NSA Alumni Spoken Word Workshop

There is no experience more rewarding for our faculty and staff, and none more enriching for our current students, than to have an NSA alumnus return to our campus to share their successes after graduation.

One of our graduates, Jordan R., recently reached out to NSA requesting an opportunity to teach a workshop for our students.

After graduating from NSA in 2008, Jordan went on become a nationally-placed slam poet and battle rapper. His performance of his slam poem “Bullies” won third place at the national Slam Poetry competition in Berkeley. And even more impressive, Jordan is now completing a double honor’s major in English from the University of California Davis!

So of course, our answer was “yes!” Jordan rejoined our community last Friday for a workshop with our Visual and Performing Arts class on performance art. Students worked with Jordan to analyze the language of poetry and the spoken word, and read a number of poems aloud. The students were also treated to a live performance of Jordan’s “Bullies." Finally, students wrote and performed their own spoken-word pieces -- a fantastic culmination of the afternoon.

When we asked Jordan why he had returned, we heard our favorite answer: “I wanted to give back.”