Suffolk County Community College Poetry Walk brings people together in wake of pandemic

Healing after the pandemic continues to take many forms. Suffolk County Community College is blending mental and physical recovery with the beauty of nature and poetry. 

The college on Wednesday launched its inaugural Poetry Walk at its Ammerman Campus on the heels of National Poetry and Community College months, both in April.

Students, staff and community members can enjoy the scenic campus trail that highlights 10 locations, each featuring a different poem written by a student or faculty member. 

By scanning a QR code at each station with a mobile phone, participants are directed to the featured poem, with a link to the Poetry Walk website, where they will find a detailed walking map.

Each QR code highlights a recording of the poem, produced by the college’s radio station. Students can nourish their mental health and well-being — as well as their intellects — on the guided poetry walk.

“Poetry is a chance for experimentation, for finding new ways to capture and have flashes of insight from what are sometimes ancient truths,” SCCC president Edward Bonahue said at the ceremony.

Sandra Sprows, an English professor and associate dean of academic affairs, said the initiative was formed by the Community Through Creativity Committee, which she created to bring a sense of community to the campus after the disruption of the pandemic.

“The idea really is that we believe that creativity is crucial to mental and physical health," Sprows said. "And we wanted to find ways to bring that to our students."

Evan Haun, coordinator of mental health and wellness at SCCC, said the QR code allows the college to routinely change the poems, allowing for more students to feel part of the community.

Haun said some students didn't have that experience when they were in high school.

Leanne Warshauer, an English professor and adviser of the school’s Perspectives literary magazine, came up with the idea for a poetry walk.

The committee received dozens of submissions. Deciding on only 10 was difficult, Warshauer said.

Ultimately, those chosen to be highlighted were six students — Kyle Crawson, Aquilla Gilmore, Sabrina Kelly, Julia Heller-Bomba, Aziza Said and Garrett Spaulding; and four faculty members — Maria Kranidis, Sam Robertson, Meridith Leo and Colin Clarke.

Gilmore, of East Islip, said her creative writing professor encouraged her to submit her poem, “Beautiful.” A first-year student studying accounting, she was excited her poem, which spreads a message of self-love, was selected.

“It's about just embracing yourself and loving yourself regardless of your skin color,” Gilmore said.

Sprows said she is grateful that years after the pandemic, the community can come together to share creative and intimate projects.

“We're really excited that after several years, this has finally come to fruition,” she said.