Nonfiction Commons^™

Balance, Alondra Hernandez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Through the poem, I wanted to explain my journey as a First Gen student who was struggling to balance school and work. I also wanted to represent the many students who are facing the same fight everyday. My hope was to show encouragement and motivation to keep going.Making sure to remind yourself to live each day knowing you're doing your best.

First Doubts, Carla Bueno

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

As first-gen students, we often struggle with the identity and responsibility of being the firsts to navigate through the unknown. With this, doubts of our ability to succeed come naturally and these can be consuming. My advice is to not be afraid of using resources available and asking questions as these are the first steps into finding our way in institutions not built for us.

Dreams To Reality, Annette Gomez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Beneath the shade of the trees, I reflect on the weight of my family’s dreams and the determination it takes to pursue a degree. The clear blue skies and open spaces remind me that possibilities are just as boundless, even when the roads feel steep. Here, amidst the peace and beauty I find the strength to strive as a First-Generation Latina student.

A New Beginning, Jefferson Ramos

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

The purpose of my reflection is to demonstrate to other individuals, especially first-generation students, my experience with the college process, along with the obstacles I faced, the doubts, and everything that comes along with being the first person in your family to attend a higher education institution in the United States. In my reflection, I describe the process that I experienced, from the very beginning of high school to the start of my college journey. To finalize my reflection, I leave the reader with three important tips I have learned along the journey: being resilient, not being afraid of new …

My Experience, Gabby Flores

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This essay reflects personal experiences starting college and navigating new environments that are new to me.

Deceiving Angels Ii, Alejandra Rodriguez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

I share a dream with my family. The dream of graduating from college, getting a good job, and living a better life. A life where we won’t be financially tied down. I am now attending Loyola Marymount University and pursuing a degree in Animation. I’m the first in my family to pursue a degree in Film & Television, and even though I can’t help the thoughts that I should be doing something more “impactful,” I know that it’s my passion and that it is the combined efforts of my family and those who have helped me, that led me here. …

Trailblazin, Zahir Pineda

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

My "trailblazin" collage is just a collage of me and my brother as we grew up. It was just us two for the majority of our childhood and we were always pushed to make the most of our education here in the US. Growing up I always relied on him, and he made sure to be there to guide me and help me learn from his mistakes. Fast forward to now and we're both at LMU together, and the same way he trailblazed the path for me, I hope to do for my two younger siblings. It symbolizes what has …

Introduction

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

No abstract provided.

Family Dynamics In Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Isabell Lachinpour

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This paper was originally a submission for my general psychology final. The prompt for it was to analyze any topic covered in class and connect to any form of fictional media. I chose to study the social psychology behind the relationships of immigrant parents and their children, connecting it to the movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan. I especially picked this movie because of how connected I felt to the characters in the movie as I have gone through some of the same experiences they have and know many immigrant children that have felt …

2025 Fall Quiz & Quill Magazine, English Department

Quiz and Quill

Table of Contents

• Front Cover: Strangler Fig by Grace McKenney
• Letter from the Editors by Freddie Borer & Wrenne Grone
• i dreamt we spoke by Mary Koeppen
• What Was I? by Worthy Wilson
• Will by Mars Scott
• My Life Flashing in Sixty Minutes by Grace McKenney
• Creatures of Discord & Dismay: Failure by Liticia Makhloufi
• St. Anthony by Helen Darrough
• Creatures of Discord & Dismay: Guilt by Liticia Makhloufi
• Three Layers by Freddie Borer
• A Week of Thought by Mars Scott
• Contributor Biographies
• Q&Q&A

Zero Textbook Low Cost Syllabus For English 2100 (Writing 1), Anne Grevenitis

Open Educational Resources

In English 2100, our focus will be on autoethnography as a genre of writing. To write an autoethnography is to examine the value of the personal and use traditional modes of research to flesh out the narrative of the self. Through diverse research methods (interviews and site observation) and a multiple-step writing process (journaling, drafting and peer reviewing), your autoethnography should make a substantive contribution, have aesthetic merit, have reflexivity, make an impact, and express a reality.

I'M Saving Money Now To Buy A Gun, Jacob Feiner

Student Publications

A nonfiction story

English 11000, Spoken Adaptation Of Language And Literacy Narrative, Samantha Hernandez, Missy Watson

Open Educational Resources

The Spoken Adaptation assignment builds on a previous English Composition assignment, the Language and Literacy Narrative (LLN). The LLN asks students to write a detailed narrative about a personal experience they have had with Language and Literacy. Over the course of the semester, students are required to rewrite and revise this essay a number of times. This particular assignment tasks students with transforming their written work into an oral presentation.

