Wildcat Writers program celebrates two decades of community building through a love of writing The University of Arizona Wildcat Writers program brings together university and high school students and educators to work on shared writing projects.

Today Rachael Shah and students Desert View High School senior Kiara Abre’u used to be nervous when thinking about graduating from high school and going to college. That changed when she joined a Wildcat Writers partnership as part of her junior year English class. A community-based education program in the University of Arizona Department of English ‘s Writing Program, Wildcat Writers pairs university educators with local high school teachers and brings their classes together to work on writing projects. A lifelong writer, Abre’u said she was excited to connect with other creative people who share a passion for the written word. More importantly, Abre’u said participating in Wildcat Writers alleviated the sense of intimidation surrounding college life. “Once I got into Wildcat Writers, I realized that these college kids are just like me, and I don’t have to be afraid of anything,” she said. “Through this program, I have been able to gain more experience with the university, the area and the community. I have been able to talk to so many students from so many different places that are all together in this space, and I am able to feel confident in what I am doing.” Desert View High School senior Kiara Abre’u Abre’u plans to attend UArizona in the fall to study aerospace engineering. Wildcat Writers began in fall 2003 as a partnership between then-UArizona graduate teaching assistant Anna Varley and former Desert View High School teacher Liz Denbo. The duo’s original goal was to provide a sense of community for students graduating high school, and to encourage civic engagement, collaboration and exploration of education issues through community-based writing projects such as letter writing or compiling literary journals. Varley later worked with Anne-Marie Hall, former director of the Writing Program, to expand the partnership opportunity to other high school and college educators, and Wildcat Writers was officially born. Two decades after its inception, Wildcat Writers continues to unite UArizona educators and students with local high schools. Often, their partnerships are focused on local, themed writing projects. “We hope to provide students and instructors with the opportunity to […]

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