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Creative Writing MFA Student Spotlight: Isabella Lechtenberg

Creative Writing MFA Student Spotlight: Isabella Lechtenberg

June 3, 2024
A blue background with yellow headers around the text. The Drexel University logo is at the bottom. The headings are in yellow and the regular text is in white. A photo of Isabella is on the left, she is in a fancy-looking hall with dim lighting, wearing a pink dress. She has mid-length brunette hair and glasses on. The text reads, “What are some challenges you have faced? How do you overcome them? ‘I’ve always been pretty shy. It’s scary to admit to people that you want to be a writer and have to share your work with others. Writing is a very vulnerable thing, and I think the best writing comes from the weirdest, most personal parts of people’s brains. My instincts are to run in the other direction of sharing any part of that, but I want to be more courageous. I’ve been making an effort to live outside my comfort zone this past year, and the more I’ve pushed myself, the braver I’ve become. The MFA community has really helped with this.’ Why did you start your MFA? ‘I started the MFA because I knew I had a lot of growing left to do. This includes the craft of writing, but also the lifestyle and attitude. Learning alongside passionate people who are unafraid to claim the title of ’writer’ has been so incredibly enriching. The community within Drexel’s MFA program is just as valuable as the classes themselves.’ ‘I take a lot of inspiration from fairytales, classics, and especially old children’s stories. I admire these books for their artful language and strong voices; it’s not about the plots so much as it is their imagination and personality. I particularly enjoy Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for its use of negative capability. I would love to be able to craft stories in which the reader can leave grown-up reason at the door and just come along for the ride like that.’”
The same background and style as the first. The Drexel University logo is at the bottom. A photo of Isabella is in the top right. She is smiling in front of a red telephone booth, wearing a pink shirt under a blue jacket, with dark brown pants and a black purse. In the bottom left is another photo of Isabella, smiling on the beach and holding a white dog, wrapped up in her coat. The text reads, “Do you have any advice for new and aspiring writers? ‘Don’t be too precious about it. I’ve wasted so much time fighting myself on just about every aspect of writing; about plots, sentence structure, about whether I deserve to be a writer at all. It’s good to think, don’t get me wrong, but I’d be willing to bet a lot of writers—especially new ones—are prone to overthinking. Stories are a lot more likely to succeed if they’re allowed to leave your head.’ Quick Facts: Born and raised in Philadelphia An Irish dancer who has competed in five different countries Favorite color is orange Loves to paint and draw and have regular crafts nights with her friends Skipped her college graduation ceremony to go to the Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks concert Can recite the alphabet backwards Dreams of living at the beach Is obsessed with her small, bossy dog, Chloe Studied International Business with a concentration in Spanish and earned the Certificate in Creative Writing and Publishing for her undergraduate degree”
2023-2024 Spotlights, MFA Student Spotlights

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