Chloe Lee (she/her) is a junior at Scarsdale High School interested in creative writing, psychology, public policy, history and is a second-year mentee at GWN. As a mentee, she enjoys exploring different genres of writing and media, including poetry, personal essays, short stories, flash fiction, and podcasting while also spreading her love for public speaking by leading her community studio. Outside of GWN, Chloe is involved in the nonprofits Dear Asian Youth and Bring Change to Mind, advocating for racial justice and destigmatizing mental health. She is also Captain of her school’s speech and debate team, president of her school’s Students Against Violence Club, Creative Director for her school’s newspaper, and a volunteer at her local library. In her free time, she loves to play piano, partake in competitive speech, write creatively, listen to music, bake, and run her Instagram food blog. She is a huge Swiftie and Gilmore Girls fan!
Favorite Authors & Artists
Toni Morrison, Jenny Han, Alice Paul
Artist‘s Statement
I have always been interested in creative writing, specifically writing personal essays. In the past year, however, I have begun to branch out and started writing poetry and short stories. I tend to derive my inspiration from personal experiences and identity. I am fortunate enough to be part of the GWN Lead 360 program in addition, where I have begun to work on advancing the nonprofit iFeminist to continue sharing stories of underrepresented women in history.
This piece describes the long journey of how I found acceptance and gained pride in my cultural identity through narration from my six-year-old self to now.
Shutting her eyes firmly until compression so all she could see were glittering stars, Hope’s imagination stretched into answering her yearning for a companionship to fulfill her dreaded playtime.
Just like that, Faith was born.
Today’s episode features Mentees Chloe Lee(she/her) and Kayla Misa (she/they). You’ll learn about Kayla’s writing and creative process for her excerpts from one of her many poetry chapbooks. We hope you enjoy this insightful discussion about poetry, Asian identity, and embracing the silly parts of ourselves.