The Colgate Odyssquad is an elite task force of passionate writers, comprised of all class years, cliques, clubs and cohorts. Established in August 2015, our team has worked hard to achieve journalistic integrity and bring unheard voices to the forefront of our small community and share their words across the world wide web. Welcome to the Writer Showcase Series, where we introduce you to our staff the best way we know how–in 500 words.
Colgate Odyssquad: What's your origin?
Helen Misiewicz: I'm from Millstone Township, New Jersey.
CO: So you're an incoming freshman, what made you choose Colgate and what do you ~love~ about Colgate?
HM: Yeah, I am! I'm super excited for reals, but really it just had everything I wanted. It's the best of both worlds. The school is small enough to create opportunities for all students and an extremely close bond with teachers and students. But also, there is a great social life and sports events to go to.
CO: #juglife I feel it. Why did you decide to join Odyssey and what do you love about it?
HM: I joined about two months ago when I saw a post in the Colgate 2020 Facebook group about it. I was always interested in writing, but I definitely wanted to join because I wanted to start new things at college and this is something I haven't done before! I love being able to connect with others about things that I'm passionate about. Realizing that there are other people who feel the exact same things that you do makes whatever you're going through ten times easier. But the best part is someone reaching out to me to say that what I wrote touched them in some way.
CO: That's awesome! I wish I had joined my freshman year–good for you for actually reading the Colgate 2020 posts! So what's something that makes you excited about life in general?
HM: New beginnings. The thought of meeting new people, forming new relationships and creating more memories makes me feel like I have so much to live and be thankful for.
CO: What's your favorite thing you've written for Odyssey?
HM: My first article about Moving On vs. Letting Go.
CO: What's your favorite thing you've read on Odyssey?
HM: Julia Cooper's "Dating w/ Depression." It was just so honest and open that it made me realize more things about myself.
CO: Props to Julia as always. Why do you want to see others write for Odyssey?
HM: It's a great outlet to voice your opinion. It creates a sense of release to be able to talk about how you feel or how you see things.
CO: Anything else you think people should know about you? Fun facts? Crazy stories? Deep, dark secrets?
HM: I'm super duper scared of cats, I'm a total book nerd, love french fries...but definitely love being with people and just talking. I'm definitely a people person, just sayin'!
CO: Why are you afraid of cats? This is extremely important to me.
HM: Oh my goodness, wow, that's a throwback to my girl scout days. We did a service trip at a local animal shelter and this super senile white cat latched onto me and started scratching me. Haven't been the same since.
CO: Alright, understandable but we're going to have to work on this.
Read Helen's articles here and follow her on Twitter.
To request an invitation to the Colgate Odyssquad, follow this link.
