Forgive this writing lapse, but let’s
begin with a cliché: Gina Catanzarite has a personality as fiery as her red
hair. Yes, she has red hair and blue eyes and if I’d written that hackneyed opening
phrase in one of her university writing classes she would mark a big red slash
through it. And then she would tell me it was a good try anyway.
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Luminari Teen Writer! Camp
Director Gina Catanzarite |
And then she would encourage me to keep writing,
because words are vibrant and beautiful and, at times, the only true things on
this planet.
If that seems overly dramatic, it’s because
Gina finds the drama in her work. As the director of Luminari’s TeenWriter! Fantastic Fiction camp, she coaxes young writers to find the right words. Next
summer, Gina will lead the camp for the seventh time, coaxing fresh
perspectives from middle and high school students in her writing workshop. Her
teaching departs from the typical classroom approach of research, syntax and
grammar. She is selling the idea of a sentence as a living, breathing thing.
“Emily Dickinson said, ‘I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes
I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine,’” Gina said, quoting
the 19th century poet.
‘When you write from
the heart you can see the words shine,” Gina said, adding that it is through
finding the gleam in a word that a writer finds his or her own, unique voice.
Her love of language
has filled her career. Her work as a writer and producer for both commercial
and public television have earned her eight Emmy awards and countless other
accolades. As a contributing producer for WQED-TV, she has tackled topics as
widely varied as human trafficking, the gender pay gap and efforts to save
Pennsylvania’s bats. She is the author of non-fiction books and has written for
newspapers and magazines.
A graduate of the
University of Pittsburgh, Gina has taught journalism and broadcast courses at
Robert Morris University and, currently, Point Park University. Her students
are simultaneously frightened and awed by her dynamic and inspirational
classroom style.
“We had a hash tag of
#wwgcd while we were there,” said
Claire Gysegem, a student in Gina’s class at Point Park in 2012. “It meant, What would Gina Catanzarite do? She had
a way of making an impression that would stick.”
Gysegem, now a
graduate student in public media at Ohio University, credits Gina with igniting
her love of television production and writing. “She is upfront and honest and
blunt, but probably the most encouraging person you’ll ever meet.”
Gina is known for her intense, demanding teaching
style—suffering no foolishness, laziness or phonies.
“She expects you to be
authentic and be yourself,” said Gysegem. “She taught us that your voice is
your own, and when you write, you have to claim it as your own voice.”
That conviction is
evident in the way Gina leads Luminari’s Teen Writer! camp. Last summer, she
took students on a field trip to Phipps Conservatory. It was the hottest week
of July, and the students stood perspiring in the humid hothouse jungle.
“Describe what it feels
like!” Gina shouted. “If you’re uncomfortable because it’s hot, find the words
to say it.”
That direct and
inspirational style was evident to Danny Allman, another Point Park student who
served as Gina’s teaching assistant for the Luminari writing camp in 2009.
“Those students learn
from the best,” said Allman, now a news assignments editor at a TV station in
Baltimore. “Gina puts so much energy and exuberance into making sure her
students enjoy writing, and that they succeed.”
Gina says enjoys
teaching teenagers, because of how they view the world.
“The kids that age believe they can do
anything, “ she said. “There is a lot of life ahead of them, and they tend to
be thrill seeking—they enjoy the exhilarating feeling of putting their thoughts
down on paper.”
Gina likens her role
of teacher to that of a mother falcon.
“She carries her
babies up high and then throws them off,” she said. “They learn to fly in the
free fall. The magic is in the free fall.” It’s a take on life with which she is
well acquainted: Gina and her husband Howard Shapiro are the parents of twin
teenage sons.
Her home life feeds
her personal writing. She has journaled every day since she was a child, a
habit that has left her home littered with “stacks of notebooks everywhere.”
They are the words of a woman whose mind travels many miles a minute. To
converse with Gina is to be welcomed into a tornado of smart ideas.
I chose to write this
piece in the first person, because Gina is my friend. Our occasional coffee
chats are always the liveliest and most inspirational few hours of whatever
week I’m in. When Gina talks, you can see all the wheels turning, the eruption
of ideas firing along the synapses, all the shining words rolling out. She is
aware of how all that energy affects people. She is a lot.
“My tombstone will
read She Meant Well,” she said,
laughing.
This article about Gina began with a cliché.
Do I dare insert another?
What, I ask, is her
philosophy of life and teaching?
“Like me or dislike
me; I’ll at least make enough of an impression that students will react to it,
“ she says.
“Do something to let
people know you were here.”
Her love of language
has filled her career. Her work as a writer and producer for both commercial
and public television have earned her eight Emmy awards and countless other
accolades. As a contributing producer for WQED-TV, she has tackled topics as
widely varied as human trafficking, the gender pay gap and efforts to save
Pennsylvania’s bats. She is the author of non-fiction books and has written for
newspapers and magazines. 
“The kids that age believe they can do
anything, “ she said. “There is a lot of life ahead of them, and they tend to
be thrill seeking—they enjoy the exhilarating feeling of putting their thoughts
down on paper.”
Charis Allen, 17, of Penn Hills wrote the winning essay; she wins a full scholarship to attend the Teen Writer! Fantastic Fiction camp being held July 6-10, 2015. The judges were very impressed with the quality and sincerity of the essay and commend her for her thoughtful and thought-provoking entry. 
Once all the judges’ votes were tabulated, we found that the results were extremely close, and all judges noted the high quality and sincerity of Katrice’s essay. We felt that Katrice’s entry was worthy of being recognized. She will receive a scholarship to attend the Teen Writer! Opinion Workshop on July 10, 2015. 
