Mentor’s Work
Abigail Hernandez
Physical Therapy Student
If you make yourself a strong believer,
they will believe.
Make yourself a strong believer,
and they will listen.
Become a strong believer
and make yourself believe.
It starts from within
From the fire that fuels you.
“if you can believe it, you can achieve it”
And so she did.
https://echo360.org/media/1c79d0fc-457c-4ad4-a1c7-3276e0be6d42/public
Emiko Mar
Physical Therapy Student
Inspired by Maya Angelou
“Phenomenal”
Phenomenal woman
The product of my mother who always fights for the community and justice
Phenomenal woman
Molded by the hardened and wrinkled hands of my grandmothers
One, who took a new name just to live in this country
The other, who endured living in a camp just for being her
Phenomenal woman
I absorb the sacrifices of the women before me
Their blood, sweat, and tears
Engrained in my being
Through them
I continue to amplify this line of
Phenomenally Asian women.
Heather Sloane
Social Work Faculty
Inspired by Amanda Gorman
The sting in my chest
It drips like a leaky faucet
I try to speak
My words like gravel in my throat
My voice stolen by monsters
Under my bed
By big voices
Powerful hands
I try to take it back
To sing proudly
I get tips from everyone
You should do this
You should do that
The sting in my chest reminds me
Drip, drip…
The fear bloomed
So early it roots so deep
I live with the sting
Keep opening my mouth
Ignore the gravel
And fight in moments in the past when I would give up
When I would be broken
I keep trying
There is a victory in
The trying.
Photo: Sarah Burns
Words: Ta’Leahia Wright
Clare Scantling
Medical Student
who; a remembering
shapes and colors and me and you
creating what we can’t think our way through
could you pick up your laundry off the floor? i grumble
what’s for dinner tonight? your grumbling belly wonders
here, why don’t you help me stir the pasta
where are we off to today?
a walk, the lake, arts and crafts, an adventure
is there anything we’re really here for
but to “love, anyways?”
you taught me how to see
showed me the who i want to be
soft and strong; present and attuned
my first taste of authentic community
of a life lived in techno-color
with one big hug, you invited me in,
twirled me around, melted me down,
built me up, and blessed my going
to carry you
here.
where community from scratch
has been shaped person by person
by day by week by month by God
and has called me ever-new to learn to love again
anyways, these wacky, confounding souls placed
in my path with purpose, with meaning,
with love, with mystery
why?
what am i seeking?
who am i to see?
who am i to be?
here.
Maggie Nigro
Physical Therapy Student
When we share with each other, we learn about each other. We become raw & vulnerable, yet beautiful & strong. Letting our heart talk truly connects us to one another. It allows us to connect as human beings. It takes us into new dimensions as we learn about another’s home. Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard to talk about our feelings and to have deeper conversations. But I also know that it can be scary and uncomfortable. When we share from our deepest levels, we grow closer together and truly learn from each other. And from there, We find out that we really arent strangers after all.
Mitchell Pei
Medical Student
We were always taught to be silent because its political. That we shouldn’t speak out if its too political. That we shouldn’t write because its too political. That we can’t say or do things because its too political. Yet, pandemic is political, healthcare is political, government mandates are political. Everything we touch and feel around us is political. We shouldn’t be afraid of something political. We shouldn’t stay silent because of it.
Dai’ja Banks
Social Work Intern MSW
Flirtations
Something about the sun, it just brings out the wild in me. Is it because my seasonal depression is gone or the fact the days are a little bit longer so I can actually enjoy it. I don’t know what it is but I love it. As I begin to take in the rays of the light and my feet are planted on the ground. I begin to feel whole and complete, its just the earth and me. Daija Banks- Fearless Writers Intern
Tulani Black
Social Work Intern BSW
The sky is dark today, the sun has disappeared. I’m feeling hopeless, another cause that we’ve been fighting for will probably be swept under the rug. It’s now storming, the tears of my ancestors pouring down onto the pavement because we could not accomplish something that they’ve been fighting for. Feeling down I cry with them. The sun suddenly peaks from behind the clouds. Nature’s beautiful colors shining on my face letting me know that I have not failed. I have brought my generation awareness and that’s all that I can do. My ancestors smiling down at me, I feel their kisses through the sun. Something great is coming.
Lori Lux
Social Work Student MSW
Inspired by Art as Social Action
Once upon a time a young girl kept a notebook
Full of secrets and questions
Longings and swear words
She carried a piece of Harriet the Spy deep inside
And would sink down between the twin blooming lilac bushes
Sweet and full
Whisper notes to her paper
About the neighbors
Or the Catholics walking to mass next door at the big church with the Holy Water
She wondered about countless things
Desperately sought answers but did not believe her voice could be heard
Over the noise of the chaos
So instead, she talked to herself through ink
Put her pet bunny in a doll stroller and walked
Notebook in hand
Pages labeled “inventions” and “stories”
“Poetry”
Told people she would be an author when she grew up
Now, she knows the stories are what she loved
The stories of the neighbors
And the devout
The stories of the drunk stepfather
And the lady who gave quarters on Halloween
The stories of the sister getting ready for prom night
Her hair growing taller with every spritz
The stories of black families losing children
And immigrant babies losing their mothers
The stories of women in prison because they aren’t like everyone else
Taking it all in
Her voice finally loud enough to be heard
Her heart finally full enough to believe
It all mattered
Photographs by Sarah Burns and Artwork by Leigh Pinkelman and Johanna McDaniel are published in Quint 12.1 Dec 2020
Fearless Writers Toledo 