A new writing program within the Office of Communications & Marketing is helping Guilford students strengthen their writing skills while at the same time giving them a chance to publish their work for a wide audience.

Guilford’s Student Writing Corps has an initial group of six students writing about the experiences of their peers. The program was inspired by President Kyle Farmbry, who is encouraging departments to develop more opportunities for students to be engaged outside the classroom. The program is working with Creative Writing faculty and students but is open to everyone.

Renata Diaz ’24 (above) is a member of the Writing Corps. She leaves for England later this month as part of a spring semester study-abroad program that will include working for an independent publishing house in London. Before leaving she wanted to get more writing experience and viewed the Writing Corps as an opportunity to do just that.

Renata has worked for The Guilfordian, the College’s student newspaper, but until joining the Writing Corps she’s never written any student profiles. “It’s been fun getting to learn a different style of writing and getting to know different students, too,” she says.

Writing Corps students earn a small stipend, which is what initially attracted Abram Greene ‘25 to the program. Abram likes to write poetry, but he quickly learned how much he enjoys journalism and learning about other students on campus.

“I didn’t think it would be as fun as it is,” he says. “It’s nice getting paid and published but what I really like about the Writing Corps is getting to meet people and share their stories with others.”

That’s part of the Writing Corps’ mission, says Kyle. “The best stories at Guilford are our students themselves,” he says. “We want other students who might not be familiar with Guilford to learn more about who we are as a college. We also want to help our students develop and grow as writers. That’s a skill they will need not just at Guilford but throughout their lives.”

The Writing Corps is open to all students, whose work will be published on the College website and in publications like the Guilford Gazette newsletter for alumni and friends and even the College’s semi-annual magazine. The 

There are no set hours for participation. Students meet with editors who help them with their stories. Students who want more information should contact Robert Bell at bellrw@guilford.edu.