The mockup of a Nucleus cover was created by Samantha Lyles, and it's titled "Renewal"
The first issue of the new student-run literary magazine, Nucleus, is set to be released by the first weeks of May. Nucleus will exclusively feature NWACC students’ work, accepting submissions from genres such as poetry, creative writing, short stories, original artwork and more. The staff behind the new magazine encourages students to keep their eye out for the new issue, and to consider submitting their work for the next issue, which is planned to release in the fall.
Larissa Sprecher, the faculty adviser for Nucleus, said that the main goal of the magazine is to expand the artist community at NWACC. From creative writing to graphic design, Nucleus hopes to give creatives at NWACC a designated space to showcase and view each other’s work. The first issue of Nucleus will be available to view digitally; however, Sprecher has said that she hopes future issues will be printed. Those interested will be able to read the first issue on the Nucleus website, and a link to it can be found on the NWACC website.
Sprecher mentioned that she understands how submitting your work to a journal can be scary, but emphasized how Nucleus is not meant to be a competitive space. “This is to showcase our students, our community, and the creative work that we do here, because we have a lot of really creative students here … I really want to emphasize that Nucleus is just for us.”
The same staff working on Nucleus are behind the production of Hive Avenue, an NWACC run literary journal that accepts submissions internationally. Sprecher said that the idea for Nucleus began last spring, when NWACC dean, Sharon Fox, suggested that it was time for NWACC students to have a creative space of their own. Sprecher said Fox introduced the idea of using the name Nucleus for the new magazine. A nucleus, Sprecher said, is a starter hive. A single frame where a new hive emerges, which she said fit perfectly with the team’s vision for what they wanted the new magazine to be; a place for NWACC student creatives to grow and showcase their talents together.
Duane Coleman is an NWACC Graphic Design professor who has been involved in the production of Nucleus since the beginning. Coleman’s students have been working on the first issue, and are responsible for a number of tasks, such as creating marketing material, branding, and composing the style of the magazine. Coleman mentioned that his students put their own effort into researching the medium to ensure the quality of the new magazine, despite many of them having no prior experience working on a literary journal. Coleman said the most rewarding part of creating Nucleus has been seeing the finished product and having the chance to witness his students’ hard work pay off.
Coleman also expressed a similar sentiment as Sprecher when asked about student submissions. “We want to get students’ artwork out there, get people to see it and appreciate it. NWACC has a top-notch art department, and the students’ work reflects that. I want students to know that they can do it.” He said that having your work featured in a magazine like Nucleus is something students can be proud of, and that it can be a benefit to students’ resumes if they intend to take a creative career path.
One of Coleman’s students, Kimberly Gaucin-Calleros, said that she has taken a lot from her time working on Nucleus. “I learned a lot about teamwork … it was also really cool to watch my teammates’ work grow from our ideas …” She said that, despite the challenges she faced, her time working on the magazine has been exciting, and that she can’t wait to see the final result.
Sprecher said that Nucleus is very much a collaboration between the English and Graphic Design departments and likened the magazine to a bridge connecting the two. She also expressed the importance of student participation when it comes to Nucleus. “This has been started for the students here, to give them a stress-free way to share their work and gain that confidence and see what other people around the college are doing for creative work, but it can only keep running if it’s supported by the students, because that’s who it was started for.”