Melissa Nuñez – Opinions and Features Editor
When applying to Southern, Ryan Meyer, a senior English and media studies major, said what originally attracted him to the university was the combination of knowing people who graduated from the school and the prominence of their education program.
After enrolling, Meyer said he would soon realize secondary education was not for him and he became more interested in creative writing and discovered media studies, he decided that the mixture was perfect for him.
Within his first semester, Meyer said he heard of FOLIO and decided to attend one of their readings. He said after presenting one of his own poems, while it was exciting, he did not return right away.
A few months later, Meyer decided to attend his second FOLIO reading and was surprised when a former club leader complemented the poem he had read months before. He said, not only was the positive feedback refreshing, but the fact that he remembered his work from months back is what encouraged him to come regularly.
“I went back a couple months later and said hi to someone on the board,” said Meyer. “He was like, ‘You read at the one a couple months ago, I loved your piece.’ I was like, ‘They’re remembering what I’m writing and they’re liking it so I should keep coming back and honing my work.’”
Years later, Meyer said he would apply for a leadership position in FOLIO and became fiction editor from December 2015 to May 2016, went on to feature two of his poems, “Imperfect Fit” and “Some Things You Can’t Undo,” in the 2016 edition, and is currently the associate editor.
Meyer said Bookmarks is another club on campus he became passionate about, that he and other club leaders helped resurrect the club after fading away in December 2013.
Meyer said becoming Bookmark’s secretary had motivated him to become a leader in other places on campus and, overall, the club became a place for students of all majors to gather, talk about their love for literature, and have a sense of community.
“Since I started at Bookmarks, I met people who have gone to other clubs,” said Meyer, “they’re presidents and on the boards of other clubs, they’re involved in so many things and a lot of newer members talk about how Bookmarks provided a sense of community for them. If they were having trouble finding places to fit in, Bookmarks provided that for them.”
Meyer said he would later become president of Bookmarks between December 2014 and May 2016 and, although he did not reapply for the leadership position, he is still an active member.
Meyer said he is also one of two English department interns managing their social media and alumni outreach and is also working on an independent study with Vivian Shipley, creating a book of 20 to 30 poems of life experiences through the horror genre.
Meyer added his poem, “Faulty Wiring,” was published in Asnuntuck Community College’s 2015 spring edition of the Freshwater Poetry Journal and another poem, “Reassurance,” published in the first edition of the Beechwood Review in July 2015.
Meyer said, while he is excited to be accepting his diploma in December and for the opportunities to come, it is not without a heavy heart, as he will miss this campus as well as the people and the places that helped prosper here.
Photo Credit: Melissa Nuñez – Opinions and Features Editor
