By Sam Cavanagh~
Chloe Cullen is smart, funny, dedicated, and as she described herself at her high school graduation, “goofy.” She’s also an extremely talented fiction and nonfiction writer and a fifth-year Penn State grad student in the BA/MA creative writing program. Her work has been published several times in Kalliope, Penn State’s undergraduate print journal.
Before Penn State
Chloe is a 22-year-old from Washington DC. She attended an all-girls prep school, but her love for writing had started as far back as middle school. Chloe has always loved English but never really realized she could pursue a career in writing until she got to Penn State; in high school, she even opted to take macroeconomics as an elective over creative writing. However, as Chloe grew, so did her love for creative writing.
Her middle school English teacher, Mrs. Fetters, was someone who really sparked her interest in writing. Mrs. Fetters constantly had her class writing in response to creative writing prompts, which Chloe loved doing. She is extremely grateful for Mrs. Fetters’ guidance and still stays in touch with her. She also has a good friend Caroline who gives her “honest and touching” feedback on her work and encourages her to continue working on old drafts.
Although Chloe has been very busy here because of the curriculum of her program, she still manages to find some free time to enjoy herself. She constantly writes whenever she finds time to and even carries a journal around with her to jot down thoughts throughout the day.
When Chloe is not writing, she’s visiting her friends or hosting them here for football games. She’s also always trying to “catch up on Netflix shows” because she may want to work in television in the future.
Chloe’s Experience at PSU
Penn State is what taught Chloe that she could really be a writer. She never really considered being an English major or pursuing writing until her freshman year of college in her creative writing class. After that class, she began taking more and more writing classes and eventually decided she wanted to be an English major.
Chloe says that the professors here have been super encouraging and helpful when it comes to her work. She also says that something that really helped her develop “thicker skin” (which is important to have as a writer) was all of the writing workshops she’s participated in at PSU.
In the BA/MA creative writing program, she’s found a great sense of community. She has made many new friends within the program and says she likes being surrounded by like minded people. She also says, “I felt that I always put English second, and this program allowed me to put my writing first without compromising my focus in my second major, broadcast journalism.” The program allows Chloe to prioritize both of her majors and her writing, which is something that is extremely important to her.
I have read some of Chloe’s work that has been featured in Kalliope myself, and I thought her writing was really amazing. Two pieces of hers that I loved and really stood out to me were “Deb’s Diner” and “Girl Meets World” (which we’re happy to share here now on Klio). Her writing creates a great sense of imagery and a strong sense of emotion. Her piece “Girl Meets World” in particular seemed very raw and from experience which made it even more enjoyable to read.
Aside from writing, Chloe also enjoys reading. Some of her favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which she read back in high school, and All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, which she recently reread. When she’s in what she describes as a “light but focused mood,” she’ll often read nonfiction comedy like the Saturday Night Live oral history or Daily Show oral history.
Advice for Writers
Chloe suggests that if anyone loves writing, they should look into the many different organizations and programs on campus that involve writing. However, the most important advice she wants to give to every writer is to write every day. Writing every day will help improve your writing skills and give you time doing something you really love. She says, “Give yourself one hour of quiet just to get your mind in the headset of writing, and see what comes out.”
She highly recommends the BA/MA program she is currently in to anyone who loves writing because she has had such a great experience with it thus far. She also now teaches English 15, which she said is a fun bonus for her, and she recommends the program to anyone who is able to do it.
The Future
In the summer of 2018, Chloe interned with Comedy Central’s Talent and Development team in New York City, where she had to apply her creative writing and workshopping techniques to scripts and television projects.
Although Chloe mentioned wanting to go into television, she’s not really sure what the future holds for her—something that so many college students have in common. The fields Chloe wants to go into are constantly changing which also makes it harder. “Most likely, I’ll end up in New York working on an assistant desk for some agency, writing in the early hours before work until I embed myself into the industry I find,” she says.
Chloe’s experience, talent, and love for creative writing is truly inspiring to young writers. She’s also a great example of how not everyone is sure of exactly what they want to do coming into college, but if you’re passionate about something, you will find your way and make it work.
Check out Chloe’s work in Kalliope below:
http://klio.psu.edu/2018/11/15/debs-diner-chloe-cullen/
http://klio.psu.edu/2018/11/15/girl-meets-world-chloe-cullen/