the barge but are always neglected. While I was researching social media (e.g. Tick Tock), I found that female barge runners are posting short videos about their lives, and some of them achieve a great number of followers. During my field trip to Huainan, a small village that lived on the Huai canal in China, I encountered five women barge runners of different ages (from the 20s to 80s), some own a big ship, some rents a small ship, and some is losing her ship where she lived for three generations due to government policy. I documented my interactions with them and their lives during the field trip, and right now, I'm in the postproduction process. Another project I'm doing is an anthropology project about the gender hierarchy in the public chess corner in Washington Square Park in New York. There are a dozen chess tables, and every day some males will sit there, calling passersby to play chess with them. I spent every Thursday morning with the chess hustlers in the corner for three months and observed their interaction with me (an Asian female). It turns out thaat there are gender and race selection phenomena in the chess corner, and the power dynamics are determined by both the hustlers and the pedestrians (who plays the passive role and who plays the active part). The project is supervised by Prof. Anna Wilking at NYU. In terms of my plans for the future, I have a traveling plan to Europe this winter, and a study plan to Africa next summer.

Eric Rosin · Environmental Humanities & Sustainability Podcaster · Northwestern University

The American West. Imagine it - the entirety of California, the red rocky National Parks of Utah and Arizona, Yellowstone, all these wonderful places to go get in touch with nature's stark beauty - all inaccessible, because the towns nearby needed water from Lake Mead, and the Colorado River won't have snowpack from the Rockies to keep the West wet. Imagine the suffering as LA and Phoenix and Vegas fall. Imagine wildfires burning with no water to quench them. Imagine half of this nation's ecosystems dead on arrival. That's the future if we don't do something about climate change. (I've been writing a Western sci-fi screenplay in an environment like this. It is an unromantic and unpleasant setting.)

Think of it like this. The natural world is complex and nasty, saturated with information. To survive, one compresses information into somewhat predictable patterns. To make sense of those patterns, we compare them to one another in metaphor. And when we make metaphor - and when we make metaphors work with one another - we are narrativizing information. Storytelling is just that cognitively vital to human functioning.

I've been doing a great deal of creative writing - fanfiction and otherwise - in preparation to be a fiction writer IRL. I realized awhile back that most of what I like to write is high-octane stuff, so to speak, so I switched schools and majors and am now aiming more narrowly to be a screenwriter. That doesn't mean I don't write other material, just that it's what I would like to do for a living. And it doesn't mean I want to make what I write less intelligent - I still think writing about climate change, post-capitalist justice, and other such topics is incredibly important - it just means I want to go about dealing with those topics in a different way. I brim over with unexpressed potential and working with the Creative Process helps me realize that potential.

Kade Cornelius · Sustainability, Environmental Policy & Theory Podcaster · Rutgers

As an escape from the hustle and bustle of our modern society, the beauty of national/state parks are one thing I would love not to lose in the future. Unfortunately, "nature" or "the wild" are things that have been secluded into a select few areas for visiting while the rest of America has been apportioned for factories, cities, and profitable institutions. These national or state parks provide an escape to the natural world and act as a way out of the stressful and pressured social and economic world. As a place to hike, camp or simply enjoy, national and state parks are something that I would like to preserve for the future as they are arguably the closest thing to "wild" left in the United States.

Storytelling and creativity allow for messages and ideas to reach an audience in a way that simple facts never could. Through evoking emotion, reaching different ways of thinking, and showing problems, solutions and ideas in creative and clever ways allows for a wide variety of audience to be reached. In collaboration with The Creative Process I hope to aid in preserving the environment, reach new audiences in creative ways that makes them really care, and to sharpen my own skills in environmental creativity and storytelling to further protect the beauty of nature.

Recently, I have worked on a written project in which I have told the story of fossil-fuel divestment at both Rutgers University and in the entire United States. This story tells about historical movements in fossil-fuel divestment, oppositions from fossil-fuel corporations and stakeholders, and the future of corporate, government, and university stock holdings in the United States. It gives the reader insight into how the United State's institutions, states, and universities are attempting to tackle fossil-fuel corporations by withdrawing their financial investments, thus forcing a cleaner energy future.

ChihTyng Tsao · Sustainability, Animal & Human Rights Podcaster · University of Texas at Austin

I am an animal lover. I usually watch Animal Planet and Discovery with my brother when I was a child. I remember hearing about global warming and the Ozone hole when I was in elementary school. However, I didn't care about it until I saw a video about polar bears losing their home because of global warming. This is the first time I feel that something I like is affected by climate change. More and more extinct animals and the number are still rising due to the damage of their habitat and climate changes. I am afraid that my kid wouldn't have the chance to see those animals I saw when I was little. Not only saving wild lives but also the future of humans. Saving the environment is not helping the Earth. It is helping ourselves. This planet is a beautiful place with different species living together with us. We should protect it for ourselves and the next generation.

