The Minor Bird, Chatham’s undergraduate literary and art magazine, is in its third year of recognizing new artists through the Simon Matela SOAR Awards for Emerging Writers. Created in memory of Simon Matela (class of 2020), a creative writing major and Minor Bird executive board member who passed away unexpectedly in January 2019, these awards seek to recognize young talent. We sat down with the 2022 recipients, Alison Righetti ’25, Maggie Vargo ’25 and McKenna DiRienzo ’22 to talk more about their work as emerging writers and artists.

Walker is a creative in his last semester here at Chatham. He has spent his time doing design and videography, working in the Art and Design Center, and unicycling. Learn more about Walker and his plans for the future in this for-students, by-students feature!