Colleen Schena

I've been writing stories in composition notebooks probably since I could hold a pencil and write a coherent word. That passion led me to start my professional writing career during my sophomore year of college in 2018-2019, working as a communications intern for a diocesan office and Catholic newspaper. It was a really good place to cut my teeth on deadlines and trying to get subjects who didn't want to talk to me to talk to me, and just really being able to roll with whatever was going on at the time in a more low-stakes environment. From there, I worked for a radio syndicate for about 3 years, where I was hired as a copywriter but sometimes would be a co-host for weekend shows or an extra in audio recording. During that role, I was able to ghostwrite a book with a radio host, which was really exciting even though it was frustrating in the moment with all the long days of fact-checking, researching, and formatting. Now I work as a senior content writer for a university, which basically means my whole job is interviewing people, tracking people down, and pitching stories. I work a lot with engineers, and neither of my degrees are in engineering, so I'm always learning something new. I get to ask questions that help our students build confidence as well. My typical day starts with managing our social media account in a professional capacity, then interviews or one-on-one meetings throughout the day to coordinate how we're going to tell stories and what programs we're going to highlight. I have this humongous dry erase board wall in my office, and when people bring students over, I'll ask them to start telling me about what they've done in college, and as they're going, I'll take notes on the whiteboard so they can see exactly what I'm hearing. Good stories really do look for where your subject's eyes sparkle, and following that until you have a story. I also do freelance work helping young writers, especially in fiction and fantasy, develop novels and write back cover summaries. I have several works of fiction that I collaboratively write with friends, and I would love to get into the world of fiction, even if not as a full-time professional. I want to really nurture that fictional side of things and bring the wonder and the whimsy that made me a writer to audiences that might not normally have access to it.