From left are Sophie Schweiger, Allyson Buck, Veronica Hansen and Chloe Short. The students are the recipients of the 2019 Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Alumni Association Scholarship. Submitted photo

Jamestown High School seniors, Sophie Schweiger, Allyson Buck, Veronica Hansen and Chloe Short will soon have an opportunity that every budding writer would love to have — an all-expense paid Chautauqua experience during one of the first three weeks of the season at the Young Writers Institute as recipients of the 2019 Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Alumni Association Scholarship.

JHS English teachers, Barbi Price and Charles McKenna, nominated the four students for this prestigious award. All scholarship applicants were required submit samples of creative work, as well as a letter of recommendation from an educator. The JHS students each sent a work of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction describing a dramatic scene, event, or memory.

“These students are avid readers and were recommended because of their maturity and their love of language,” remarked Price. “This Chautauqua experience will appeal to them because they are intellectually curious; they will fit right in with a community of like-minded creative writers.”

Thanks to the generosity of the Chautauqua’s CLSC Alumni Association, the JHS students will live on the historic grounds of the Chautauqua Institution with a host family and have the opportunity to attend daily lectures by world-renowned experts, nightly concerts, and live theatrical performances, as well as take advantage of waterfront recreation opportunities and the fitness center.

“After participating in last year’s ‘Traveling Stanzas,’ I can hardly express my excitement for spending an entire week in the beautiful cultural center that is Chautauqua,” said Hansen. “From its carefully tended gardens, to its esteemed concerts and unique art galleries, to its influential lectures, Chautauqua offers its visitors an unforgettable experience.”

Schweiger added, “During my time at Chautauqua, I am looking forward to learning new writing skills and hope to develop techniques to help me later in my school career.”

At the Young Writers Institute, Schweiger, Buck, Hansen, and Short will be mentored by a faculty of nationally-recognized, published teaching-artists who, over the course of the week, will help the students hone their writing through short exercises, close study of work by contemporary writers, and workshops. Each student will have the opportunity to work one-on-one to develop a plan for future growth and to attend readings by writers-in-residence at Chautauqua’s Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall.

“I am grateful to be included in this program,” Buck said. “I want to learn new ideas and improve my writing.”

“Writing has been a passion of mine for a long time,” Short said, “and I’m excited to be spending a week at Chautauqua doing what I love with the friends that will be going with me.”