For the past two years, I’ve been a mentor with Girls Write Now. GWN is an organization that pairs high schoolers with professional writers. Created in 1998, it was the first writing and mentoring program that was created exclusively for girls. Writers and their mentees meet for an hour a week and for a 5 hour monthly workshop in order to write, edit, and perform pieces of their work in front of an audience.
When I joined, I decided to become a part of GWN’s inaugural Digital Media Program.The digital program combines aspects of STEM with the freedom of being a creative writer. With my background in theatre, film, and digital media, I wanted the chance to work with a mentee and let her experience all the ways that she could become a storyteller. In our workshops we’ve learned everything from basic coding, to audio editing and podcast creation, to video journalism. At the end of the year, the girls complete a single piece to be presented during the Digital Exhibition.
This year the Digital Media Exhibition, QWERTY, will be held at Sony Wonder Technology Lab. Each girl has her own kiosk and will present her work to a crowd of families, friends, and strangers who want to show their support.
I was excited to tell everyone at Radish about my mentee's final project: a collection of short stories and poems published on the Wordpress site she created (mostly only her own, with a little help from me and a lot of help from Google)!
QWERTY will be held this weekend at Sony Wonder Technology Lab between 6-9PM. General Admission is $5, and every dollar goes to helping girls become writers, designers, developers, and individuals who have a strong, confident, creative voice. You can find out more about the event and purchase tickets here.
If you’re interested in becoming a mentor for Girls Write Now’s Digital Media Program, you can submit an application here.