Freshmen explore identities

Freshman+Isabella+Rovettil+and+English+teacher+Mark+Botti+review+her+poem.+The+poems+were+inspired+by+Native+American+poetry.+

Freshman Isabella Rovettil and English teacher Mark Botti review her poem. The poems were inspired by Native American poetry.

Adele Fratesi, Reporter

WEB EXCLUSIVE Freshmen students concluded their unit on poetry in English with Identity Projects, a poem and a video encapsulating various aspects of their identity.

“I wanted to create a project that allowed for a freshman class, coming from all over the Bay Area, to get to know each other and create a community early on,” English teacher Mark Botti said. “I thought it would be a good way to start off the year because the projects can be pretty vulnerable for the presenter.”

After the completion of a unit on Native American poetry, students had to write an original poem describing a part of their identity and its purpose in their life.

“For my poem, I chose to discuss my ballet training and how that environment has shaped me to never give up and learn to cope with disappointment,” freshman Isabella Infosino said. “I think this will be great exposure to a more creative style of writing.”

The idea for the project stemmed from a class about Native American literature at the University of Montana, according to Botti. A poem was shown in class alongside an original movie and it sparked an idea for the project.

“I will be doing my project on my development growing up and how I’ve changed,” freshman Story Golkin said. “I intend to talk about how my attitude towards things has shifted over the years.”