Bianca Rodriguez-Oquendo '27 is one of two Cornell students selected through a competitive application process to intern at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. Bianca is participating in a four week-long workshops covering various aspects of the creative writing process. She is also contributing to public events as a docent for the Poetry Maker Space at Chautauqua, providing curatorial and administrative support for events organized by Chautauqua Literary Arts, and performing duties related to the organization’s publications and social media.
Hometown: Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
Major: Creative Writing, Minor: Studio Art
Bianca Rodriguez Oquendo is a Puerto Rican student at Cornell College, anxiously awaiting her graduation in May of 2027. Her passion for writing and art began by sitting at the table with her grandma as she helped her illustrate and write a story book for her 1st grade Spanish class. Ever since then, she has been living in imaginary worlds, digital archives of fan work, illustrating, and writing to her heart's content.
Writing has been a constant outlet of self-expression, an escape from reality, and someplace where dreams come true. I want to become a writer because I can’t imagine my life without stories. I am a dreamer. I am most myself and at home in my writing. I am not complete without it. The reason I am pursuing the Chautauqua Internship is because I want to keep challenging myself as a writer, grow through the criticism of my work, and help bring literary life to more people. I want to surround myself with young writers like myself, get to know seasoned professionals, and be a part of a community breaming with creative life.
Community has made the biggest difference in my life and my craft. Cornell College has provided me with a writing community that encourages me to keep doing what I love. Without creative peers, brilliant professors, visiting authors, and workshops I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. My writing incorporates what I have been so lucky to learn from the people around me. For these reasons I believe that Chautauqua’s community can provide me with new points of view, a network of inspirational authors and aspiring writers, and an even larger support system as I strive to become a published author myself. Chautauqua is a place that is designed for the arts, where everyone is sharing their passions, and encouraging each other to grow. And I desire nothing more than to be a part of that.
