Parish Feature Story

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The Writing Lab also provides college essay support. Ren Staveteig ‘23, who was recently accepted to Duke, spoke about the application process and the support from the Writing Lab.

“Over the last several months, the Writing Lab has served as a landing space for me during my college application process,” explained Ren.

“As I returned nearly every day to pour over the mountain of essay prompts that confronted me these past few months, I found rhythm and enthusiasm in the space, consistently refreshing the monotonous effort of crafting applications. Working with Mr. Mazzella and Mr. Ross from CCLP, the environment facilitated lively discussion and feedback, ultimately resulting in a series of essays that I can confidently say represent me and my aspirations as a student and human being. Now, I recognize and cherish the opportunity to refine, but not overcorrect, my organic writing process.”

Michelle shares that members of the creative writing club meet every Thursday during flex to give each other feedback and talk about creative stories.

Encouragement of creative writing for Parish students is evident by the writing contest flyers covering the wall by the Writing Lab door. Whether contests are statewide, countrywide or even worldwide, student participation is supported throughout the process. Multiple students have entered each contest so far, and I, Celia Allen ‘24, have been fortunate to have recently won one of those awards.

The lab is also home to a creative writing club. Club founder and leader, Michelle Kurniali ‘25 and Vice-president Meredith Walker ‘25 can be found in the Writing Lab every Thursday after lunch with the rest of the members.

“I thought it would be a fun way to help students share creative story ideas and grow as writers,” reflected Michelle. “Meredith and I talked to Mr. Mazzella, who helped us bring the club to life through the club expo. Last year, we started off small with only about four members, but it has now grown to 12 people!”

The Fresh Ink Fiction Contest, a statewide competition sponsored by AT&T and Random House Publishing, received more than 150 submissions. They selected one winner per grade, and the winners were each given the opportunity to speak at the Texas Book Festival in Austin. I was selected as the winner out of every 11th grade submission, and I relied heavily on the Writing Lab to help me with my short story. If it weren’t for the Writing Lab, I would’ve never heard of the contest in the first place. The teachers were really a lot of help, especially Mr. Mazzella. At the beginning, when I didn’t quite understand the prompt that the contest gave, he helped me with ideas and gave me constructive criticism to make the theme stand out more. Without his help, I don’t think my piece would’ve won the contest. I’m not even sure if I would’ve written anything to begin with. And, I'm not alone. It isn't hard to find students who utilize and benefit from the Writing Lab. From reading comprehension support to essay help, the Writing Lab is an incredible resource. As a quiet and comfortable place full of interesting conversations and helpful ideas, the Writing Lab is a welcoming and inviting environment. Any student who drops by for any help, large or small, is sure to feel more confident in their work.

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