By Jamese Platt and Julia Oshiro
What do you do when it’s 10 degrees outside and there’s fresh snow on the ground? You get together, and you write.
Our three-week February workshop series at the Homewood Community Engagement Center kicked off on a cold Saturday afternoon on Feb. 7. Over the course of three Saturdays, WPWP fellows Tammy Rullo and Jen Salvatore guided PittEnrich students through collaging, poetry, and the process of using their own voices.
PittEnrich is a community outreach program, part of the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program, that provides literacy and math tutoring and enrichment to elementary school students from Lincoln and Faison. Students also get free transportation, snacks, and lunch, and are often sent home with extra lunches for siblings who are too young or too old to attend the program.
“Families are really happy to have a safe space for kids to go on Saturdays,” says Sam Varela, the program manager of the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program.
Throughout February, WPWP worked with PittEnrich to provide a space for students to explore their creativity and find joy in writing.
On the first Saturday of the three-week series, Rullo started off a collage journal activity by emphasizing that there were no rules on design, saying “it’s yours” and “it’s messy.” Salvatore and Rullo empowered students utilize a large array of magazines, stamps, tape, and stickers to make it their own. Some created neat lines and adhered to specific themes, while others got messy, creating chaotic amalgamations of their favorite animals, colors, and photos from magazine clippings.
Some students were hesitant at first. They spent time looking through the materials and paused after each decision, staring with uncertainty at their journal as they slowly began to take shape. Rullo and Salvatore spent extra time with these students. They offered help and suggestions, and, most importantly, gave specific compliments. They commented on an “amazing sense of color,” “beautiful texture,” and “good layering.” These compliments made students feel seen and valued, showing that their unique artistic visions were treasured.
By the end of the first session, every student had a journal covered in colorful collages. Pages reflected the students’ unique interests and artistic visions, and they proudly showed their finished masterpieces to Rullo and Salvatore.
When students returned on Feb. 14th for their second session, they had the opportunity to use those vibrant journals — learning how to write layered and expansive poetry. 
The day started with an exciting round of OuiSi. Each student picked a visually captivating and enriching card — some held a collection of twinkling stars, others featured a pattern of stripes, or a line of piano keys. Once the student had their card, Rullo and Salvatore gave them the chance to group with other students who they believed held similar cards. As the students expressed their reasons for grouping, it became clear that the game was more than an activity — it gave students the chance to think critically and creatively, an important tool that would serve as the backbone of their assignment that day.
Once the students sat down, Salvatore stood before them with a blank page and a blue crayon. As she drew a scribble in the corner of the page, she and Rullo asked the students one question: "What does this color make you think of?" Salvatore and Rullo wouldn't give the students the name of the color. Instead, they allowed their imaginations to run wild. The students eagerly shouted their answers — “azul,” “swimming pool,” “good like a raspberry slushie,” — they were completely unaware that they were creating poems. These poems would later be titled "Pacific Blue" and "Midnight Blue," respectively. "Now you're all poets!" Salvatore exclaimed to the class.
To end the day, students had the opportunity to grab a crayon and write their own poems. As on the first day, students were hesitant to assign words and phrases to their assigned colors. However, Salvatore and Rullo were there every step of the way, helping them ignite their imaginative thinking.
For the program’s final day, Rullo and Salvatore gave students time to finish their poems and present them to the class. Rullo and Salvatore created a safe, comfortable environment, giving them the space to present or not. While not all spoke, it was clear that they were proud of their work.
Once the students finished their presentations, they sat in a circle and watched a video about 14-year-old "color activist" Bellen Woodard, the author of the children's book More than Peach. Woodard wrote the book at 8 years old after a fellow student asked her for the "skin-color crayon." Woodard knew they meant the peach color, but she wanted to create a space where all children could feel included and where every skin color could be represented in a crayon box.
Rullo and Salvatore encouraged students to step into Woodard's shoes and allowed the kids to pick a skin-color crayon out of a box, invent it, and give it a new, jazzy name. Students referenced drinks, treats, and sweets to represent their new colors, becoming true "color activists" in the process.
As the class came to an end, and the students prepared to board their bus for the final time, Rullo and Salvatore had each student repeat a phrase that encapsulated every moment of their time there, from creating journals to writing poems. A phrase they would take with them as they left the engagement center.
“I am somebody, I have a voice," they said.
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Jamese Platt is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying English Literature and Communications. She currently serves as a writing intern at the WPWP for the spring semester. When she’s not working for WPWP, you can find her reading, snuggled up in her bed, or playing a comfy video game.
Julia Oshiro is a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in English and Spanish with minors in secondary education and Portuguese, and a certificate in public and professional writing. She is currently working with the WPWP as a social media and writing intern. Outside of school and work, she enjoys baking, reading, and trying out new crochet projects.