Grateful To The Tide, Sophia S. Chesner

Student Publications

Creative writing nonfiction piece

A Peak Ahead, Christine Woodside

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Books And Media

Appalachia

Reviews of: The Lions of Winter, by Ty Gagne; 109° Below, a film directed by Nick Martini; Losing the Garden, by Laura Waterman; Ditch Memory, by Todd Davis; Shinrin-Yoku, by Marcyn Del Clements; You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by Ada Limón.

News And Notes

Appalachia

A Look Back at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Long-Ago Membership Practices. 350th Year Since King Philip’s War on Talcott Mountain in Connecticut. Northeast Snow Survey Feasibility Study. All Out: AMC’s Action Plan for 2025-2030.

Alpina

Appalachia

Reports of mountaineering in the greater ranges in 2024 include President Donald Trump’s ruling that Denali be called Mount McKinley again. A flash ascent of Freerider on Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan. A century after he went missing, Andrew “Sandy” Irvine’s frozen foot encased in a boot was found on Everest. Drones and helicopters expand access to Everest. First ascent of the western ridge of Gasherbrum III. A pair climbs Pholesobi in Eastern Nepal. Climbers scale the east ridge of Lalung I in India. A new route is opened on Greenland’s east coast. In memoriam: Christopher Jones, 1939-2024.

Accidents

Appalachia

Reports of rescues and accidents in the White Mountains of New Hampshire from the warm months of 2024 opens with thoughts on the dangers of selfies. A 38-year-old hiker encounters trouble attempting a Presidential Range traverse in early May. A man breaks his leg and with the help of a passing Appalachian Trail thru-hiker crawls 0.3 miles to a trail junction for a helicopter pickup. An 84-year-old glider operator crashes into trees on a ridge west of Mount Moosilauke. A hiker struggles to cross the swollen Wild River after a period of storms. Trail runners suddenly must call for help …

Letters

Appalachia

Carl Svenson, helicopter pilot. Questions on whether Chris Roma could have retraced his steps on a fateful winter hike, with a response from Accidents editor Sandy Stott.

Skyline Sketches: "Luckily, I Remembered My Gloves", Laura Russell

Appalachia

In 1949, a Dartmouth student described a spontaneous climb of Mount Washington in a letter home to his parents.

Skyline Sketches: The Certain Slant Of Light, Daniel Hudon

Appalachia

Considering Emily Dickinson while climbing Mount Willard in autumn.

The "Boring Forest"? Canada's Boreal Forest Is Actually A Breathing Mass Of Life, Alicia J. M. Colson

Appalachia

An archeologist argues that the vast forested region of the Laurentian Plateau holds a soul and value of its own and does not deserve the disparaging attitude some hold toward it.

Matty's First Hike: Hiking Spain's Northwest Coast With A Baby And A Beagle, Katy Dycus

Appalachia

New parents venture along the coast of Galicia, from the Cliffs of Loiba to O Esteiro and back, with their son in a carrier.

The Wild Winds Of Fortune: Encounters After Falling On A Gentle Acadia Path, Elissa Ely

Appalachia

On a familiar and well traveled path, a hiker learns how easily one can fall and what happens when people stop to help.

The New England Trail, End To End In Five Days: A Running Couple Test Their Limits, Scott Livingston

Appalachia

A moment-by-moment narrative of a grueling run from Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire to Guilford, Connecticut from June 17 through June 22, 2020.

Barefooting The Northeast 111: A Hiker Discovers The Intensity Of Pinpricks, Grit, And Mud, Kenneth A. Posner

Appalachia

Climbing without shoes in the Catskills, then the Adirondacks, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Maine, he learned to focus on the here-and-now.

Over The Influence: Considering Scenarios Sponsored Adventure Influencers Find Themselves In, Mike Cherim

Appalachia

An experienced mountain guide sketches three situations—promoting clothing, going fast with minimal gear, and making the reaching of an iconic scene look easy—where social media influencers could misinform the public.

Navigation By Smartphone: A Field Geologist Argues That Devices Complement Physical Maps, Richard Allmendinger

Appalachia

An argument that smartphones—in the right hands, and with the right app—replace gadgets like alarm clocks, cameras, and weather radios and can outpace physical maps with the right apps.

Yes, Instagram Has Led To Overcrowding In Yosemite. That's Ok: A Professional Climber Reflects On The Bad And Good Of A Tourism Spectacle, Beth Rodden

Appalachia

Social media has Instagrammed the outdoors but also cultivated community. The crowds who flock to the park in February to see Horsetail Fall deserve to enjoy public lands, too.