The Torch: Contributor Bios
Olaoluwa "Laolu" Adewoye is a computer technology senior at Bowie State University. He specializes in database administration, but has many other passions, including writing. He has written creative works since 2017 and mainly specializes in high fantasy, supernatural, and science fiction stories.
Xavier Ashton-Adderley is currently a college student at Bowie State University, majoring in English and minoring in Theatre. He recently had a play performed in the black box theatre at BSU as a result of winning the LLCS Writing Contest of 2022 for the category “Best Work of Fiction”. He is also an emerging writer who’s looking to get more plays produced and possibly get a full-length play produced in the BSU black box theatre. He currently lives with his stepmother in the small town of Glenn Dale, MD.
Mikala Barber is an emerging author. She is a junior at Bowie State University with a major in English, focusing on creative writing. She is from St. Mary’s County. She first started writing in 2020, posting her short stories on social media. When she came to Bowie, she found her love of poetry. She’s looking forward to expanding her knowledge and skills in the arts. She hopes her poems can touch people’s hearts, letting them know they are not alone and shining a glimpse of light that God provides.
Wesley Ding is a student at Fordham University who does art and creative writing for fun in his free time. He has entered small local competitions and won awards for both activities. He is most known among his peers for his dragon art, primarily using paper and pens as his choice of medium. Occasionally, he does draw other things such as beasts, aliens, and real-life animals.
Logan Forrest is a current sophomore attending the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, majoring in Digital Media Studies. She is a member of the Richard A. Henson Honors Program. She has a passion for writing and filming, and she aspires to become more advanced in film and writing, while also learning how to voice act. Several professional achievements she has made are being a writing tutor at her university's writing center, interning at Exelon in Washington, DC, and taking on the leadership role of Miss Sophomore at her university.
Breanne Joseph is a creative writing student at Bowie State University who draws motivation from a cup of warm Chai at her side. The story in this issue of The Torch began as a workshop in class and has grown into something more since then. The protagonist simply tries his best to make the right choice, and a sadistic ancient entity takes full advantage of his naivety. The story is a brief look at how a choice made with the best intention can still have consequences.
Alysha Mcknight is an Honors freshman who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a beginning writer who is currently majoring in theatre arts. She loves anything related to the arts, whether that is dancing, directing, acting, screenwriting, and attempting to draw. She appears in many movie productions such as Imaginary Friends starring Ryan Reynolds, Broadway productions, commercials, and many more great projects. She is a young woman who goes by the phrase “why not?
Koda Myers is a sophomore at Bowie State University and a communications major who enjoys poetry and screenwriting. These collections of poems are about war, love, and afterlife.
Vivi Nguyen is a junior at Bowie State who is currently unpublished and is interested in writing, hoping to incorporate it into her future.
Karey Ruchak is a 21-year-old mother to a little boy, juggling a small business and an education to become an elementary school teacher. She attends Anne Arundel Community College.
Jewel Soares is presently attending Bowie State University as a transfer student. She grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, and then joined the Navy, which allowed her to live in California for four years. After an honorable service of 5.5 years, she was medically separated. After separating from the Navy, life was hard and she struggled with her mental health, so she turned to writing. She loves attending open mic nights in the DMV area. She is pursuing a BA in psychology to hopefully get her PhD and become a clinical psychologist to help others like her.
Karon Teat is a VCDMA major/Writing Consultant with a concentration in Digital Media. “Humanity” is a visual manifestation of the quote "My humanity is bound in yours for we can only be human together," by South African bishop and theologian Desmond Tutu. It takes on the literal meaning of Tutu's statement, binding two human figures together who are also connected by the limbs. The textured background, greyscale color palette, and chains are intended to create an industrial/dystopian feeling, stressing the importance of the quote during a time when modern society feels quite dystopian. “Mindscape”, on watercolor paper in graphite and charcoal, is an exploration of afrofuturism, fantasy, and self. Karon self-represents in a deity-like fashion suspended in space surrounded by foreign space objects and stars.