Windermere High club creates literary magazine

Eleanor Barber, a junior at Windermere High School, always has loved writing and had a few literary pieces she had written that gave her immense pride.

But she had no one to share them with and no platform on which to share them. 

“I had writing myself that I really, really liked, and I was really proud of and wanted to show people, but it’s hard to do that without seeming like you’re trying to brag,” Barber said. “I know there were other kids in my class who also felt that way.”

That all changed when English teacher Jessica Moore brought up the idea of a literary magazine to Barber and her classmates last school year.

Barber was all in. 

“I just wanted to make sure kids had a space to speak their minds,” Barber said. “We have so many creative people here, and I wanted to make sure they all had a platform to express their work and their voice.”

But how was the magazine going to become a reality?

Barber, along with junior Sophia Strelecky, spearheaded the effort with Moore to form the magazine’s board and dedicate hours of work to reading students’ submissions; going through workshops with the writers; and designing, editing and, finally, publishing the first edition of “The Windy Word” in December. 

The edition featured 16 student-written pieces and a teacher perspective from Moore. 

Strelecky, the communications director for the editorial board, cried when she saw the finished product.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is a real thing; we did it,’” Strelecky said. “We finally did it, because there were so many hours put in by the writers and by the board. ... I think by the end of it, all of us were losing it a little bit, but it was so incredible to be like, ‘We made something that really inspired people and made people excited to be in school again,’ which I think is lost a little bit now.”

A “third place”

The first magazine featured a piece titled, “The Third Place,” describing how the school’s new on-campus football stadium became a “place that was neither home nor work, but a third place in which we spend our time. This place is supposedly somewhere that encourages social interaction, connections and relaxation. … It’s a circumstance that creates a unique connection specific to that place and people.”

Although the piece was about the stadium, it opened the eyes of the editorial board that their “third place” was the literary magazine club. The club not only was becoming a sanctuary to them but also dozens of students who wanted to express their creativity and demonstrate their talents.

Senior Bernardo Geaquinto, a creative director on the board, said oftentimes, athletics are the talk of the school. The creative aspect of education “gets left behind.” 

“Track, swimming, football and soccer — all that’s really important and it’s great that we have that — but all the other kids that aren’t part of a sport, they just get left behind in the shadows,” Geaquinto said. “We needed to give them light so they could show all their incredible works.”

Board members said the students who attended the club’s meetings were inspired. Barber said on multiple occasions, she had students come up to her in the halls to share the pieces they wanted to write and the ideas they had. 

“It just fills you with pride, not for yourself, but for them, because they’re finally using their voices,” Barber said. “It just gives your school a bit more of a purpose.”

Junior Nathaniel Jocelyn, who is a managing editor on the board, has been involved in several clubs at Windermere, but the magazine club was the first in which he felt passionate about the work they were doing. He said it’s more common for students to join clubs to say they are a part of an organization, especially when applying for college, but it’s not often they actually demonstrate an invested interest in the club. 

Discovering talent

Throughout the process of putting the magazine together, the board members learned about talents of students, including those on the board. 

Board members said they were amazed to discover the writing abilities of fellow board member Siena Galuscy, who is the historian. Her piece, “Monsters Under My Bed,” left board members in awe. 

The discovery of talents didn’t stop there. When the final edit of “The Windy Word” was published, Strelecky said all of the students involved in the process had positive feedback, even if their work wasn’t selected for final publication.

Photo by Liz Ramos

“Obviously there’s a lot of articles we couldn’t put in, but I pretty much mostly only heard uplighting things like, ‘These are so good. I understand why these are in here,’” she said. 

Barber said students were thrilled to bring their best for the next edition, which is expected to publish in March, in hopes they can be published.

Barber said students were thrilled to bring their best for the next edition, which is expected to publish in March, in hopes they can be published.

The creative directors — Geaquinto, Scherer and Silkey — also were able to demonstrate their artistic talents with every page design. Board members said their expectations were surpassed by what the writers and designers were able to create. 

“We were just able to let each piece shine and have its own story,” Scherer said. “With the creative team, we have very different styles, and I think that’s what makes it special. We can show a variety of different thinkings and styles.”

Lasting legacy

Moore said without these specific students — Barber, Strelecky, Jocelyn, Geaquinto, Gulacsy, creative directors Sophia Scherer and Grace Silkey, and managing editor Charlie Dudek — “The Windy Word” wouldn’t be a reality. 

“They’re all very articulate, and they capture the essence so well,” Moore said. “Our meetings are synergistic is how I would describe them. The reason for the inception of this in this brainchild as a teacher is because we have lost our love of learning in the classroom. To have them actually express they love doing this is something you’re going to find in a lot of clubs anymore is sort of non-existent.”

Strelecky said the future of “The Windy Word” is bright. She’s spoken to sophomores already interested in getting involved and applying to become board members. Three spots will be vacant once Geaquinto, Scherer, Silkey, Gulacsy and Dudek graduate this year. 

Jocelyn hopes “The Windy Word” will be a platform to bring the school community together.

“One of the biggest ways to help make the school feel unified and connected is by having something like this, where people can submit their own work, share with other people and then get insight from others,” Jocelyn said. “Now that it’s here, it’s hard to imagine why we didn’t have it in the first place.”

Geaquinto said he wants the magazine to be a “guiding light” for other schools to follow as he thinks it’s a model others can follow to ensure student voices are heard. 

Dudek said she wants to see the magazine grow and be “so much bigger than it is now.”

“I want to be jealous of what they’re doing,” she said.