My plan in the future is to work in a NGO or NPO, and apply what I have learned from school to solving issues that I care about.

As a graduate student in a public affairs school, I became aware of people overlooking environmental issues and the urgency of taking action before it is too late. Solving environmental problems is a long-term process and needed to be addressed carefully and with appropriate strategies. Managing environmental issues isn't only the responsibility of elective officials or professionals, but everyone in society. Many people do not have enough information or don't even know why we need to protect the environment and how critical and urgent it is. Therefore, storytelling and creativity are important to make individuals gain more information and see the importance of this issue. Collaborating on One Planet Podcast, I am gaining more knowledge and experience in managing Environmental issues.

Anna-Katherine Fournier · Animal Welfare Podcaster · Michigan State University

I love everything about the natural world. The complexity and art of nature, how everything is connected and has a cycle. The power of nature is astonishing. I particularly love the animals in the natural world, all of the different niches they fill and their immense diversity. Even the slightest loss of that diversity of species is one of the saddest things.

I recently graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in environmental biology/zoology. I hope to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine aspiring to eventually make an impact in the field of conservation medicine. I currently work in a research laboratory at my university managing and carrying out my own research plans and questions.

Storytelling is the connection between creativity and making an impact. Storytelling is key to reaching a much broader audience in the quest for environmental advocacy. Through my collaboration with The Creative Process, I am broadening my skills and connecting with like-minded individuals from many different backgrounds. I’m also learning something about myself and how I choose to make a difference.

Docker Clark · Sustainable Agriculture, Spirituality & Indigenous Stories Podcaster · NYU

I don't want to lose my home. I grew up in Kansas, where open space and prairie grasses are plentiful. I remember as a child I would walk barefoot along the paths that paralleled the creek near my school. I would spend hours there just enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. Sometimes I would reach into the clay by the creek bed and make little pots out of it, leaving them to dry on a nearby rock. As I grew (and the suburbs expanded) the creek got much dirtier. In some places, it stopped flowing altogether. I don't want to lose that, it's what I am fighting for through my studies and individual research.

Most recently, I have been doing quite a bit of research on bioremediation, going so far as to create an estimate for carbon sequestration by endophyte-inoculated poplars (so as to remediate the soil and air at once). In the future, I hope to find some way to communicate science more effectively. It has long been my mantra that most problems are the result of improper communication. By finding a way to make what is known, known we only put more people on our side in the fight for our environment.

The thing about creativity and storytelling is that they tend to transcend the borders of class, allowing the core message to be received and understood by the public. It is difficult not to let a little bit of your own heart into a creative work or a story one tells. Without this, the stories are bland and hard to digest. The best part of creativity is the little bit of yourself that slips into each thing you dedicate yourself to. It's the accumulation of all those little pieces of all those different people that makes something great. In working with The Creative Process, I’m using my skills to help in the creation of something beautiful and hopefully communicate some science in the process.

Mustafa Sheikh · Environmental Justice & Healthcare Podcaster · Rutgers

I don't want to lose how small nature can be. If all we're left with are the most hardy, survival-prone species then the only ones that'll be around in 15 years are the pidgeons and the cockroaches. The little niches in different environments, the interactions that species can have with each other, the kindness and sociality of our biodiversity is something unique.

The importance is in what we get done. Storytelling is a vehicle for sharing perspectives, for communicating our selves, our thoughts, and our experiences. Exulansis is a neologism, a word minted recently to give our world a new touchstone for an old concept. Exulansis is the tendency of people to let a story go if they don't know how to explain it, it's the opposite of successful storytelling; if we don't know how to communicate an experience then it's lessons become another forgotten piece of ephemera. Creativity is important because it helps us avoid that, it helps us communicate successfully, it's the way that we ensure our worldviews and our personalities are not forgotten in the wider conversation.

