Meet Celeste

Words Alive is thrilled to announce a new addition to our team: Celeste Brown, our Administrative Coordinator! Read on to learn more about Celeste and her drive to join the Words Alive team.

In July 2023, Words Alive welcomed Celeste Brown to the team as our Administrative Coordinator, supporting the organization’s daily operations, facility operations, and accounting. She is the key staff member supporting the Board of Directors and Executive Director. Celeste earned a B.S. in Clinical Psychology and B.A. in Human Developmental Sciences at UCSD, and has years of professional experience in administration, reception, and retail.

Now, a few words from Celeste:

What intrigued you about Words Alive?

Aside from my lifelong love of reading and all things books, what most interested me about Words Alive was its commitment to serving the highest need communities. Working in, and giving back to, underserved populations has always been important to me in all aspects of my life, so finding an organization that I felt shared that sentiment was really inspiring. I felt like Words Alive wasn’t just doing the work to be able to say they did it, but rather to really make an impact for the youth they served. After my first interview, I felt so comfortable, and so seen that I knew I had to be a part of Words Alive one way or another.

What are you most excited about in this position?

I’m most excited about learning more about the innerworkings of a nonprofit organization. Doing administrative work really allows me to peek into all the different parts of Words Alive and get a holistic understanding of what goes on. It’s been great to be a part of such a hardworking and amazing team. Also, I’m excited to be in a space where I can be representative of the populations that we serve. I know that if little Celeste had seen someone that looked like her in more spaces like these, it would’ve had such an impact.

What is your relationship with literacy and learning?

Learning is one of my favorite things in the world. Growing up, my mom was a teacher, and so the classroom has always been a safe space for me. The library too. A lot of my childhood was spent in the library, checking out stacks of books that I’d finish in a week. Being a pretty introverted and shy child (and adult), reading has always provided me with an escape when life can get too overwhelming. I’m so grateful for the opportunities that education and literacy have provided for me, and for having a parent who encouraged that love for learning. I hope to do that for others.

What are you currently reading?

I just finished Dirt Creek by Haley Scrivenor. I’m always looking for a good mystery/who done it, so if you have any suggestions, please send them my way!  I also love fantasy books. My favorite book of all time is The Chronicles of Narnia. I have the whole series packed into one book and it’s a classic that I can always go back to.

Meet Emanuel, AmeriCorps VIP Fellow

Words Alive is so excited to announce a new addition to the Words Alive team: our AmeriCorps VIP Fellow, Emanuel Prince! Read on to learn more about Emanuel and his drive to join the Words Alive team.

In September 2023, Words Alive was thrilled to welcome Emanuel Prince to the team for an 11-month position as an AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) Fellow. This purpose-driven service opportunity builds and strengthens volunteer programs at partner agencies across California through the service of their members. By focusing on capacity building, volunteer recruitment, fundraising, and partnership building, VIP members level up their site’s volunteer programs and equip the organization to sustain strong volunteer infrastructure after the conclusion of their term. Fellows receive training in volunteer management and professional development throughout their service.

Emanuel joins Words Alive after graduating summa cum laude from California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) with a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in criminology and justice studies. He was a leader on campus as the first Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of the Mira Costa College Associated Student Government, and chartered the Phi Sigma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc, seated at CSUDH. Passionate about serving the Black American community, Emanuel aims to pursue a legal career in civil rights and the public interest sector.

Now, a few words from Emanuel:

What drew you to Words Alive?

After graduating college, I wanted to take a gap year. However, I wanted my gap year to be filled with professional work experience. I applied to a variety of different job opportunities and came across the AmeriCorps VIP Fellowship. Through the fellowship, I connected with Words Alive, which is now the partner site that I will be serving for the next year. What really brought me to Words Alive was our shared belief in serving historically underserved communities. Additionally, we connected in the belief that reading is an essential skill for children to have on their educational journey and future success.

What is your relationship with books and reading?

Personally, I love books, especially as they relate to crime/mystery. One of my favorite novels is The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher. As a kid, I enjoyed The Hunger Games series, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (which inspired the movie Hugo), and Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting.

What are you currently reading?

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie. 

Meet Our New Storytelling Intern, Steven!

Introducing another new addition to the Words Alive team: our summer Storytelling Intern, Steven Zhao!

