On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Arcadia University Undergraduate Creative Writing Program hosted the Mighty Writers in Grey Towers Castle for a luncheon and open mic event. 

The event, organized by Program Director Tracey Levine, who also serves as director of University Seminars, featured 10 individuals from Mighty Writers and their adult coordinators, as well as several students at Arcadia. 

Mighty Writers is a non-profit organization in the Philadelphia-area that helps more than 4,500 children a year improve their writing skills so that they can achieve success. The organization serves students ages 8 to 18 at workshops and after-school programs. Their mantra is “Think Clearly and Write with Clarity.”

“It was a pleasure to read my work at the event and get to share an example of Arcadia’s creative writing department with the Mighty Writers,” said Ryan Everleth ‘26, an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing. “The highlight was definitely hearing the Mighty Writers themselves read what they’ve written – their work was charged with emotion and wonderful to hear.” 

Levine previously hosted this event yearly at Arcadia before the COVID-19 pandemic and hopes to make this an annual tradition once again. Additionally, Levine intends to work with Mighty Writers on internship and workshop opportunities for students with a concentration in Creative Writing.

“Seeing young writers be where I used to be and putting in the effort to grow as creatives was inspirational,” said Liz Symes ‘26, a Creative Writing major. “I’m happy they were given the space to use their voices and that some were brave enough to share with us.”