By Stella Henretta
University of Maryland English department principal lecturer Justin Lohr and his college students were walking the halls of Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, when he locked eyes with a young woman.
Lohr recognized the high schooler as his former student who had been enrolled a year before in ENGL 292: Writing for Change, a course established in 2013 that fosters a partnership between UMD and Northwestern High School.
“You could see in her eyes, sort of this awareness … this great big grin just beamed on her face,” Lohr said. “I could see in [her] smile just how meaningful and how much the experience still resonated with her.”
Writing for Change hosts annual performances like Friday’s “Telling True Stories” showcase, which continues to have this impact on its students. During this year’s event, students from UMD and Northwestern High School presented projects describing the experiences of people living in Hyattsville.
As co-leader of the program, Lohr said this year’s presentation was focused on increasing the visibility of how stories told about local communities shape the way political systems treat them.
The Writing for Change program, with the help of its UMD student mentors, aims to support high school students in making their voices heard, developing civic activism and encouraging students to see themselves as part of a larger community.
Lohr thinks UMD students gain a lot out of this experience. There is a real encounter with difference, he said, as high school individuals with different backgrounds provide college students with new knowledge.
“It’s a really eye-opening and revealing experience, and just a real chance to collaborate and sort of build solidarity and a sense of understanding across differences,” Lohr said.
Sophomore English and education major Emmanuel Dean acted as a mentor to four high school students throughout the project.
“I learned really a lot about how high schoolers see the world a little bit more,” Dean said. “They’re so in touch with their community and what they’re experiencing, and that’s something I wish I had when I was back to junior high school.”
Throughout the program, Lohr said the Northwestern High School students developed a sense of solidarity by presenting topics covering real issues in their community.
Truong attributed the success and power of their presentations to writing.
“Writing is communication, and communication is power. Writing is so important and extremely crucial to literary education because I think that without it, without writing, there’s a kind of taking away of power,” she said.
Through programs like Writing for Change, Truong said students learn that writing is necessary across all disciplines.
“Writing is just one of the most powerful tools, and I think anyone has the chance to wield it,” she said.
Lohr explained that the high schoolers in the program this year were a talented and focused group. He was frequently impressed with their abilities and their courage in taking a stance on an issue and then publicly presenting it to an audience.
“Part of what makes me so glad to be part of this experience is to be able to support them by helping to build a stage for them, and supporting them in the work of taking that courageous act,” Lohr said.
Cyrilla Truong, a teaching assistant for Writing for Change and sophomore English major, thinks the program encouraged growth and creativity in the high school students.
“The cohort this year was absolutely phenomenal in the projects that they made, and just to see all the different types of topics that they want to tackle. It reminds me that young people still always have so much to say,” Truong said.
Featured Image: Audience members watching a group of Northwestern High School students perform a slam poetry piece at the “Telling True Stories” showcase on May 1, 2026. Photo by Stella Henretta.
Editor’s Note: Stories Beneath the Shell’s Editor in Chief, Emely Miranda-Aguilar, is enrolled in the Writing for Change course. She did not edit this article.