Montgomery County Community College Student Has a Passion for Writing

Once upon a time, in 2009, Montgomery County Community College Professor Don Yost told Jocelyn Moye of Norristown that English majors were “strange people.” Far from being offended, Moye decided English was for her.

“When I think about my various interests, they can seem sort of strange all together, like, ‘This one person is interested in all that?!’” Moye stated in an e-mail interview.

“I've been writing since I was 6. I was once a photography major, and I worked very hard on various aspects of visual art as a teenager. I actually wanted to be a graphic novel artist after reading "Road to Perdition" by Max Allen Collins, illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner. I like writing; painting; drawing; reading novels, short stories, graphic novels and comic books.  In my downtime, I watch PBS, the SyFy Channel, some anime and Mad Men... I used to skateboard. I play the guitar (acoustic and electric). I want to be a shredder, but I also want to be a cellist in the worst way. I guess I'm quite eclectic, really.”

Moye will be putting her electric, eclectic personality to good use this fall as the new student editor of Montgomery County Community College’s newspaper, “The Montgazette.”

And while skateboards, graphic novels and guitars require specific talents that may be good for a young editor, it might be her journaling that will provide the skills most directly useful to a journalist: capturing memories and collecting information.

“I've been told that my ability to remember a quote, from a movie, an article, a person or a book, is quite uncommon,” Moye said. “Journaling is something that has come in and out of my life since first grade. My English professor, author Don Yost, talked about why journaling is important to him on the first day of class. Now I carry at least one journal with me all the time. I keep a few at once for different types of writing: one for short stories, one for poetry, and another for things I don't want to forget (quotes, passages from books).”

 Moye’s writing talents recently earned her first and second places in the personality profile category of the 2011 Student Keystone Press Awards Contest, a statewide journalism contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Foundation.

Editing “The Montgazette” will require Moye to oversee all aspects of its compilation. “I have to read every article with a red pen in hand, though I prefer using green. I view all photos and the layout.  I believe that having various interests since childhood has prepared me for this,” she said.

As the future editor, Moye says that she plans to make some changes to “The Montgazette.”

“I’d like to see more lifestyle content for students to relate to,” she said. “As far as changes, we're debuting a new layout and masthead this fall. Also, I intend to assign more articles about big events that students have told me they often miss, like the Lively Arts Series at MC3, and the annual Writers Conference. We are also reintroducing a creative writing section for student works.  There used to be a poetry section in ‘The Montgazette’ several years ago. This time I want to include short stories. It would be pretty cool if we could get at least one serialized story for students to follow each semester.”

Moye is very involved on campus. In addition to “The Montgazette,” she is active in the Honors Club, Thrive Club (a Christian club) and the Creative Writing Club.

Moye plans to complete her associate’s degree in liberal studies in the fall and hopes to transfer to Bryn Mawr College as an English major.

Beyond that, “I’d like to be a music journalist, because then I can meet the people who inspire me, musicians, painters (in fine art and graphic novels), writers (journalists, novelists, and graphic novel authors). It might be interesting to have a show, kind of like William Shatner, where I could sit down and talk to them, and perhaps raise questions that I've I haven't seen asked in the press,” she said.

“Being at MC3 has given me the ability, financially, to explore my various interests and choose an educational path,” Moye said. “Although I have chosen writing for my undergrad, I'm always searching for more to learn and try.”