Rise, Phoenix College’s literary and arts magazine, embraces unique voices from a diverse population of artists and writers, fostering connections between our students and the wider creative community. Our vision is to uplift and celebrate our students and local artists and writers. Rise is a student-driven project. The magazine is published annually both digitally and in print.
The publication of this magazine is made possible by the students and faculty in the Special Interest CRW298AC course, open for enrollment next Spring 2024, and the Creative Writing, English, and Art programs at Phoenix College.
Editorial Staff
Lela Haslup is a Graphic Design student at Phoenix College, and will be pursuing a degree in Art History. She enjoys reading classic literature, creating art, and spending time with her dog in her free time. Her favorite author is Jane Austen.
Kelly Hill is an artist, writer, and devoted student. At a very young age, Kelly was stuck with a pencil in one hand and a paper in the other. Kelly loves creating, whether it’s writing nonsense or scribbling until the page rips.
Sebastien Pardo is a Haitian-American artist and writer from Phoenix, Arizona currently studying Bioinformatics. He has a love for all things nature and is also an avid reader. Seb likes to use art and writing as ways to explore different cultures, concepts, ideas, and histories from around the world.
Publishing Faculty
Cody Wilson is a published poet who teaches English and Creative Writing courses at Phoenix College. He enjoys riding bikes, writing, reading, and occasionally attempting a kick flip or a 50/50 on his skateboard, though not without risking injury to both his body and his self-esteem.
He facilitates the CRW298AC Rise Editorial Class at Phoenix College, open for enrollment once each year.
Susanna Velarde Covarrubias is a poet, playwright, musician, actor, and liminal healing artist. Daughter of Mexican immigrants, she’s drawn to the borderlands, be they geographic, cultural, or the liminal spaces found between genres, disciplines…
She earned her MFA in Creative Writing-Poetry at Rutgers University and studied graduate playwriting at University of Notre Dame. A proud alum of VONA, the Fornés Playwriting Workshop, and the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, she was also awarded a Research & Development Grant from Arizona Commission on the Arts. She’s performed her poetry at local venues such as The Nash, The Heard Museum; KGB Bar in NYC; and Horas de Junio in Hermosillo, México. Her work’s been featured on PBS’ Art in the 48, and NPR’s The Show, where her collaborative video-poem “Upon Leaving” premiered.
Susanna’s a member of ImaginAction Theatre, the Fornés Institute, Teatro Bravo, founding member of Mujeres del Sol, and Editor for LatinoStories.com. She’s excited to teach Creative Writing at Phoenix College.
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