Aiya is a sophomore at Rider studying Criminal Justice and English with a concentration in writing. In her free time she enjoys brainstorming for novels, getting involved on campus, and reading comic books. She was a contributor to Venture last year and is excited to be part of the team going forward.

Lizzie is a junior English writing and Secondary Education major. Over the summer they read 16 books, a notable favorite being Amanda Montell’s, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, which sparked a new interest in linguistics and the power of language that they hope to further explore this semester. Their favorite band is Sammy Rae & Friends, and they’re looking forward to seeing the band for a second time in concert in November in NYC! Aside from reading, Lizzie loves binge watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and spending time outdoors. They are looking forward to being a part of the Venture team this semester and exploring their love for reading and writing new ways.

Brielle is a freshman English major. In her free time she loves to sing, write, read, volunteer, paint, and do all types of crafts. She loves spending time with friends, playing games, crafting, and singing. Some of her favorite books to this day are Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer, Four Weeks Five People by Jennifer Yu, and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Her favorite music artists are Rhys Lewis and Jore Rivera-Herrans.

Brooke is a current junior pursuing a degree in English with a concentration in writing and a minor in Social Media Strategies. While she likes to read and write in her free time, she also enjoys having movie nights and playing games with friends. She tends to read quite a bit of Young Adult fiction, but she enjoys the occasional fantasy series or standalone romance novel. Her top three recent reads include: Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, and Book Lovers by Emily Henry. She is also a fan of musical theater and you can find more than a few songs from the soundtrack in her playlist. Her favorites include Wicked, In the Heights, and Water for Elephants!

Over the summer, Maggie moved and that was a lot of fun (not really). When all that settled, Maggie read pop culture essays and got way too into indie perfumes.

Ashley is a double major in Secondary Education and English with a concentration in Writing and a minor in Special Education. In her free time, Ashley loves to sit and write poetry, do photography, listen to music, and watch tv! She is currently reading Picking Daisies on Sundays by Liana Cincotti. She is really into Romance, Mystery, Drama and Sci-Fi. Ashley loves artists like AJR, Arctic Monkey, David Kushner, Cigarettes After Sex, and Taylor Swift. Her favorite color is pink too. She is so excited to be part of Venture!

Eli is an English major who likes to play guitar and video games like The Sims and Terraria. They like reading fantasy books and have been loving Alice Oseman’s books.