Program News 2002
A Fall Day Of Writing and Fun: College Essay Writing Workshop Oct. 5, 2002
Writing a personal essay for your college application can be a daunting task. It involves self-evaluation, writing and re-writing. But even the most overwhelming tasks are easier - and more enjoyable - with a little teamwork. That was the experience for a group of high school seniors and volunteer writing coaches on a beautiful fall Saturday in early October.
Inspired by the Good Shepherd annual weekend college essay writing retreat, Columbia University's Knight Bagehot Alumni Committee teamed up with Good Shepherd to host a one-day essay writing workshop for students of John Jay High School and South Brooklyn Community High School.
The Knight Bagehot Alumni Committee invited graduates from Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism to spend a day with high school seniors helping the students brainstorm, get their ideas down on paper and organize and hammer out their essays. A dozen coaches - journalists from all sectors of the media - worked with 20 students. Overseen by Good Shepherd' Bonnie Genevich, Kathy Pottinger, Desmond Curran and Maggie Donegan, the workshop, took place at South Brooklyn Community High School in Red Hook on October 5th.
The group gathered at 9:30 a.m., kicked off the morning with a fun ice-breaker activity in the gym at one point choosing whether they would rather have, among other things, a radio or a musical instrument if shipwrecked on a tropical island. Then coaches and students broke into small groups to brainstorm ideas for essay topics. After two free-writing sessions, the group reconvened for a lunch of take-out pizza and a second round of ice-breakers in the gym - including a variation of musical chairs. For the remainder of the afternoon, students and coaches resumed the hard work organizing and writing their essays. By the end of the day, every student had a rough draft of his or her essay. Many even managed to complete a finished version of their composition.
"It was hard coming in here on a Saturday but I'm so glad I got this done," says Madeline Felix, a senior at John Jay High School who is interested in pursing a career in fashion. Volunteers were also enthusiastic. "I thought it was great! The kids were really eager to get help. I would definitely do it again," says volunteer coach Jayne Feld.
Feld will get her wish. Good Shepherd is working with the Knight Bagehot Alumni Committee, a group of business journalists from Columbia's Journalism School, to sponsor another essay writing workshop in the spring for high school juniors and this fall for another group of seniors.
October 7, 2002
