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Sofia Azuara (she/they), is a Junior and a Creative Writing Major from Houston, Texas. In addition to being a tour guide and Intern for enrollment communications, Sofia is a Hall Advisor and a board member of The First Page—the Tri-Co Creative Writing Association. She is also a member of Mujeres* and Zami+, affinity groups on campus. Here, Sofia tells us about her journey to the creative writing major, as well as a highlight from the College’s Reading Series.  

As a prospective student from Houston, Texas, the promise of a liberal arts college with a small tight-knit community guided me throughout my college search process. I was awarded a leadership scholarship from the Posse Foundation, through which I was connected to a mentor upon my admission to ������̳. In a one-on-one meeting with my Posse mentor, creative writing professor Dee Matthews, I confessed that although ������̳ was everything I had dreamed of in a college, I was still having a difficult time adjusting to being so far from home and to the reality of growing up. Matthews suggested I buy a journal and urged me to take a creative writing class. Having been a lover of fiction from an early age, I heeded the advice. A year after that conversation, I was drafting my proposal for an independent creative writing major, and I am now one of the student representatives for the now official creative writing major. 

A career as a writer was a trajectory I had never considered seriously before ������̳—it was only a far-fetched fantasy. This sentiment, shared by many other aspiring authors, inspired Sanam Sheriff, a poet, creative writing professor, and ������̳ alum, to integrate debut authors into the already established ������̳ Reading Series, to show students that becoming a writer is achievable. The first installment of this initiative took place this year on February 28, when short story writer Deesha Philyaw and poet Paul Tran visited ������̳’s campus. When Professor Sheriff introduced the idea to my “Short Fiction I” class she said, “They have one book out. They’re not that far away from where you all currently are.”   

The day of the event, Deesha Philyaw visited my Short Fiction II class. The assigned reading for that week had been Philyaw’s short story collection The Secret Life of Church Ladies. I was entranced by the narratives and marveled over Philyaw’s inventiveness. After a few questions prompted by Professor Dan Torday, the floor was given to students to ask the author their burning questions.  

Someone in class asked about how she thinks of her characters—Philyaw’s book is filled with these compelling and complex characters that drive the plot. In response, she told us she likes to complicate things for her characters—to raise the stakes. The way she does this is by giving the reader a reason not to root for the main character, and to give readers a reason to like or sympathize with an easy-to-hate character. She calls this literary practice “no saints, no demons.” Near the end of her time with the class, Philyaw signed our copies of her book.  

No matter how many authors I meet, I think I’ll always be a little starstruck. I was trying not to freak out when she asked me the kind of things I write about. She signed my book while I stumbled through compliments. She was so kind and wrote a sweet note. 

The Short Fiction II class waved goodbye to Deesha Philyaw after about an hour and a half. Most of us would be seeing her later that night in the English House lecture room, where she would be joined by poet Paul Tran for the Reading Series event. I walked in five minutes late, having lost track of time, and was met with a full house. I got the last seat left in the room near the very back. People who arrived after me had to sit on the lecture room stairs or linger in the entrance hall area. Even in the back of the room, I was able to feel the excitement from the front where the podium stood. Professor Sheriff introduced both writers before they began to read. Deesha Philyaw read from the manuscript of her upcoming novel. The audience laughed together as she read, every comedic beat hitting. Paul Tran read from their poetry collection, All the Flowers Kneeling. Paul Tran was electrifying—they completely captured my attention after the first word. The event closed out with a conversation between the two authors, and they answered audience questions before transitioning to the book-signing portion of the evening.  

When I was in line to get Paul Tran’s signature I started chatting to the person in front of me in line. Turns out he had just opened a bookstore in Philadelphia! We exchanged social media information, so now I’m getting all the bookstore updates. My friend and I are planning to take a trip to it before the end of the spring semester!  

I’m so grateful to be at a school where the professors are thoughtful and take the students into consideration—it is the professors putting in the time to organize these events and reach out to various authors and poets. Not only is it a wonderful experience for the students to listen to published authors speak, but it's also a step in actualizing our dreams. It becomes very easy to envision yourself reading behind the podium or speaking to class as a debut author.