ANGEL ARIAS
is a Macaulay Honors Student and English major with a creative writing specialization. Fiction has always been a means of escape for him growing up and was often a comfort. Angel is a big fan of video games that tell stories, and especially those that delve into the fantasy genre. He hopes to one day have a fantasy story of his own published and succeed. His current obsession is the hit series Dragon Age.

LESLIE ASAMOAH
is an English Major with a creative writing specialization and minors in Middle and High School education and business. She enjoys escaping the confines of reality, so most of her time is spent either reading high fantasy novels or writing them. She also loves watching anime, Banana Fish being one of her favorites. Leslie hopes to one day work in publishing and possibly get some works of her own on shelves.

Laila Banks

is majoring in Professional Writing and minoring in Creative Writing. She enjoys writing her own poetry because it allows her to be vulnerable through her craft. Her main hobby is music. She looks forward to discovering new artists and genres to add to her musical palette. Laila’s motto is to always be comfortable with being uncomfortable. You never know how beneficial a new experience can be!

BRIA KNOTT

During her elementary school years, Bria struggled heavily with English and grew to resent the subject. It took a strain on her education and her mother, not wanting her to fall behind, decided to sign her up for a reading class at Fordham University. It was there that they learned that the way for Bria to enjoy reading, was for her to fall in love with series books that hold her interest. However, it wasn't until middle school where she learned to love reading from a website/app called Wattpad where amateur writers self-publish their books. Her biggest thanks is for the author, Anna Todd, who wrote a book series called After that was first published on Wattpad and then published by Simon & Schuster. From 2015 to present, Bria writes fanfiction on the website using Google Docs with her international best friend who she met through the app. She hopes one day to either publish a book by herself and/or with her best friend, Jessica or work as an editor at a publishing company.

ChelsEa Portorreal

is an English Major with a Literature specialization and minors in Africana studies. Chelsea is a transfer student to Lehman College in 2023. They aim to pursue their master’s and a Ph.D once after graduating. They aspire to be an English professor within the CUNY system. One of Chelsea’s main goals as a future educator is to expose their students to BIPOC scholarship and narratives. Some of their hobbies include reading, photography, pvc figure collecting, and spending time with their pet parrot Valor. 

SIMI RAJI

is an English Major with a creative writing specialization and a minor in Anthropology. She plans to pursue her Master's in Creative Writing after graduating from Lehman. She enjoys watching history and nature documentaries, British panel shows, and anime. When she's not studying or working, she likes to unwind by watching shows she has already watched a hundred times or reading books she has already read a thousand times. Her favorite genre is fantasy, and she hopes to publish a series of fantasy novels in the future.

CHRISTIAN RIVERA

is an English major with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in music. Writing has always been a form of escapism for him. His favorite genres in literature are fiction and poetry. Some of his hobbies include playing video games, watching anime and songwriting. His favorite video game franchise is The Legend of Zelda and an anime he's been obsessed with lately is My Hero Academia. His biggest dream is to become a successful, well-established author and publish a novel that is adapted into a TV series or film. He plans on graduating in Spring 2024 and pursuing his master's degree afterwards.

Emma SahibAjan

Is an English major with a literature specialization and minors in middle and high school education. She aspires to be an English high school teacher who fosters a more empathetic classroom environment for her students. While working as a high school teacher, she hopes to earn a doctorate in English and eventually teach as a college professor. She also enjoys reading and writing, and she hopes to publish her own works one day. Although she has many dreams, she is tackling them one at a time.