Steven is on the right!

Steven’s drive to engage with Words Alive’s undertaking of empowerment through literacy and tell the stories of its individuals, communities, and programs is driven by a love for reading and other forms of human expression as well as a fervent appreciation of literature as a crucial medium through which people contemplate their lived experiences.

His work as a storytelling intern is informed by his personal journey with reading and his learning experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), at which he pursues a major in communication studies and a minor in philosophy. 

Steven’s bicultural identity and exposure to books in both English and Chinese growing up served as major sources of nurture and wonder, whether that is in learning to understand viewpoints and worlds different from his own, contemplating expressed messages and values, or in being challenged to reflect on himself. In combination with his studies, he believes reading to be not just the consumption of the written word, but a well of potential for enjoyment and meaning and an integral aspect of the human capacity for communication. 

In terms of his minor, Steven is most interested in the areas of moral and political philosophy. He places high value on and believes in the benefits of curiosity, a lifelong capability for learning, and approaching unfamiliar ideas with critical thinking and charity. He resonates with how reading and Words Alive’s programs empower communities through cultivating these traits. 

Steven’s experience with reading has also inspired him to explore creative expression. He wrote for the Arts and Entertainment section of the Daily Bruin, enjoys creative writing, and is currently taking an intensive screenwriting program at UCLA’s Summer Film Institute as he works with Words Alive virtually from LA.

In his free time, Steven loves to take in fantasy books, Dungeons and Dragons podcasts, and mystery shows. He also enjoys working holistically on his health by working out and keeping a journal. Occasionally he likes to turn his brain off and play Pokémon or League of Legends. He is also a tenor for UCLA’s Awechords A Capella. 

How did you discover Words Alive? What drew you to interning here?

I discovered Words Alive through their posting on Handshake! I was drawn to the storytelling internship as it aligned with my personal passions and professional interests. Reading is and has been such a significant source of enjoyment for me, and I love to immerse myself in the awesome worlds and stories authors create. 

Now that I’m older, I’ve also realized that I have extracted so much meaning from the various stories I’ve read over the years that contribute to the way I look at the world. Words Alive interested me as an organization that works to improve literacy, and resonates deeply with me in its understanding of reading as a crucial skill set and critical to social and cognitive development. 

What book or story has had a big impact on you? Do you have a favorite quote?

““Sometimes a hypocrite is nothing more than a [person] in the process of changing” ”

— Dalinar Kholin, The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

That would probably be The Stormlight Archive, an ongoing fantasy book series by my favorite author Brandon Sanderson. Set to be two five-book halves with a time skip in the middle, The Stormlight Archive is truly a story of epic proportions and great detail that is deserving of multiple rereads. It has an incredible thoughtfulness and complexity behind its interwoven storylines and there is an astounding attention to detail and consideration in its world building. 

This series is host to a plot of great scale, yet both this greater plot and the individual, interlocking stories of its diverse cast of characters are well written and exude urgency. Its most recent release, Rhythm of War, ended with quite literally one of the craziest twists that I’ve ever read and subverted expectations going forward in a very unsettling manner. 

The Stormlight Archive also uses its expansive world, cast, and story to ask a multitude of poignant questions throughout its different books – What is the value of a human life? When does one take responsibility? When is the law right? What lengths are justifiable in the face of a great threat? What is worth fighting for? – and more while exploring those questions from varying perspectives. Importantly, I feel that the story is, at its core, about broken people trying to get back up on their feet and figure out what they think is the right thing to do. It’s a story of resilience. 

What is your favorite recent read?

My favorite recent read is actually a fanfiction named Doors to the Unknown by Silver Pyromancer on the SpaceBattles forum. It’s a crossover between the Dungeons and Dragons universe and the self-published web serial Worm by John C. “Wildbow” McCrae, and it follows the related stories of a functionally immortal psionicist who travels across worlds and an unlikely band of stranded superheroes and villains who have to team up to survive in an unknown world. I’m a gigantic fan of stories with vast and intricate worldbuilding, and I’m incredibly impressed by the way Doors to the Unknown worked the complexities of D&D and Worm together in a way that made sense while having also compelling character arcs.

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We are so excited to have Steven on our team! Are you interested in working with Words Alive? You can find open internship and employment opportunities here or click here to learn about how to volunteer with us!