Katherine Reilly · Oceans, Sustainability & Human Rights Podcaster · Rutgers

Being an avid backpacker, I cherish the view of the stars from the mountain top. They shine victoriously and consume the night sky. It's hard to close your eyes and fall asleep under the mesmerizing view. The first time I went backpacking in California, I had never seen a night sky quite like that. Outside of my home in New Jersey, the streetlights block the natural view. This has more negative effects than we realize. Light pollution affects our health and alters the ecosystems and natural functions of the wildlife around us. This is one concern of many. I often think about the future, and the world I will raise my children in. I hope they will see the night sky, as it was made to be seen, illuminating the earth, shining victoriously.
I enjoy science communication and plan to make this a focus in my future career. My studies focus on Human Ecology, and the relationship and impact humans have on the environment. I am fascinating learning about how connected we are to the environment, and how hurting our environment will in turn hurt our species. I am concerned for our future and the future of our planet. I am passionate about sharing this message with the public. Through One Planet Podcast and The Creative Process, I am reporting, interviewing, and getting a chance to communicate science to the public so that we can work in unison to save our planet.Storytelling and creativity are so important in environmental/science communication because you have to keep the audience engaged. It is important to prioritize the receptiveness of the audience. The goal is to have them take away lasting key points. With creative strategy, the communicated message can have an enormous impact on a person.
I am gaining experience in podcasting, interviewing, film, broadcasting, and journalism. I would like to expand my work in science communication and get hands-on experience!
My personal pledge is to share my education and findings with the public. In my own personal outreach and educational efforts, I have discovered how bypassed environmental concerns are to people on a daily basis. I pledge to inspire social change. I have researched, analyzed, and studied multiple environmental solutions. It is clear to me that social change is a priority. For this reason, I will prioritize science communication, and advocate for social change. I am currently managing two events:
Barnegat Bay Day- an environmental and coastal conservation event. My mission for this event is to provide environmental education, introducing the public to non-profits in New Jersey. The goal is to inspire them to learn more about environmental concerns and make changes in their own lives. I am in charge of outreach, planning, promotion, social media marketing, graphic design, and photography.
The second event I am managing is the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences Art Fair. This fair brings art and science to life! Artists are invited to showcase work, and the public is invited to enjoy local art, food, and music. I am also incorporating environmental aspects into this event. Since the hosting Foundation is an environmental conservation center, I am creating hands-on arts and crafts activities that focus on the environment (for example seashell painting/raising money for conservation). I am in charge of outreach, planning, promotion, social media marketing, graphic design, and photography.

Emily Lu · Conservation & Biodefence Podcaster · Georgetown University

One of the main aspects about the natural world that I do not want to lose are the forests and the marshlands. For most of my life, I have lived in delicious forest areas throughout my entire life. The main part that I wanted to preserve are the young trees and not to continue destroying these natural landscapes. Another aspect that needs to be preserved are the marshes. Marshes are one of the aspects of nature that are not considered to be beautiful. They are known to smell and are often removed to make way for commercial business. Now there are more well protected in some areas but are still liable to being removed. Marshes are important estuaries for young fish and other wildlife. What I plan to do was to advocate for change through donations and having my voice being heard.

Stories are like trees. There are many of them in one space, but you often must connect to them to understand and comprehend them. Stories can be destroyed by people, made into something that is processed. After being processed, you lose the core of what the story entitles, becoming a product. Stories that are preserved lived through the different phases and it is something that can be adapted and retold many ways. Restoration of a marsh or a forest is creating more stories to be shared. That is what storytelling and creativity is.

During my senior year of my undergraduate in Georgetown, I worked on a research intensive senior project that focused on the clonal reproduction of Spartina Alterniflora. This is a marsh plant. Professor Hamilton and I focused on reviewing and reanalyzing a paper on Spartina alterniflora and its clonal reproduction rate. We wanted to examine how clonal reproduction can affect genotypic richness and its impact on the spatial distribution of clones.

Elise Curtin · Environmental Justice & Climate Change Podcaster · Brown University

Being from Florida, I’ve been deprived of a typical terrain of changing seasons and rolling hills. Rather, I’ve found beauty in the beaches near my house, and nothing beats the Florida sunsets that reflect off the water every evening. Hordes of beach goers, including me and my friends, lounge in hammocks that line the shore every night just to watch it. Yet pollution from people and boats stains the color of the water, and litters the white, lush sand. Therefore, it is my personal pledge to participate in beach cleanups multiple times a year. I’ve come to realize the significance and importance of preserving the beaches so that generations after me can enjoy the same sunsets. I wrote a paper about the disproportionate effects that climate change has on the aborigines and lower income communities, the divestment movement in universities, and the feasibility of the Green New Deal. 

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Storytelling can transform the average listener from a mere bystander to a passionate activist. Climate change is one of the largest issues humanity will face. However, while climate change will reap havoc across the entire planet, the damage will not be felt proportionately. Already, there is a disparity in the effects that climate change has on Australian native communities, as well as low income communities in the United States, in comparison to middle and upper class communities. Therefore, it becomes clear that the middle and upper class demographic are blinded to the full scope of the impacts of climate change. When grappling with the effects of climate change, there is therefore a disconnect between simply hearing information about climate change, and true comprehension through personal observation and real life experience. Through storytelling, we can bridge this gap by establishing a deeper understanding. Telling stories allows people to visualize and form emotional connections with information. This relatability forms a more meaningful response, which is more likely to inspire passion, and even lead to climate activism. Laura Holloway puts it perfectly when she stated, “Give something of meaning to your audience by inspiring, engaging, and educating them with story. Stop marketing. Start storytelling.” Through The Creative Process, I get to inspire more of these emotional and personal connections to the environment, and spark new passions about sustainability and activism. Through engaging conversations and lively anecdotes, I’m able to learn and grow along with the listeners.

