Seeds of Success: Writing Our Futures
Some say that “when you plant a seed of hope, you invite the future to bloom.” As I look towards graduation, this statement reflects my and my classmate’s desire to invest in what we wish to nurture. I am currently a senior in the creative writing concentration. Over the past three years, I have had the privilege of learning alongside my class of creative writing concentrators. Coming together in our final year to create our capstone project, Seeds of Success: Writing Our Future, has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Each year, seniors in Professor Gambito’s creative writing capstone course are tasked with developing a “Boss Level Project,” which challenges us to devise a collaborative project geared towards serving the Fordham English community and beyond. Through small group brainstorming sessions and a lively class discussion, we unanimously agreed to create a cross-generational mentorship program that would cultivate our creative potential.
Seeds of Success: Writing Our Future emerged from a desire to create unwavering support and radical encouragement for one another’s creative visions, future careers, and personal growth. The program paired interested underclassmen with current seniors in the creative writing concentration. Seniors then conducted meetings to listen to their mentees, answer questions, share advice about senior year, and, most importantly, create an opening for future communication. Simultaneously, seniors were paired with interested alums who passed on valuable lessons about life post-grad and acted as an anchor in the professional world. By pairing underclassmen with seniors and seniors with alumni, we created an interconnected mentorship web where knowledge and support could flow in multiple directions, where the roots of experience could become branches of success.
While working hard to schedule meetings with underclassmen and alumni, we set our sights on our event, “Blooming Together,” a reception to celebrate mentorship and inspire creativity. In preparation for the event, we worked in small groups to create engaging craft stations where program participants could connect in a creative space. With the goal of fostering a communal legacy within the English department, we embarked on a journey to organize meetings, write advice stories, and collect supplies for Blooming Together in just 40 days. Though challenging, creating a project founded on the love of our community and the preservation of our creative voices has been an unforgettable way to connect with my English community and inspire my own creative endeavors.
When I stepped into McMahon 109 for the “Blooming Together” celebration, a space that I knew to be vacant and fluorescently lit was transformed into a room adorned in flower pedals, tea candles, and a radiating energy of positivity. From our gifting hand-painted flower pots, to having each person write down their birth flower on their name-tag, our small creative acts allowed us to see one another, reflect on our journey of mentorship, and celebrate our collective growth. Like how each word creates the substance of a novel, each detail of this project encourages us to trust in the small inspirations from within and blossom together in community.
As a senior entering the world in such uncertain times, it is easy to feel alone and that our time as members of the Fordham community is concluding. But with Seeds of Success, we have planted a mentorship program that will continue to grow long after graduation. This project has shown us that within all members of the Fordham English community, from first-year students to alumni, there is an ability to make a meaningful and lasting impact. The writing world is vast, and it is only through championing each other’s creative visions that we can truly thrive.
~ Story by Zoe Ridgell
~ Photos by Isabel Cooney
SEEDS OF SUCCESS: BLOOMING STORIES, CLASS OF 2025
