{"id":406,"date":"2023-01-06T17:26:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T17:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/?p=406"},"modified":"2024-03-05T15:49:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T15:49:00","slug":"lane-change-leads-to-selection-as-a-connecticut-collegiate-poet-for-student-isabella-bullock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/2023\/01\/06\/lane-change-leads-to-selection-as-a-connecticut-collegiate-poet-for-student-isabella-bullock\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Lane change\u2019 leads to selection as a Connecticut Collegiate Poet for student Isabella Bullock"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Isabella

Isabella Bullock<\/p><\/div>\n

After graduating from Staples High School, Westport resident Isabella Bullock planned to study Creative Writing with an emphasis on playwriting and screenwriting at a New York State public university. A year into her studies, Covid forced her classes online and Bullock realized it didn\u2019t make sense to pay the out-of-state tuition to continue her education at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely a lane change,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cI started looking at options in Connecticut to transfer to, and only Western Connecticut State University<\/a> had the same creative opportunities. I transferred to WCSU in 2020 as a Professional Writing<\/a> major with a focus on creative writing and a minor in marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once in WCSU\u2019s Professional Writing program, Bullock met Professor of Writing and Literature Dr. Brian Clements<\/a>, who has authored or edited more than15 print and digital collections of poetry \u2014 and her love of poetry was awakened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had always liked poetry, but never realized how much I love it,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cPoetry is the foundation for a lot of my writing, so when Dr. Clements sent me an application to be considered to be a Connecticut Collegiate Poet, I trusted his guidance and what he believes I\u2019m cable of, and applied. It was a shock that I was selected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bullock is the second WCSU Professional Writing student selected as a Connecticut Collegiate Poet. Professional Writing major Michelle Rochniak<\/a>, of Wallingford, was selected last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CT Poetry Circuit is a longstanding tradition that recognizes the best undergraduate poets in the state, and the Writing program at WCSU is delighted to have had one of our student poets selected for the CT Poetry Circuit in each of the first two years we\u2019ve nominated our poets,\u201d Clements said. \u201cIsabella Bullock, a senior Writing major with a Creative Writing specialization, was selected this year along with poets from Yale, Wesleyan, Quinnipiac, and Eastern Connecticut State University, and we\u2019re not the least bit surprised she was selected \u2014 Isabella\u2019s poems have a rich sonic layering that accompanies a calmness of spirit unusual among poets her age. She\u2019s already an accomplished poet, and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be seeing her widely in print in coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bullock, who commutes to WCSU and works two part-time jobs while taking classes, said her poems are about life, real experiences and what she\u2019s witnessed as a people watcher. \u201cGod is also a big part of my poetry as an inspiration,\u201d she said, \u201cand a lot of what I write about is based upon my faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thinking about what made her transfer to WCSU, Bullock said, \u201cI love where I am now. I didn\u2019t expect to love WCSU as much as I do. I\u2019ve learned so much and I appreciate my school and my professors.\u201d When she graduates in May, Bullock plans to take a working gap year to teach English in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be getting my feet wet with teaching,\u201d Bullock explained. \u201cMy minor is in marketing, so at some point I could do corporate writing. I\u2019m also considering pursuing a master\u2019s degree and I aspire to write a book one day. With Covid, I stopped planning, but I like to stay open to possibilities and options.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Bullock\u2019s \u201clane change\u201d will have her traversing Connecticut on the Collegiate Poet public readings circuit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After graduating from Staples High School, Westport resident Isabella Bullock planned to study Creative Writing with an emphasis on playwriting and screenwriting at a New York State public university. A year into her studies, Covid forced her classes online and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}