Brianna Brown · Forestry & Oceanography Podcaster · Barnard College

Trees. I love trees. There are so many most important, most significant, most dire problems facing climate change. It’s hard to pick just one that actually means the most, but deforestation stays on my mind like dry gum stuck to asphalt. I value trees so much—their knowledge, their wisdom. They’ve survived the test of time for millions of years and they have seen Earth change, civilisations rise and fall, literally watched Earth shift into what it is now. And they will continue to watch, continue to see, to know, trees are all-knowing and there’s so much to learn. Not only do they just erupt from Earth, stand tall and true, looking majestic, they provide us with free, clean air. And we’re chopping them down? For what? A few scraps of paper here and there? My personal pledge is to become fully digital. I see no reason to buy paper notebooks and print paper when we have laptops, tablets, and smartphones. However, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t know if the world will ever become fully digital. Many people do not have access to proper and/or stable electricity, internet connection, and cannot afford technology that would give them the ability to become fully digital.

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The importance of storytelling within Black culture is to create and continue community, as well as preserve history. The stories my mother tells me of my great-grandmother’s and my grandmother’s struggles as women who grew up in the Jamaican countryside farming to make ends meet—that’s my history. These are the stories I will tell my children, and then I will tell them my mother’s story. Inez Brown, born to Iris Campbell and Justin Brown, born in Peddie Piece, Hanover, Cornwall County, Jamaica. A woman who did not grow up with much, but her parents gave her all that they had, and nineteen years later began returning the favour to her own children. A woman who travelled miles to reach where she is today, literally and figuratively. A woman who worked tirelessly to be able to support her mother the way she was supported as a child. This is my history, and I can only hope my story will be remembered as well. 

The importance of creativity and art is emotional expression. To me, in Black art, there is no greater emotional expression than pain. Black art is the pain of an entire race, created by us, and for us. Every time I write a poem I am releasing the stress, the weight, of the pain I feel for myself and for other Black people. 

I hope to hear people’s stories. Of course, I’m here for the environmental aspect. But I want to hear people’s stories in the way they talk about their relation to nature, the environment, Earth in totality. Not only do I want to report on their work and what they’re doing, I’d love to encapsulate their stories in poems to share alongside them so that their passion and commitment is understood. 

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Currently, I’m writing for the Columbia University Climate School’s blog, State of the Planet. Every two weeks, I publish a new poem related to nature (or more specifically, Jamaican nature). Within the next few months, I will have my own section on the blog dedicated to solely my work. Additionally, I’m working on securing an internship within environmental activism, or research. This plan is up in the air and nothing is solid yet. In the fall, I’ll begin working for the Barnard Environment and Sustainability department as an office assistant conducting surveys, finding research, for example, on studies aimed at reducing energy on college campus, as well as planning events to inform and alert people of the work being done to make Barnard a more sustainable campus.

David Atere · Interdisciplinary Podcaster · NYU

I believe that storytelling is one of the universal forms of communication that connects everyone alive, deceased, and yet to be born. Creativity is the fuel that allows each person to add their own stitch to the universal quilt that is storytelling. With the creative process, I hope to have experiences where I can interact with storytellers from a plethora of disciplines and learn from them.

I'd say the two things I do not want to lose in the natural world are clean air and clean water. I feel strongly about preserving these things because it is something every living creature on earth depends on and should be treated with the utmost care and respect. I'm originally from Nigeria, whenever I go back home, it breaks my heart to see some people without access to something as simple as clean water.

I've just completed a documentary about sex in the media and its various forms, and I'm currently working on an independent film about two thieves attempting to record themselves breaking into someone's house.

Tina Chatman · Science, Food & Agriculture Podcaster · Chapman University

Guest speakers at school and camps continuously shared the same message: take every opportunity to travel. This advice led me to travel to China and Scotland while in high school. Pre-pandemic, I spent the semester in Switzerland and traveled extensively around Europe until it ended abruptly. I am easily convinced to take an adventure, whether traveling, eating, or learning about new cultures.

Before the neighbors put rocks in their backyard, the steep hill was perfect for snow days, when every kid was sledding together. There were races, bets, a little friendly competition, and I was just excited to be involved as one of the youngest. A challenge was who could get closes to the creek, which divided properties. I do not blame them for giving me a string sled; I did not know how to work since I won the challenge by falling into the frozen creek. They had never said that it would disqualify someone. My older brother took me home soaking wet but did not wait for our mother to open the door before sledding again. I want to preserve the idea that fun is in your backyard with other people rather than on a screen.

My recent personal projects have focused on family since I have been home with them during the pandemic. I wish to examine my relationships with them when creating characters for films or tv shows. My plans involve selling a project that gives an audience another perspective, plus getting my name credited would not hurt.

