Senior Profile: ASFA Creative Writing's Jaid Sconiers

This semester, we're profiling a representative sampling of ASFA graduating seniors as they prepare to, well, graduate. [Sadface emoji!] ASFA Star staffer Kennedi Parker profiled and interviewed Creative Writing senior Jaid Sconiers, who will be attending the University of Alabama at Huntsville in the fall. Jaid is the artist behind The Star's Star-Com comic.

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ASFA Creative Wring Senior Jaid Sconiers

In the years that Jaid Sconiers has been attending ASFA, she’s been shining a light of creativity across the Creative Writing department. An ASFA Ambassador and a Peer Leader, Jaid has been a huge mentor to all of her writing underclassmen, who admire her for her joy, compassion, and endless patience. As one of her underclassmen "mentees" who has had the opportunity to talk to her, share my work with her, and be in the vicinity of her artistry, I feel that my work and my perspective of writing has shifted significantly due in part to her amazing mentorship. She’s made entire grades of creative writers comfortable and happy in this new and challenging environment, and I speak on behalf of all the underclassmen she's influenced when I say that we will miss her dearly, but she’ll go on to accomplish spectacular things. I had the pleasure of talking to her about how her experience at ASFA has been and changed over time, and what is next for her. 

How has specialty work changed between Junior and senior year?

JS: Specialty work has drastically increased in senior year because there is a lot more preparation that goes into things like senior showcase and the senior reading. that, Besides that, there are a lot more expectations put on seniors than juniors.

What is it like being a mentor for all the Creative Writing underclassmen?

JS: It’s nice being a mentor to the underclassmen, but it is also quite stressful. When I was the age of the underclassmen now, I was shown kindness by the graduating seniors then and that really made a positive impact on me. And I strive to be that for the underclassmen now, although, sometimes it’s like there is always someone watching me both when I do something right and when I mess up.

As a senior, you worked on the Senior showcase, and had your senior reading. What were those like?

JS: The senior showcase and senior reading were nothing but constant practice, switching out the pieces you were going to read and making everything perfect. I had to learn a lot of new skills like how to effectively memorize long pieces of work and read slowly for them. But, there were some fun parts like the creativity of it all and designing the programs for both events. Also, the serenity of when we, being the seniors, were in a big space meant for a whole crowd, alone. It felt very…serene.

What do you plan to work on in the future after graduation?

JS: After graduation, I plan on studying animation in college but also working on getting one of the novels I'm writing published. Eventually though I’m going to put out a graphic novel or a comic and would love to draw or animate for one of those big name media companies like Disney or Marvel. But, I don’t mind working for a smaller company either.

What made you interested in Creative Writing in the first place?

JS: I’ve always had a big imagination and loved to tell stories, going beyond the limitations of reality. When I was younger, I would write all the time but never thought much about it. I just wanted to get the story weighing on my brain out of my head. For the longest time, though, I had prioritized my visual art until I came to an open house for ASFA when I was in 7th grade and wandered into the Creative Writing department. If I’m being honest, that was the first time I thought anything of my writing besides something I just…did. And it was the first time I actually thought to make a career out of it.

Who or what were your influences for your writing?

JS: The work of really successful authors like Elizabeth Acevedo or Brandon Sanderson influence my work. Besides that, songs, experiences, and the things I watch inspire my work.

What’s your overall experience at ASFA been like, now that it’s over?

JS: My experience at ASFA has been interesting, interesting, to say in the least. I went from being shy and invisible, to being slightly more visible and interactive with the school, to being known by a good chunk of the department. But if I’m being completely honest about this question, I’ve had some good experiences and some bad experiences here, which in turn helped me to grow as a person.

What’s your advice for the creative writers that you leave behind?

JS: My advice would be to write what you like to write but also push yourself to get better at it. Because even if someone might not like the genre or topic you’re writing about, you can still sway them to think differently about it because of your writing. Because it’s not the writing, it's you. And if you feel you feel you have to write something everyone’s going to like, like, then you’ll end up messing it up because you’re using someone else’s voice and not your own.