Introducing another new addition to the Words Alive team: our summer Storytelling Intern, Steven Zhao!
Steven is on the right!
Steven’s drive to engage with Words Alive’s undertaking of empowerment through literacy and tell the stories of its individuals, communities, and programs is driven by a love for reading and other forms of human expression as well as a fervent appreciation of literature as a crucial medium through which people contemplate their lived experiences.
His work as a storytelling intern is informed by his personal journey with reading and his learning experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), at which he pursues a major in communication studies and a minor in philosophy.
Steven’s bicultural identity and exposure to books in both English and Chinese growing up served as major sources of nurture and wonder, whether that is in learning to understand viewpoints and worlds different from his own, contemplating expressed messages and values, or in being challenged to reflect on himself. In combination with his studies, he believes reading to be not just the consumption of the written word, but a well of potential for enjoyment and meaning and an integral aspect of the human capacity for communication.
In terms of his minor, Steven is most interested in the areas of moral and political philosophy. He places high value on and believes in the benefits of curiosity, a lifelong capability for learning, and approaching unfamiliar ideas with critical thinking and charity. He resonates with how reading and Words Alive’s programs empower communities through cultivating these traits.
Steven’s experience with reading has also inspired him to explore creative expression. He wrote for the Arts and Entertainment section of the Daily Bruin, enjoys creative writing, and is currently taking an intensive screenwriting program at UCLA’s Summer Film Institute as he works with Words Alive virtually from LA.
In his free time, Steven loves to take in fantasy books, Dungeons and Dragons podcasts, and mystery shows. He also enjoys working holistically on his health by working out and keeping a journal. Occasionally he likes to turn his brain off and play Pokémon or League of Legends. He is also a tenor for UCLA’s Awechords A Capella.
How did you discover Words Alive? What drew you to interning here?
I discovered Words Alive through their posting on Handshake! I was drawn to the storytelling internship as it aligned with my personal passions and professional interests. Reading is and has been such a significant source of enjoyment for me, and I love to immerse myself in the awesome worlds and stories authors create.
Now that I’m older, I’ve also realized that I have extracted so much meaning from the various stories I’ve read over the years that contribute to the way I look at the world. Words Alive interested me as an organization that works to improve literacy, and resonates deeply with me in its understanding of reading as a crucial skill set and critical to social and cognitive development.
What book or story has had a big impact on you? Do you have a favorite quote?
““Sometimes a hypocrite is nothing more than a [person] in the process of changing” ”
That would probably be The Stormlight Archive, an ongoing fantasy book series by my favorite author Brandon Sanderson. Set to be two five-book halves with a time skip in the middle, The Stormlight Archive is truly a story of epic proportions and great detail that is deserving of multiple rereads. It has an incredible thoughtfulness and complexity behind its interwoven storylines and there is an astounding attention to detail and consideration in its world building.
This series is host to a plot of great scale, yet both this greater plot and the individual, interlocking stories of its diverse cast of characters are well written and exude urgency. Its most recent release, Rhythm of War, ended with quite literally one of the craziest twists that I’ve ever read and subverted expectations going forward in a very unsettling manner.
The Stormlight Archive also uses its expansive world, cast, and story to ask a multitude of poignant questions throughout its different books – What is the value of a human life? When does one take responsibility? When is the law right? What lengths are justifiable in the face of a great threat? What is worth fighting for? – and more while exploring those questions from varying perspectives. Importantly, I feel that the story is, at its core, about broken people trying to get back up on their feet and figure out what they think is the right thing to do. It’s a story of resilience.
What is your favorite recent read?
My favorite recent read is actually a fanfiction named Doors to the Unknown by Silver Pyromancer on the SpaceBattles forum. It’s a crossover between the Dungeons and Dragons universe and the self-published web serial Worm by John C. “Wildbow” McCrae, and it follows the related stories of a functionally immortal psionicist who travels across worlds and an unlikely band of stranded superheroes and villains who have to team up to survive in an unknown world. I’m a gigantic fan of stories with vast and intricate worldbuilding, and I’m incredibly impressed by the way Doors to the Unknown worked the complexities of D&D and Worm together in a way that made sense while having also compelling character arcs.