I have sat for twenty minutes dreaming of the perfect narrative to answer this question. Here’s what I did while I tried to find the words: listened to Lo-Fi studying beats, your podcast, and even danced around my room to get the creative juices flowing. For me, the importance is to represent yourself as the sole person in the position to the story. It’s frustrating trying to communicate your perspective on the world because sometimes people do not always like or agree with it. The goal is to get one person to listen, to share the story with someone else. Sound helps carry emotion. Hollywood has recognized that podcast is another medium to share a story. By collaborating with The Creative Process, I get to understand and develop podcast skills by telling engaging stories.

Emily Spitler · Human Rights & Sustainability Podcaster · University of Texas at Austin

Nature is a constant reminder that there is inherent beauty in our existence. There is nothing more comforting than spending a day outside with beautiful weather. Personally, I spend a lot of time outdoors with my friends. Often, we’ll go sit outside at a park or a natural swimming hole with our pets and spend the entire day outside. I feel as though the act of being outside immediately relieves the weight of our responsibilities we carry throughout our days. Nature acts as a catalyst to deepen our connections with others, as well as our connection to ourselves. Spending time outside is a way for me to practice gratitude and staying present. Being a student, my most valuable memories are not the times my friends and I have spent at parties or downtown, but the nights we spent camping and the week-long road trips where we sat in silence in the car, appreciating the lives we are lucky enough to live. To lose these experiences would be detrimental to me; not having this outlet would mean less beauty in the world to appreciate, as well as more difficulty putting my life into perspective. 

Sustainability has been something I have been actively trying to address for a while. As a biology student, sustainability is a field I am hoping to get into in the future. I am vegetarian, for a lot of reasons, one of them being the environmental impact. I mainly shop second-hand, I either walk, bike or take public transportation everywhere, and do my best to reduce my electricity use.

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Creativity is a form of self-love. When people have hobbies, regardless of skill level, they are devoting that time and attention to bettering themselves. Storytelling is a special skill where someone is able to translate that love to others by sharing experiences and lessons with the goal of bettering the listener. When I realized my passion for STEM, I had the  notion that I had to choose between science and creativity. I thought I wouldn’t be able to have both. As I’ve aged, I’ve realized that anybody, in any position of life, is able to be creative. Creativity is being present and actively making the effort to control your train of thought. The more energy that is devoted to developing this skill, the more original ideas will be available to come together and do something substantial. 

Via collaboration with The Creative Process I am able to spread messages that are of importance to me such as sustainability and an appreciation for what surrounds us, including nature, people, and ourselves. 

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This past year, I have been working on several independent research projects in areas that I am really passionate about. As a lover of music, I have spent a lot of time researching the Haitian experience of Rara, and how it provides Haitians with an outlet of expressing their political opinions. Additionally, I have been working on a field research project studying the relationship between soil pH and density of Chinese Privet, a highly invasive plant in Austin, TX. 

I have so many things planned for my future and am filled with excitement when I think about its possibilities. On the more tangible side, putting my biology degree to use and participating in field research is one thing I’m really looking forward to. I also am planning on participating in programs where you are able to teach English abroad. While I have been studying French, my dream would be able to teach somewhere in East Asia. I love to travel and plan on doing a lot of that. 

In a broader sense, I am excited to better know myself and others as I grow and mature. Over the past year, I have begun to view every person as someone who I can either learn something from or teach something to. Practicing this has changed the relationships in my life completely, including my relationship to myself. I have been able to grow to a point where I am able to be my favorite company and have been a large advocate of this being the case for everyone. I’m excited to meet new people who are able to teach me more about life and growth, either directly or through observation. I think that as long as growth continues to remain my goal, I will continue to be satisfied with the life I live.

Willyann King · Film & Activism Podcaster · NYU

I believe that we are living in unprecedented times. During these times it is important for art to reflect what is going on. If done correctly, storytelling can not only be a call to action, but also a mirror to society. I am interested in human rights and filmmaking. If I was to curate a special themed issue, it would be how creatives are using their art as a spotlight on important issues (e.g feminism, critical race theory). 

I love to marvel at the natural wonder of the world. I love to breathe in fresh air while taking a hike or a stroll. I am someone that stops and smells the flowers. When I travel, I try to look for botanical gardens I can visit or nature parks. I always felt that was something healing about being in touch with Mother Nature. Since she has been so kind to me, I try my best to return the favor. I got into recycling in college and I continue to do my part. As of right now, I do not have any plans for Earth Day this year. I want to educate myself more on The Canopy Project.

My current project is my podcast entitled, The King's Podcast. It can be found on the majority of streaming services. My plans in the future will be to continue working on my podcast with hopes of eventually branching out to have interviews included on it.

