The Fall ’13 semester is in high gear and students are catching their grooves…New HEOP Parsons freshman Ashley Kwan shows off some of her first projects

 

Girls Write Now by Sade Swift

Girls Write Now…where girls share their own stories, with their own voice through their own medium of writing. GWN gives the platform for young women like myself to express themselves in the way they feel most comfortable…and that is writing. I was guided to attain the skills and support and to fully grasp how much power and importance my story had. I learned that my story was not my own to keep, but the world’s to hear.  GWN provides each young woman with a mentor, who is a professional writer, and week by week the mentor fosters her voice and style while building a relationship.  Every month GWN holds a monthly workshop that’s centered on a specific genre. These monthly events allow all the girls and mentors to come together, collaborate and share ideas. At the end of the year there are readings where all the girls and mentors have the opportunity to showcase what they’ve been working on all year and to be applauded for it by friends, family and all other GWN community supporters. For many of the girls, this is a major milestone because it’s the first time that they share their work with a large crowd of people. Alongside the readings there is an anthology that is created as a gift to recognize how much the girls and their peers have grown and to understand the stories they have told, and how important they are. Getting prepared for college is one of GWN’s biggest goals. 100% of the girls that attend GWN graduate high school and they have made it a large part of their motto to make sure that all these girls are prepared for college. Through workshops and one on one meetings GWN mentors are able to provide the resources needed for college readiness. In essence, GWN helped me further discover and develop what I love to do. They have given me the opportunity to share my story with others and be heard and respected. One thing I enjoyed the most was going to my weekly meetings with my mentor and finding out that not only was I learning from her but she was learning from me as well. Having the ability to create community while enhancing the art medium that makes you happy is priceless!