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From the East Side to the East Coast, Mt. Pleasant student ready to perform poetry in New York City. Let’s help him get there!
Talent and tenacity, resilience and reverence; with these virtues, Crisanto has overcome significant challenges, found his voice through spoken word poetry, and is ready to redefine everything he ever dared to dream for his own future. Such is the transformative experience of leaving the East Side of San Jose and traveling to New York City. As one of the teachers leading this trip, I’m beyond excited to be able to offer this opportunity to this outstanding young man, and together I hope we can make it a reality.
Each March for the past 17 years, a group of Mt. Pleasant High School students and teachers has traveled to New York City to attend a creative writing conference at Columbia University. In recent years, we’ve extended the trip to a week in order for students to experience more of what the City has to offer. At a time when students have fewer opportunities to engage and explore their creativity, this trip is a profound experience of the possibility and power of personal expression. Crisanto has earned this opportunity by distinguishing himself as the poet laureate of our campus, but now he has the opportunity to perform a piece at the famous Nuyorican Poets Café. For this kid, attending a slam like this would be a lifetime memory; competing in it is likely to change the trajectory of his life.
From experience, I’ve seen how this one-week in the city can have a lasting impact on a student’s life. It serves to broaden their perspective, freeing them from the limitations and constraints so many impose on themselves. So while Crisanto has never been on an airplane, through his words he soars as a genuine poet, an artist who uses words to speak truth to the human experience. By drawing others into his own experiences, he challenges them to find themselves. Becoming a part of the City, contributing to the pulse and rhythm of New York would be one more opportunity for Crisanto and all of our kids to connect with the larger world in a way that is profoundly powerful.
There’s no doubt Crisanto has earned this opportunity; there’s also no doubt that an investment in him is bound to pay dividends to his community when he returns. His school believes in him and is willing to pay his conference registration and cover his lodging. We’re hoping to help fund his travel costs, food and incidentals. Crisanto is one of twenty students traveling to NYC this March with the Mt. Pleasant High School Literary Society.
To find out more
Talent and tenacity, resilience and reverence; with these virtues, Crisanto has overcome significant challenges, found his voice through spoken word poetry, and is ready to redefine everything he ever dared to dream for his own future. Such is the transformative experience of leaving the East Side of San Jose and traveling to New York City. As one of the teachers leading this trip, I’m beyond excited to be able to offer this opportunity to this outstanding young man, and together I hope we can make it a reality.
Each March for the past 17 years, a group of Mt. Pleasant High School students and teachers has traveled to New York City to attend a creative writing conference at Columbia University. In recent years, we’ve extended the trip to a week in order for students to experience more of what the City has to offer. At a time when students have fewer opportunities to engage and explore their creativity, this trip is a profound experience of the possibility and power of personal expression. Crisanto has earned this opportunity by distinguishing himself as the poet laureate of our campus, but now he has the opportunity to perform a piece at the famous Nuyorican Poets Café. For this kid, attending a slam like this would be a lifetime memory; competing in it is likely to change the trajectory of his life.
From experience, I’ve seen how this one-week in the city can have a lasting impact on a student’s life. It serves to broaden their perspective, freeing them from the limitations and constraints so many impose on themselves. So while Crisanto has never been on an airplane, through his words he soars as a genuine poet, an artist who uses words to speak truth to the human experience. By drawing others into his own experiences, he challenges them to find themselves. Becoming a part of the City, contributing to the pulse and rhythm of New York would be one more opportunity for Crisanto and all of our kids to connect with the larger world in a way that is profoundly powerful.
There’s no doubt Crisanto has earned this opportunity; there’s also no doubt that an investment in him is bound to pay dividends to his community when he returns. His school believes in him and is willing to pay his conference registration and cover his lodging. We’re hoping to help fund his travel costs, food and incidentals. Crisanto is one of twenty students traveling to NYC this March with the Mt. Pleasant High School Literary Society.
To find out more
Organizer and beneficiary
Joe Lovato
Beneficiary