Andrea Barreto Lagesse · History, Creativity & Humanity Podcaster (Brazil)

I am from a town in Northeastern Brazil and have always been surrounded by Atlantic rainforests and tropical fauna. From a young age, I was active in composting my family's food waste, gardening, feeding surrounding animals, and hiking through the forest in my community. I believe one of the principal reasons that climate change is so frequently ignored is that minority and disadvantaged groups are at the front lines of this change. These changes are found around the world from the United States to the PNG, to my home country of Brazil. In my own country, indigenous people are still being displaced in the Amazon Rainforest in order for the commercial exploitation of their land. Intentional fires spread rapidly throughout the historic rainforest in order for the space to be utilized for cattle farming or monoculture, all of which is sanctioned by President Bolsonaro due to his breakdown of environmental protections. I have personally seen climate change in my own community, which was once densely populated by butterflies, capybaras, and mico monkeys, but have been driven out by constructions and human invasion.

What do you feel is the importance of storytelling and creativity? And what experiences do you hope to have through your collaboration with The Creative Process?

I think storytelling and creativity are some of the most uniquely human processes, and I find myself personally drawn to oral history as a form of understanding different communities' understandings of their own histories as well as the world's. I have participated in a video project aiming to record the personal oral histories of the Dominican immigrant community in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which was exhibited publicly at a local restaurant for the community to watch. I believe through projects such as The Creative Process, I can further explore oral history and how making interviews accessible to the public is a form of education without economic barriers. I hope to get to know more about the variety of interesting individuals interviewed by The Creative Process, and understand more about the powerful process of storytelling.

I am a History student at Barnard College with a concentration in Latin American history and minors in Anthropology and Italian. Particularly, I study the social history of Latin America and the ways in which inequalities are reproduced over time. I am currently enrolled in a History of the Atlantic Slave Trade and have in the past taken courses on Families in Latin America, Afro-Latin America, and Gendering Material Culture.

Aria Young · Arts & Activism Podcaster (China)

 Storytelling and creativity have always been a critical part of my life. I would like to think that my mind is fundamentally melancholy and it is only through art-making that I get to release the constant introspection and excessive thoughts. Storytelling to me is also a way to process past traumas and gain control of my own narrative. Through collaborating with The Creative Process, I am connecting with other artists and professionals to explore more dimensions of art, especially filmmaking, poetry, and theatre. 

I am currently a reporter at WNYU Radio News station so I have been working on several news pieces, one particular about Earth Day/Month and the current state of sustainability at NYU. I am also currently acting in a student-directed play, LIKE TREASON?, which will be performed at NYU Gallatin Arts Festival this week. I am also working on a feature screenplay that explores the Asian-American queer identity. In the future, I hope to work on more film projects since it is a great passion of mine but I don't get to do it enough. I would also love to do more poetry and spoken-word performances and be involved in theatre more often.

Gabriella Gyurkovics · Political Science, Social, Environmental & Economic Justice Podcaster

I am passionate about the environment and I love to learn about what we can do as individuals to combat climate change. One thing I love about this world is our mountains. As a college student in Colorado, the mountains are my everyday backdrop. I am an avid rock climber, hiker, skier, and mountaineer, so the mountains have always felt like home to me. A specific memory I have that accentuates my love of mountains is from one of my mountaineering trips. I have made it my goal to climb every mountain in Colorado that stands above 14,000 feet in elevation. Last summer I was climbing one such mountain and my partner and I got horribly lost. We were roaming around in a deserted boulder field for about five hours in the scorching hot sun with not nearly enough food or water. At that moment I was awestruck by how small we were and how powerful this mountain was. As humans, we like to think we have conquered nature, but at that moment nature had conquered me. Keeping this experience in mind, I realize now more than ever how important it is to preserve nature. We are all dependent on nature, no matter how much we try to tell ourselves we have conquered it. For this reason, my personal sustainability pledge is to reduce my waste as much as possible. I recycle and compost regularly, I do not use disposable utensils or paper products, and when I am on the trail I always practice the Leave No Trace guidelines. For Earth Day this year, I have registered with my university to take part in the Boulder Creek cleanup where we will pick up litter from in and around the beautiful creek that runs through Boulder.

My most recent project is the original research paper I wrote for my political science research class. I wrote about the causes of democratic backsliding in Latin America and conducted my research to support my thesis. In the future, I would love to take on a more creative role in an academic context. Though I enjoy research, I would be interested to interview others in order to gain a personal account of the topics that interest me.

Storytelling and creativity are the cornerstones of humanity. Without stories, we never would have had the chance to experience the adventures of Odysseus, or the conquests of Robinson Crusoe, or the chilling predictions of George Orwell. In my experiences with The Creative Process, I am contributing to the community of creative people and storytellers. I have done extensive research on academic topics throughout my college career, but I have come to realize that the best way to convince someone else or to inform them is through a story. I am developing these skills with The Creative Process and helping others share their stories.

