LabWorks: Meet This Year’s Cohort!

Melle Phillips: I was incredibly quiet and shy in school! The only time I was vocal was during shows of any kind, but at home, you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t Diana Ross! I also watched a slew of old musicals with my mother. She loved the fashion, and I loved the performances! I wondered why people that looked like me weren’t included except for domestic roles. Everything was so glamorous, yet that glamor wasn’t for everyone. Coming from a culture that is so bright and brilliant, I wanted to revel in that and put it on display. It was only when I became a teen that influential teachers helped me realize that art could have a message. They showed me how my work could have multiple functions, and that is what excites me to this day. I can share a message, and it can be reflective, truthful and stunning.

Divya Mangwani: As a child, I always had my nose buried in a book and was fascinated with storytelling. I started writing as a way to make up more stories—short stories and poetry at first and a valiant attempt at a novella. I studied the Indian classical dance of Bharatnatyam and wanted to be a dancer. Then I saw a play for the first time when I was 15 and the theatricality of the storytelling took my breath away. I started my own theater company in India where we championed original plays and community building. I worked on school productions and young audience theater workshops, and that’s where I found my joy and magic.

Tidtaya Sinutoke: As someone who grew up in Asia, reading manga is something we are familiar with. I don’t read a lot of manga, but the ones I read shape how I live my life. Often, the protagonist will seek recognition and have a dream, but also face challenges that make achieving their goals seem impossible—whether because they’re not as tall as their other team members, they’re inexperienced in the board game or there’s a demon inside their stomach! Those stories taught me not to give up on my dreams, whether or not it seems impossible to everyone. As long as I believe everything is possible. the willpower to continue fighting is rejuvenating.

Mahayla Laurence: So many aspects of childhood education still point toward an ethos of prioritizing an unquestioned authority and defaulting to an ingrained binary (right/wrong, good/bad, etc.). I want to be a force that can counteract the effects of the current educational structures with experiences that allow students the opportunity to step outside of the traditional learning environment, to build critical thinking skills, to establish a routine of self-trust, and to engage with social/emotional learning and communication in an entertaining and interactive setting.

Melle Phillips: I wanted to make good work for the most honest and yet vulnerable demographic in the world: children. What a privilege.