Lander’s New Voices Continues to Showcase Student Talent
February 4, 2025New Voices, Lander University’s student journal, launched its latest edition at a launch party Wednesday, January 22. Beginning with only Dr. Misty Jameson, Dr. Andrew Jameson and a handful of students, the journal has since become a class taught by professor of English, Laura Martin, where students can learn about the publishing process and how to create a professional publication while putting Lander’s talented writers and artists on display. Hosted by ecstatic members of the class, Jainia Ingram and Tristan Barnes, this year’s launch party showcased many of the students’ amazing works and the overwhelmingly supportive community at Lander.
While the journal had no theme and few guidelines, many contributors and staff members on the New Voicesteam believe it lived up to its name. Martin said that this edition of New Voices “challenged the status quo and focused on community,” and award winner and team member Carly Rogers said that it “represented what the arts and humanities are about.” As the publication is assembled by students, it allows many artists and writers studying at Lander to experiment with new skills and become a part of the community. Rogers encourages people to engage with the community at Lander, especially in the College of Arts and Humanities, because, “There is a place for you.”
After opening the launch with many thanks to the staff at Lander that supported the students and made the journal possible, contributors were able to share an excerpt of their writing or explain their art. As contributors shared their works and, as Rogers put it, “a piece of [themselves]” with the audience, the fantastic artists and writers at Lander were put on display. Many moving stories, papers, works of art and poems were shared at the event, including poems written by Graham Duncan, lecturer of English and an alumnus of Lander’s English program. When asked how it felt to be a part of the journal as this edition’s alumni spotlight, and the journal where he was published for the first time as a student at Lander, he said, “It was full circle for me… Lander has always been a close-knit community and New Voices is evidence of that community in the College of Arts and Humanities.”
Martin said she was proud of what their team, contributors, staff and community had created. She also encourages students to continue to join the New Voices class because, regardless of major, it offers experience and knowledge of working in a professional environment similar to what an internship can provide. The New Voices publication continues to be an astonishing display of the community at Lander University.
To read this year’s edition of New Voices, visit www.lander.edu/student-media.