By Vanessa Chen, Staff Reporter
In fall 2022, former Conestoga English teacher Emmy Talian invited some of her former students to join Write4Change, an initiative started at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a doctoral student. Two years later, these alumni, along with current Conestoga students, are leading what is now a global online initiative promoting youth writing and research.
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education professor Amy Stornaiuolo founded Write4Change over a decade ago. In 2022, the organization moved online, primarily to Discord, a social networking app. Currently, the organization is divided into three sections: literary magazine Network of Visionary Artists (NOVA), a research fellowship program, and a “change team” focused on activism in social media and the relationship between writing and AI. Write4Change hosts Discord events, such as game nights and career discussions, and participates in events such as the annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference.
2023 Conestoga alumna and current Rutgers University sophomore Sunny Ajitabh was a senior when she joined Write4Change as a youth researcher and Discord moderator. She led the development of NOVA and is now its editor-in-chief.
“The main reason I was interested in leading this project was because I had a really good time at ’Stoga on The Folio,” Ajitabh said. “We just want to provide an outlet for youth to share what they love to create with the world. I remember when I was in high school, (and) even now, it feels very intimidating to be in the world and share your art with people, especially since so much of art is made by adults. So that’s kind of the point of NOVA.”
NOVA is a fully digital magazine open to all youth writers and artists. Ajitabh introduced her sibling junior Ayr Ajitabh to Write4Change, and they now serve as NOVA’s supervising art editor and conduct research through Write4Change.
“High school holds your hand a lot, and Write4Change is a great way for high schoolers to get more involved in research or explore their interests in a more unstructured way. There’s so many people that you can meet (and) talk to, and it’s a great way to outreach to other people,” Ayr Ajitabh said.
Another important aspect of Write4Change is fostering an online community of writers. 2024 Conestoga alumna and University of Pennsylvania freshman Ella Lucarelli helped with the first phase of research on building a successful digital platform for Write4Change. Although she is no longer involved, Lucarelli believes that Write4Change significantly impacted her life and hopes to get involved again in the future.
“It was really cool to work with so many people of all different ages, from all different backgrounds and from all different countries, and just get to know how we can all come together through writing,” Lucarelli said. “Now that I’m in college, it’s crazy how many people I’ve met from all over the world. Write4Change was my first time working with people outside of just my high school, and it’s allowed me to have a lot of rich conversations now.”
Write4Change’s research is currently focused on AI’s impact on writing. 2024 Conestoga alumnus and University of Pennsylvania freshman Andrew Yao, joined the organization as a junior in high school and now leads some of the AI research. He discussed the transition of writing from before the COVID-19 pandemic and new technologies is a key part of Write4Change.
“Being able to create a community where people from around the world can interact and share their writing without any censorship is really important. (Write4Change) provides a platform for youth to share these more sensitive topics but at the same time brings together multiple generations of writers to interact within a space that isn’t traditionally observed,” Yao said.
In the near future, Write4Change plans to continue its focus on AI and writing, as well as expand its online reach and community membership.
“I hope we do more intergenerational research, because this space has been so important to me not as a student, but as an actual human being in the real world,” Sunny Ajitabh said. “In high school, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just a student, I’m just a kid. What do I have to say?’ But (Write4Change) has definitely helped me realize that we do have things to say. So I hope we can bring in more youth to the community and help them realize the same things.”
Vanessa Chen can be reached at [email protected].
