Creative Writing Club is an extracurricular activity/club that Amanda Kearney and Danielle Maggiore have learned to refer to as “their favorite.” The Creative Writing Club is a Hawthorne High School club supervised by Library Media Specialist Theresa DiGeronimo. The group is notorious for their biennial field trip to the New York Public Library in New York City and a whole lot more. From the Well Read New & Used Books sponsored author presentation, to the annual Empyrean publication celebration, the Creative Writing Club is incessantly hectic.

At one table, one can meet sophomore Bilal Meshanni. At Phillip and Justin Rodrigues’ table, one can find sophomore Victoria Jungermann. Meshanni is a theater enthusiast who is busy with the development of a play. His favorite aspect of the Creative Writing Club is that he is able to listen and critique other people’s work. Jungermann, on the other hand, is on a journey to become an author and her favorite feature of the Creative Writing Club is how compassionate the community is.

Close to the Snapple machine, one can meet the Class of 2017’s Alli Getchell, Kelly Nelson, Phillip and Justin Rodrigues. Getchell and Nelson are both in the Creative Writing Club due to their love for literature and a chance to improve their writing skills. Phillip and Justin Rodrigues, on the other hand, consider their favorite facet of DiGeronimo’s supervised club to be how challenged everyone’s creativity is in order to have a piece published the Empyrean. “My favorite aspect of the [Creative Writing Club] is how we workshop each other’s work. It has created a fun mix, where we challenge each other’s creativity, and explore the creative and unique element.”

Lastly, one can meet Christian Castillo, Amanda Kearney, Raiya Isaac, Danielle Maggiore, Julian Parra, and Kaylee Seiders, all of who are in the Class of 2016. Castillo is multi-talented as both an artist and a writer. “I am [a member of the Creative Writing Club] because I love the creative element. I am relaxed and the club is a mental workout.”

Kearney and Isaac are both interested in the field, one as a story-writer and the other as a poem enthusiast. Maggiore is a prospective author who has been published in the Empyrean each year of her high school career. She is a member of the Creative Writing Club because she is happy about how helpful and supportive everyone is in the extracurricular. Parra and Seiders both admire how the Creative Writing Club is a place where they connect with the people they care about, and how each can receive constructive criticism on their work.

The Creative Writing Club is a place where many of the sophomore, junior, and senior students have learned to call home. Ms. DiGeronimo is excited for each year to come, for the club is not only a space to better oneself, but to become a part of a family.