Ensayo expositivo

Gabriella Gyurkovics

SPAN 3010 – Retórica y composición avanzada

Primavera del 2021

Autoritarismo en América Latina

América Latina es una gran región del mundo. La región incluye toda América del Sur, las Islas del Caribe, Centroamérica, y México. Como muchas otras partes del mundo, América Latina tiene una historia de gobiernos autoritarios. Autoritarismo es un régimen político en que un líder gobierna su país con poder y control en muchos aspectos incluyendo en las vidas de sus ciudadanos. En las palabras de Significados (2016) “El autoritarismo es… una actitud abusiva de la autoridad.” La región de Latinoamérica ha tenido muchos de esos regímenes en su historia. Líderes como Augusto Pinochet en Chile, Jorge Rafael Videla en Argentina, y Nicolás Maduro en Venezuela fueron autoritarios en el pasado y todavía en el presente. 

Un gobierno autoritario es un gobierno que cumple considerablemente con las leyes existentes en el país. El gobierno de un líder autoritario puede ser un gobierno personal o populista, cuando la ejecución de las leyes es basarse en el líder, es un gobierno que se basa mayormente en las leyes y en el sistema de gobierno. En una sociedad autoritaria que es gobernar con mucha autoridad, el líder defiende las leyes con fuerza y muchas personas sienten que sus libertades han sido confiscadas (de Alba, 2017).  Un gobierno autoritario también puede ser una democracia, porque es posible que los ciudadanos que viven en una sociedad autoritaria tengan algunas libertades fundamentales como la libertad de expresión, acceso a educación, acceso a salud, y otros. Sin embargo, es raro porque las leyes se enfocan con fuerza, y generalmente esas libertades están en competencia con el poder del líder y con los ciudadanos del país.

Existe hoy y existió en el pasado muchos ejemplos de gobiernos autoritarios en todo del mundo, pero específicamente en América Latina, pero hay algunos eventos históricos que indiscutiblemente provocó esta realidad. Uno de los eventos más significativos en la historia de esta región es el colonialismo. La mayor parte de Latinoamérica fue colonizada por España. Cuando esta región fue colonizada, las clases sociales emergieron. La primera clase fue la superior: los colonizadores. Ellos fueron, en mayor parte, personas blancas que tenían todo el poder. Durante el periodo del colonialismo, la clase de los colonizadores se volvía a la clase de los criollos. Los criollos fueron personas con linaje íbero, pero eran Latinoamericanos. La segunda clase era la clase media. Esta clase se llamaba en términos sociológicos, no en términos económicos. La clase media era, en mayor parte, los mestizos. Los mestizos eran personas de raza mezclada entre los criollos y los indígenas. Las personas en esta clase tenían algunas libertades y derechos, pero no lo mismo que los criollos (Russel, 2017). Finalmente, la clase más baja fueron la de los indígenas. Ellos casi nunca tenían derechos o libertades. Los indígenas fueron oprimidos y los criollos los dominaban. En referencia con la Enciclopedia de historia y cultura latinoamericana (2021) “Durante la mayor parte de la era colonial, la sociedad hispanoamericana tenía una estructura piramidal con un pequeño número de españoles en la parte superior, un grupo de personas de raza mixta debajo de ellos, y en la parte inferior una gran población indígena y un pequeño número de esclavos, generalmente de origen africano.” La rigurosidad de esas estructuras de las clases sociales ha disminuido desde el período colonial, pero hoy hay siempre divisiones entre las clases. Por ejemplo, la Enciclopedia de la historia y cultura de América Latina dice que “a través de América Latina, ser indígena o Negro es tener un rango más bajo en lo económico, político, y estatus social que los que no son indígenas o Negros.” (La enciclopedia de la historia y cultura de América Latina, 2021). Estas divisiones entre las clases se basan en las divisiones étnicas en la historia de la región. Por esta razón, hay una tradición de poder absoluto en Latinoamérica. Gobiernos autoritarios en la región son comunes.

Uno de los gobiernos más poderosos en Latinoamérica fue el gobierno autoritario de Augusto Pinochet en Chile desde 1974 a 1990. Él fue el líder de la junta militar en Chile en el siglo 20. Antes del régimen de Pinochet, el presidente Salvador Allende implementó muchas políticas de socialismo en intentos fallidos para disminuir las desigualdades económicas, políticas y sociales entre las clases. Pinochet, en contraste, quería implementar políticas del mercado libre con su poder. Él silenciaba todo de su oposición en la izquierda con métodos autoritarios. “En los primeros tres años, el régimen arrestaba aproximadamente 130,000 personas, la mayoría fueron torturados.” (los editores de la Enciclopedia británica, 2020). Como muchos de los líderes autoritarios anteriores en Latinoamérica, Pinochet robaba muchas libertades humanas a sus ciudadanos durante su régimen. Él nunca permitió actividad política opositora – otra cualificación de un autoritario. Durante su régimen, hubo miles de personas desaparecidas. Los desaparecidos eran chilenos y algunas personas de otros países que fueron torturadas y asesinadas por motivos políticos. El régimen de Pinochet es similar a el régimen autoritario de Nicolás Maduro hoy en Venezuela.

