PCO’s Workshop at Sonoma Writing Festival

Serving Immigrant Communities?

 4 April 2024

Rohnert Park, CA, April 2024 – Dan Zhou and John Creger of the Personal Creed Organization (PCO) captivated Sonoma State University’s Community Writing Festival with an engaging workshop titled “Writing to Discover Ourselves … in School?” This event marked the first public collaboration between John and Dan, drawing a full house of enthusiastic Sonoma State students. The workshop centered on self-discovery through writing.

John shared the origins of the Personal Creed Project, recalling a memorable moment when a sophomore from the then Soviet Union humorously declined John’s suggestion to do something slightly shady, saying, “That would not be in step with my creed, Mr. Creger.” This response left a lasting impression, illustrating the powerful concept of personal creeds.

The audience then viewed a Zoom recording of a recent Personal Creed presentation by Nicholas Chapman (AHS Class of 2022). Dan led a short writing exercise to help participants reflect on Nick’s presentation and their own lives. The participants’ responses were immediate, engaged, and heartfelt.

Pleasantly surprised to find that most of those who shared their responses were English learners from an adult education class, John and Dan had a realization. The courage these immigrants showed in overcoming the fear of speaking publicly in a new language, while sharing meaningful insights about their immigrant experiences, led Dan and John to a new question: Could the PCO serve immigrant communities by offering workshops facilitating both language acquisition and self-discovery?

In her follow-up article on the festival, Sonoma State Star reporter Marivella Torres wrote: “Creger and Zhou agreed that ‘It’s amazing what you can figure out when you sit down and write. Writing is a way of learning that allows us to make discoveries in the act of composing with language about who we are.’”

This workshop demonstrated that, with support from teachers, students can experience reflective learning—even in school. English learners, in particular, seem poised to benefit greatly from this approach.