Georgia Kerr is making space for Tacoma’s young writers. Georgia is a senior at Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) and when she discovered creative writing was not offered as a major focus area, she worked with her teachers and peers to create space for SOTA students interested in creative writing. Her work led to the development of a new creative writing major and a literary magazine for SOTA students to showcase their work. With graduation right around the corner, she’s looking forward to studying English and creative writing at the University of California at Berkley next fall.

What is an accomplishment you're proud of?

At SOTA, we have majors, where students get to specialize in different areas of art. I was part of a movement within SOTA to start a creative writing major. I'm proud that I was able to help create a space for writers that come after me to have a sense of community. There are three students graduating this year as the first ever creative writing majors and I am so grateful. I also started a literary magazine for students to share their work and have the same sort of opportunities available to students in other majors. I’ve made my own community here at SOTA.

What are your plans for next year?

I'm off to UC Berkeley to study English and creative writing. I’m so excited. It's really something out of a dream for me. Berkley has a literary magazine called the Berkeley Fiction Review, and I’m excited to be a part of that.

How has your school experience prepared you for UC Berkeley?

I think SOTA is unique and there are so many talented people here and there's a really intentional focus on the arts and cultivating the artistic abilities of students. I'm lucky to go to a school where there are a lot of different perspectives.  

What is a challenge you’ve overcome?

COVID was a hard time for a lot of people. There were a lot of art classes that were hard to do virtually, like theater classes. There was sort of a sense of isolation that came with that. I remember not quite knowing where I fit in at school. My passion for writing grew out of that situation. I was taking a creative writing class during COVID and it became something that I really enjoyed. I loved being able to have that connection to other students through our writing.

Describe yourself in three words.

Thoughtful. Curious. Driven.