Putting a pen to paper and coming up with just the right words to say is pretty difficult for most people. But that’s not the case when it comes to Ideas in Motion Media’s very own Carly Kwiecien. While she is only a senior at La Porte High School, Kwiecien is a young woman with an incredibly bright future ahead of her.
Kwiecien has had a strong passion for writing ever since the second grade when she found an interest in poetry, and when she entered high school and took a journalism class for the first time, she fell in love with the journalistic style of writing as well. She joined the school’s Hi Times newspaper staff in her sophomore year, and she is currently one of the group’s editors.
In July 2014, Kwiecien was offered a job writing for Ideas in Motion Media, and she has excelled in it ever since. Of course, everyone has fears when embarking on new adventures, and although she loves the job and is extremely grateful for all of the opportunities it has offered her, Kwiecien was hesitant to join at first.
She shared, “One of my huge fears was that I wasn’t going to be good. I never thought that my writing was up to par, especially compared to all of the other people out there. But once I started, it was just a hurdle to get over my nerves, because I know that I have so much so give. It’s just a matter of finding it.”
Kwiecien attributes her success, in part, to two of her mentors and biggest inspirations, her journalism teacher and newspaper advisor Angela Putt and her Ideas in Motion Media coworker Pam Antonetti. While Putt taught her everything that she knows about journalism and has pushed her towards greatness, Antonetti has allowed her to keep going and to keep pushing herself outside of her comfort zone in order to achieve that greatness.
“They set the stakes high for what I want to accomplish in my life,” Kwiecien said. “They are both doing what they love and are changing lives constantly. With every word and positive, uplifting action of theirs, I am drawn closer to my future. They keep me grounded, but lift me up, opening me up to incredible life experiences I could have never imagined. They have taught me that if I break out of my shell, anything is possible. I took their words and ran with them, which has propelled me to where I am today. The things they have taught me are things I will carry with me in my future, words that are in the back of my mind, and actions I can never forget.”
Kwiecien is extremely grateful for having the chance to write for Ideas in Motion Media, and she feels especially appreciative to LPHS teacher Erin Parker, who is the one responsible for recommending her for the job.
From her choice of a college major to the values and skills she has learned while working, this job has completely changed Kwiecien's life.
She said, “If I didn’t have this job, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I don’t know what job I’d have or what I’d be studying in college. It’s really taught me overcome my fears and to just look inside myself, and see all that I have in there.”
Her life has also been transformed through the many inspirational people she has met. Kwiecien has even made a list of all of the people she has ever written Spotlight articles about and plans to invite them all to her graduation party because of how each of them have impacted her.
“One of my favorite parts of the job is meeting all these people who are doing really good things, because when you’re interviewing someone or you’re meeting someone at an event, they’re talking about what they love, and to get to share their story is so great,” she said.
After graduation, Kwiecien is headed to Manchester University in North Manchester, IN, where she will major in communications and minor in journalism. This action was propelled by her mentors and her love for her job, and she is eager to pursue her writing career and to begin the rest of her life there.
“My favorite thing about writing,” Kwiecien expressed, “is that you have this opportunity to touch people, and you can grab their attention and make them feel something that they’ve never felt before just from words on a page. It’s a good way of expressing yourself, and that might inspire other people to do the same.”
Kwiecien writes with every ounce of her heart, and she will continue to touch people and inspire them through her words for as long as she continues to write. With her extremely positive, caring, and hard-working nature and her incredible talent for writing, there is no doubt that Carly Kwiecien is well on her way to a life full of success.