OutWrite, a free, volunteer-based creative writing program, strives to give access to creative writing to students across the nation. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, OutWrite was meant to provide a creative space for elementary-age children to explore healthy self-expression and the artistic realm during lockdown. With this mission, OutWrite continues this mission in continually encouraging students’ exploration of creative writing while also promoting conducive emotional outlets, self-awareness, growth of imagination, and advancement in skill.
Our Mission
Our Mission
OutWrite, a free, volunteer-based creative writing program, strives to give access to creative writing to students across the nation. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, OutWrite was meant to provide a creative space for elementary-age children to explore healthy self-expression and the artistic realm during lockdown. With this mission, OutWrite continues this mission in continually encouraging students’ exploration of creative writing while also promoting conducive emotional outlets, self-awareness, growth of imagination, and advancement in skill.
What we believe
We believe that all students should be able to encounter and explore creative writing without limitation of individual constraints. Many of our teachers started with basic creative writing lessons all the way back in elementary school, leading them to their places as “writers” and passions for creative writing now as high schoolers. Sharing this love and exploration of the genre through accessible and fun online classes is one of our primary goals.
While this was especially important for us during the COVID-19 quarantine to give isolated students an emotional outlet and a space for artistic discovery, OutWrite started several other initiatives as the COVID-19 quarantine and the transition back to in-person life slowly ended. These initiatives are dedicated to making the access to creative writing and imaginative thinking possible for students of all demographics, including those who are underprivileged, bilingual, learning English as a second language, and in temporary homes.
Meet the Team
Alice Ahn
President + Teacher
Alice Ahn is a senior at Portola High, where she is the Editor-in-Chief of the Portola Pilot. She has long been a lover of all things literary, but screenwriting is the closest to her heart. Alice frequents novels with entrancing titles but mediocre plots — and conversely, movies with plain titles that destroy you.
Paige Hines
President + Teacher
Paige Hines is a senior at the Orange County School of the Arts in the creative writing conservatory. She enjoys all forms of writing, but in particular, she likes poetry and screenwriting. In her free time, she loves to read, spend time with friends, garden, and travel.
Shining Chen
Teacher
Shining Chen is a senior at Orange County School of the Arts in the Creative Writing Conservatory. This is her fourth year at Outwrite. She enjoys writing short stories that are either horror or realistic fiction. She also finds joy in engineering and working with children.
Jua Kim
Teacher
Jua Kim is a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts. She is an avid writer of short fiction and plays, and is an alumna of the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio. She also edits for her school’s literary magazine and writes for the sketch comedy show. When she’s not writing, you can find her overdosing on caffeine.
Talia Ghorban
Secretary
Vivian Do
Teacher
Vivian Tran is a senior. In her free time, she likes to write poems in her notes app. Some of her favorite hobbies are hanging out with friends, going to the beach, going on long drives (late night drives especially), and doom scrolling on TikTok.
Mckenzie Gil
Teacher
Mckenzie is a junior in the Creative Writing Conservatory at Orange County School of the Arts. She enjoys writing anything fiction, but loves reading even more. When she’s not writing or reading, most of her time is spent binging shows and movies. She’s an avid watcher of TV and is always open to recommendations. Her favorite show is Brooklyn Nine-Nine and her favorite book is anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Rachel Ham
Teacher
Rachel Ham is a Creative Writing student at the Orange County School of the Arts. She is an avid poet, but her greatest passions lie in youth journalism and media. She also pursues spoken word and slam poetry at annual regional and state-wide events. In her free time, you can find her enjoying novels. Her goal is that her writing would one day be as salient as a bolt of lightning.
Sophie Peng
Teacher
Sophie Peng is freshman in the Creative Writing conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts. She has enjoyed reading and writing since childhood. She loves books that are immersive and descriptive, and especially loves a good plot with a side of romance.
Mikaela Nguyen
Teacher
Mikaela Nguyen is a senior at the Orange County School of the Arts, where she nurtures her love for literature and poetry. She spends much of her free time reading works that explore identity and complexity, with favorites including On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and The Secret History. Outside of writing and reading, Mikaela enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies, and finding inspiration in nature.
Rena Oh
Teacher
Rena Oh is a sophomore at the Orange County School of the Arts. Ever since middle school, she has always enjoyed writing short stories and playscripts. During her free time, she also enjoys reading mystery, thriller, and romance books, as well as newspapers and journal articles.
Priyam Pandey
Teacher
Priyam Pandey is a senior at Orange County School of the Arts. He is a student with a passion for helping younger learners grow in confidence through writing. With strong communication skills and a supportive approach, Priyam enjoys helping guiding others as they discover their own voice and creativity.