The Torch: Contributor Bios
Amanda Addo is a senior Communications, Public relations student at Bowie State University. She was born in Accra, Ghana and enjoys writing poetry, reading, and spending time with family and friends. She is also an artist and believes that art is an important part of preserving and expressing the human experience.
Berellyn Alberca is a senior English major at Bowie State University, set to graduate by December 2025. She was born in the Philippines and came to the United States at the age of 11. She is an aspiring author with a background in slam poetry. A proud Filipino, her poem “Rizal Street When It Rained” explores the complex and confusing journey of navigating through her queer identity as an immigrant who moved to the United States, where attitudes towards queerness vastly differ from her predominantly Catholic home country.
Mikala Barber is the Editor-in-Chief of The Torch and an evolving author. She is a senior 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 and fiction, including an interest in publishing. Mikala is looking forward to expanding her knowledge and skills in the humanities and in the publishing world. In Spring 2024, she published her first piece of work with a poem called “A Hope In A Cage” in The Torch. Following that publication, Mikala published another poem in the Fall 2024 edition called “Sincere.”
Amberleigh Curry (she/he) is a current student at Bowie State majoring in English with a focus on creative writing. Having already earned a BS in Wildlife Biology, she has spent the last eight years working as a veterinary assistant and is now looking to change careers, though veterinary medicine will always hold a special place in her heart. Queer and neurodivergent, he has always spent as much time living in stories as he does in reality. She is a lover of animals, a voracious reader of books, and a dabbler in pyrography.
Ranesia Duval is a mom, veteran, and student purusing her bachelor's degree in English.
Dasha Hill is a Business Administration major with a minor in Visual Culture and Museum Studies at Bowie State University.
Taylor Johnson is a Junior at Bowie State University majoring in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing. She has always been a creative in nature: from drawing and painting, to playing musical instruments, to writing poetry and short stories. She has been writing for as long as she can remember. She has always been drawn to the way words—and the stories they create—evoke emotions that linger and even taunt a reader long after the final line has been read.
Tazarion Keels is from Greenbelt, Maryland. He’s a senior at Bowie State University. He’s an emerging writer and has loved writing fiction since he was in 5th grade. He wants to use the skills as a creative writer and an illustrator to aid his future profession as a graphic novelist. His story is a continuation of The Aisle of Lost Things from the Fall 2024 issue and is now called The Pages of the Lost: Awaken.
Racquel Lee is a BSU junior majoring in English Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing. All she hopes for is that the people who happen to stumble upon her work will see her writing as the epitome of beautifully crafted prose and a source of inspiration for their own creative endeavors.
Anijah Medley is a visual artist and photographer studying Digital Media at Bowie State University. Her work captures vibrancy, boldness, and emotion, creating thought-provoking imagery. She also runs her own photography business, Captured by Nij, where she turns her creative vision into stories that feel both powerful and authentic. Take a journey through her lens!
Fonkeng Naomi is a powerhouse of vision and artistry, a Junior at Hammond High School whose work speaks louder than words. Her visual art has been showcased across Prince George’s County, earning top honors in the Lions Club Peace Poster contest for its emotional depth and bold storytelling. She creates with purpose, guided by Claude Monet’s belief that true beauty lies beyond names and appearances. Every brushstroke is a declaration: of freedom, of transformation, of seeing the world not as it is, but as it could be. Fonkeng draws inspiration from nature and lived experience, refusing to be boxed in by imagined limits—she moves through life with the mindset of renewal and reinvention. As a recipient of the Golden Presidential Volunteer Service Award, she brings that same fire to her community, proving that true winners don’t just create—they uplift, inspire, and lead.
Lynn Obianwu is an undergraduate, majoring in English at Bowie State University with a concentration in Creative Writing. She excels in writing compelling stories on the side as she gains her English degree. Besides being a writer, she's known for dabbling in art, her love of cinema, and much more. What she hopes to achieve at BSU is to make her mark on her creative endeavors.
Chase Williams is an undergraduate senior at Bowie State University studying English and creative writing. Speculative fiction is his favorite umbrella genre because it allows him to add creative what-if scenarios to real-world concepts. His main two goals are for his audience to read something that they have never thought of while at the same time being able to relate to his subject matter. Chase is also a visual artist actively working on illustrations to accompany his stories. He wishes for his readers to ultimately have fun reading his works, as they are a form of entertainment just as much as they are a form of education.