A Letter from the Editor

After we published last year’s issue I was very nervous about the fact that the majority of our members who helped relaunch the magazine would be graduating this year. We were very lucky in being able to recruit many people who are excited to expand Venture’s horizon’s. I am so incredibly grateful for our newer members’ enthusiasm and dedication in publishing our Spring 2025 issue. I especially want to thank Eli Norton, our new Web Editor, who has worked so hard to make this issue come to life on our website. I also want to thank Aiya Rabah, who is succeeding me as Editor in Chief; she has put so much effort into promoting Venture to anyone and everyone. I know that Venture will be in good hands with both Aiya and Eli at the helm next year.

The theme for this year’s issue was Reflections, which is a bit broad, but it produced some amazing works. “Generational Wealth” By Emily Castro Eugenio and “November 6, 2024” by Jay Roberson reflect on bigger issues in the world without losing a sense of hope, which I admire greatly. I also quite enjoyed Zie Muller’s untitled nonfiction piece which is a well written exploration of gender identity that uses the reflection theme in interesting ways. There are so many more thoughtful and amazing works found in the rest of our Spring 2025 issue that I hope you will enjoy just as much as the editors and myself have.

It truly has been such an honor and a privilege to be the Editor in Chief and I hope that Venture only continues to grow in future.

Maura Corman, Editor in Chief of Venture

Our Mission Statement

Venture is the online undergraduate literary journal of Rider University. The journal publishes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that represents the diverse aspects of the Rider community and the larger world. Venture seeks to foster relationships between artists to create conversations about the human experience in all of its beautiful, raw, silly, messy, and profound forms. Our editors and production team are committed to bridging the different communities within Rider to each other, and those communities with the people beyond our campus. It is our hope that the writing and art we present in this magazine will function as a time capsule and be a thrilling venture of its own.