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New York City
August 2002

HS Students Learn to Write at Sarah Lawrence College
By Christina Perpignano

Emily Leavitt, a 14-year-old student at Beacon High School, always had a desire to write. “I don’t have to be elated or depressed, but if an idea pops into my head I’ll write it down in my journal which I carry around with me,” she says.

This summer Emily had the opportunity to build upon the ideas she writes in her journal and to hone her writing skills as one of the 77 students who participated in the Summer Writing Workshop for high school students at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester.

The program, which has been in existence for five years, accepts students on a first come, first serve basis, according to its Director Myra Goldberg. She added that this year approximately 60 percent of the students who were accepted received Fulbright scholarships. SLC graduate students teach the workshops and lectures that are part of the program, which runs for one week and serves high school students from grades 9 to 11 that hail from both suburban and urban areas. According to Goldberg, this year 50 percent of the participants came from urban areas.

“I’m heartened by the way in which kids from different backgrounds enrich each other’s experiences,” said Goldberg.

The workshop provides students with the opportunity to better their writing, but also to enhance their presentation skills, as they are encouraged to perform. Students are divided into smaller groups that focus on fiction, theater and poetry. This summer the students made 30-second spot commercials dealing with topics such as passion and justice. Other projects included writing a script, directing and shooting it.

“Because of the nature of pop culture, for example MTV and the Internet, these kids are particularly skilled with mixed media,” said Goldberg.

Garineh Galian, a high school student at Emerson High School and one of this year’s participants, admits to being nervous when she first arrived at the Sarah Lawrence campus where the program takes place.

“When I first got there, I turned to my mom and said ‘Why am I here?’” Garineh said, explaining that she considered herself an amateur writer. However, her fears disappeared when she discovered that her fellow students also had different levels of writing experience. The teaching style of the graduate students also helped.

“Our teachers always said ‘different isn’t bad or good, it’s just different.’ I definitely gained more confidence in my writing,” says Garineh. “The teachers made the week fun.”

Emily agreed and said that she loved the “no judgment” policy that the teachers instilled in the students. Both students recommend the program to other aspiring writers. Emily has only one suggestion. “Make the program longer!” she said.#

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