Rapids Review and Spirit River Review release 2020 issues

July 13, 2020

Anoka-Ramsey Community College’s Creative Writing Club celebrates the 2020 release of its two annual student creative writing and visual art publications, The Rapids Review (Coon Rapids) and The Spirit River Review (Cambridge). Together, nearly 35 students contributed their creative work to the publications and helped publish them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The publications are available online, and physical copies will be available on campus in the fall.

The Creative Writing Club is just one of 48 clubs and organizations available to all Anoka-Ramsey students. For Anoka-Ramsey alumna Riley Schatz ’18, the Creative Writing Club and The Rapids Review became a creative outlet to help her explore interests outside of her Biomedical Technology major.

Like many high school graduates, Schatz was unsure of what was next after graduation, until she discovered a grant program during her college search that was available to first year college students going to into engineering and science fields.

“As a teenager, I of course had no idea what path I wanted to take with my life and line of work [during my college search], so I decided that I would explore my interests in science at a community college with the program,” said Schatz.

While at Anoka-Ramsey, Schatz discovered science wasn’t her only passion.  She found herself writing fantasy novels with friends in her free time, which led her to take a Creative Writing class.

"Despite my love for medical science and biology, I have always had a passion for writing stories. My Creative Writing class tapped into my favorite topics, and I was able to express my talents without boundaries. I love embarking on fantasy stories, and making intense, enjoyable experiences for others to read. I had the privilege of submitting two of my short-story pieces into The Rapids Review because of this class."

While Schatz currently works in the Biomedical field as a Technical Analyst Assistant, her experience at Anoka-Ramsey still fuels her passion for the arts as much as it does science.

"It has always been a dream of mine to publish my first book. Being able to publish two short-story pieces really elevated that desire for me. Since then, I have been dreaming big, and coming up with a bounty of ideas that I hope one day I can finish," said Schatz.

To learn more about the Creative Writing Club and the many other clubs and organizations offered to students at Anoka-Ramsey, visit AnokaRamsey.edu/campus-life/clubs-organizations/.