Codie Steensma is currently a student at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, working toward a BA in English and Anthropology, with an interest in literary publications and poetry. While being originally from Northern Michigan, Codie hopes to reside in the future both in New York City and abroad. Codie’s other interests include politics, photography, art, and volunteer work; she also has a deep adoration for traveling and experiencing other places and cultures. She recently studied and lived in South Africa for four months, working with various NGOs. Her work often involves the power and politics of literature and media, in its ability to comment and interact with societies and cultures. According to Codie, her passion for the written word is undeniably linked to her life, and she hopes to continue working for magazines and newspapers as well as publishing works of poetry in her future professional endeavors. Through her literary word, she hopes to expose the transformative trajectories in which artists of all forms create aesthetics and canons that change people’s lives and ways of thinking and feeling. Art to her is the portrayal of a concealed self as well as an imaginative and intimate space, perhaps both transcendent and reflective of reality – the frailties, contradictions, and beauty of human nature. For what could be more important and representative of a culture than language and art? What could be more beautiful?