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Students in the “Tell Your Story Walking” course at Syracuse University are curating and editing original work from honors students and alumni for a new publication. They will publish the work as a print journal and on the publication’s website by late 2020. Submissions had to focus on a personal experience, such as a snapshot of 2020 or first-person creative nonfiction.

Jeffrey Rodgers, a part-time instructor at SU, has taught the honors writing course “Tell Your Story Walking” since 2011, but this is the first year the project is running. Since the publication did not exist until now, many important decisions were made at the beginning of the semester, Rodgers said.

Rodgers told the class that the course is like a magazine startup. The idea for this project “evolved from its original conception, based on input that the students had,” he said. The project includes written pieces, photographs, graphics, video and audio submissions.

Nina Piazza, an SU junior and a student in the class, said that collaboration and group work was needed for the class. She finds this class interesting since students don’t have to take in a lot of information. “It’s more like being a part of a production or publication team,” she said.

Zarah Durst, an SU junior, said the class “feels more like a club than a class,” and offers a good environment for students to have open discussion.

With only 12 students enrolled in the course, Rodgers said they are able to meet in person, along with an occasional Zoom meeting. Students can share their screens to show what they are working on, and the whole group is able to contribute that way, Piazza said.

“It’s nice for the group dynamic to be able to get together,” Rodgers said.

Durst said that the class environment hasn’t changed much, besides social distancing and wearing masks. But she notes that there is a “mood change” as a result of the restrictions. Classes sometimes feel more normal on Zoom, she said.

With the submission window currently closed, the class is now focused on making a collection out of all of the individual projects, Rodgers said. Since the class has decided to incorporate multiple aspects of media, students edit text and work on graphic design and social media.

When reviewing submissions, Piazza said that they are looking for work that showcases strong scenes. Rodgers told the class to “start in the middle and end in the middle” when working on a piece, and to let your writing speak for itself, Piazza said.

Rodgers, who has been teaching in the honors program for about 12 years, is excited to have a project like this showcase the talent he has seen throughout his years at SU. Even students that have graduated in previous years and stayed in touch have submitted work, he said.

“It is gratifying to be able to showcase some of that with the wider community,” Rodgers said.

Published on October 7, 2020 at 9:35 pm