Journal 1: Serving a Passion

My heart is beyond happy to share that I will be working with a non profit organization that resides within the heart of Orlando, Page 15. My life has been greatly impacted by literature, writing, and community-all values that are present within this organization. Page 15 is a non profit organization that focuses on providing support from trained individuals in guiding students of all ages to become the writers of their own story. I was amazed to walk into such a beautiful environment that truly depicted what it means to allow students to feel their creativity, and allow them to create all that they desire. I believe that Page 15 has given the opportunity to these bright individuals to learn more writing techniques beyond the curriculum they are learning in school. Executive Director Julia Young pioneered the development of Page 15, after having being told by her grandmother Teddy Hoover, that you must read until Page 15 before you decide whether to keep reading or choose another story. Page 15’s mission is to, “empower children of all abilities to discover their own voice, explore its power and potential, advance critical literacy skills, and write their own future”, I have truly seen this mission implemented on all levels throughout the organization. At Page 15, a dedicated team of individuals create a comfortable environment for the kids, and this is the leadership team that I have the complete joys of joining today. Specifically, this team of individuals are UCF graduates, so to see how these individuals are still serving their community is empowering alone. As a current UCF undergrad, I am thrilled to see how these graduates are flourishing. Page 15 serves an often overlooked demographic of individuals- there’s great diversity within the program. While all kids are welcome at Page 15, there’s a high presence of minorities within each program class. Considering this program was developed in an area where there’s predominantly African American and Hispanic individuals, there’s a strong sense of community within these kids. I believe that the fact that this program is actively working to support and excel the level of these underprivileged students’ education is something I pride myself in being a part of.

The primary focus of Page 15 is to provide a safe space for young creators to freely write what they have the hopes of creating, and trust me- they can create. It is wonderful entering an environment where the staff is in full support of the stories that the kids create, and all of these stories are not the most bright or uplifting. Many of these students were prematurely exposed to the natures of poverty, discrimination, lacking support systems, abuse, and other histories that have supplemented their stories in various ways. Topics that are seen as emotionally intense are easily curated by these individuals, and my mind is completely in awe at the level of achievement that these brave minds are constantly achieving. I had initially decided to work with another non profit organization, but as I reflected I came to see that this internship I have at Page 15 as a creative writing teacher allowed me to see that my heart feels more drawn to understanding the organization and the sustainability of this program, hence why I changed the course of this service learning efforts. I am excited to see how these young writers grow, and I will continue to share the organizational efforts, and development over these weeks. Enjoy!

Link to Page 15 🙂
https://page15.org/