En las palabras de Fundación de herencia (2019) “El pueblo venezolano ha estado sufriendo bastante por la hiperinflación, la escasez de alimentos paralizante y el hambre desenfrenada, los suministros médicos escasos y una tasa de mortalidad infantil vertiginosa.” Desigualdad económica, política y social caracterizan la sociedad venezolana en el régimen de Maduro. En una manera similar que otros autoritarios, Maduro usa su poder político para restringir las voces y libertades políticas de los venezolanos. Por ejemplo, la libertad del internet no existe en el país. “La conectividad se vio interrumpida con frecuencia debido a las fallas de infraestructura e, igualmente, se constató que los proveedores de servicios bloquearon fuentes clave de noticias e información independientes durante momentos políticamente sensibles.” (Casa de libertad, 2020) Adicionalmente, reportajes independientes son raros. Reporteros y periodistas restringen sus propios medios, y si no lo restringen ellos mismos, sería probable que sus medios serian susceptibles a ciberataques (Casa de libertad, 2020). La Casa de libertad (2020) se dice que Maduro mantiene un “estricto control sobre el resto de las instituciones del país, y una política de fuerte intimidación y represión.” Esos son cardinales características de un gobierno autoritario.

El gobierno de Pinochet en Chile también tenía una desenfrenada desigualdad económica, pero una diferencia importante entre los dos regímenes eran sus tendencias políticas. El régimen en Venezuela es un gobierno socialista, y en contraste, el gobierno de Chile en el siglo 20 era capitalista. En Venezuela, la Fundación de herencia (2019) dice que “El resultado del socialismo, doblemente derribado por el gobierno autoritario, ha sido más que horrible, con el daño en Venezuela insoportablemente extenso.” En Chile, en contraste, Pinochet se oponía a todas las diferentes formas del socialismo y promovía reglamentos del mercado libre.

Aunque las tendencias políticas en los dos países son diferentes, el resulto de los dos regímenes autoritarios son similares: desigualdad, violencia, y opresión. Los dos de los países implementaban censuras estrictas (Fundación de herencia, 2019 & Casa de libertad, 2020) en que las personas en los dos países solamente tienen acceso a uno opinión sobre el gobierno. Todas formas de oposición a el gobierno son silenciaron con fuerza y opresión. También, los dos gobiernos usan violencia en contra de los ciudadanos de los dos países.  En Chile, el gobierno secuestra a, y probablemente mata a muchos de los ciudadanos para provoca el miedo para oponer el gobierno en la población (Los editores de la Enciclopedia británica, 2020). En Venezuela, “Policías y miembros de la Guardia Nacional Bolivariana llevaron a cabo redadas que dieron origen a numerosos señalamientos de abusos, como ejecuciones extrajudiciales, detenciones arbitrarias masivas, maltrato de detenidos, desalojos forzados, destrucción de viviendas y deportaciones arbitrarias.” (Libertades humanas vigilia, 2019) La final característica de un gobierno autoritario, y característica de los gobiernos de Pinochet y Maduro es la represión de opuesto político. En Chile en 1983, “la Confederación de Trabajadores del Cobre (CTC) organizó la primera protesta nacional [pero] el gobierno de Pinochet utilizó la violencia contra los manifestantes” (Ciudades de Latinoamérica, 2021) para mantener su control del país. En Venezuela, opuestos políticos y manifestantes son rutinariamente detenían y silencian. (Libertades humanas vigilia, 2019) Es el método que Maduro usa para guardar su poder del país. Esos son métodos que muchos autoritarios usaban detrás la historia del mundo.

América Latina es una región con una larga historia de autoritarismo. La razón por eso es en parte porque el sistema de gobierno en el periodo colonial. En este periodo los colonizadores creaban divisiones basaban, en mayor parte, en diferencias étnicas. Esas divisiones ayudaban a crear a los gobiernos autoritarios en muchos países de Latinoamérica. Dos de esos regímenes son el régimen de Pinochet en Chile y el gobierno autoritario en Venezuela de Maduro. Esos regímenes son similares porque los dos tienen desigualdad y violencia. Sin embargo, hay diferencias entre esos regímenes. El gobierno en Venezuela es socialista, y el gobierno en Chile era capitalista. Los regímenes autoritarios en América Latina es un tópico que muchas estudian porque hay muchas complejidades de los regímenes en todos los países, específicamente en Chile y Venezuela.  

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