Yes, You Can Write!

(Photo courtesy of Bergamo Center)

Teri Rizvi

University of Dayton students from any major with a passion for writing are encouraged to apply for the “You Can Write!” Creative Writing Retreat.

Supported by a generous gift from Liz (Mund) Ryan ‘81 and Jamie Ryan ’82, the three-day, two-night writing retreat will take place at the Bergamo Center in Beavercreek Jan. 31-Feb. 2. 

All retreat expenses — lodging, meals and snacks — will be covered for 12 students. The retreat will be led by Katrina Kittle and Meredith Doench, novelists who co-teach a novel-writing class in the English department. Interested students can apply by Nov. 14, with recipients notified by Dec. 1.

“It was a joy literally to retreat from the world and immerse ourselves into our writing for a brief time. I loved getting to know the students and their writing better and to share our dreams and fears about our writing lives,” Kittle said after the inaugural retreat last winter. “I would have absolutely loved this weekend as a student.”

Students who participated in the retreat found it valuable, encouraging — and fun. Most also attended the spring Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop to continue cultivating their craft.

Peter Bonasso ’25, an English major, described the retreat as an “imagination-expanding experience.” Caitlin Spicer ’24, who’s now pursuing a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, loved “having intentional time to write with a community of people who all love writing as much as I do.”  

Molly Campbell ’24, a graduate student in UD’s clinical mental health counseling program, called the weekend one of her top experiences at UD. “Dr. Doench and Professor Kittle are awesome and so welcoming and encouraging to everyone, no matter where they start out,” she said.

The weekend will include craft of fiction instruction, writing sessions, prompts, one-on-one guidance and the opportunity to share work for those comfortable doing so.

The retreat takes its name from the words legendary columnist and author Erma Bombeck ’49 first heard from her UD English Professor Bro. Tom Price, S.M.

Seeing Bombeck’s potential, Price encouraged her to write a humorous piece for UD’s literary magazine. She timidly slipped the piece under his office door. “He saw me one day outside the cafeteria, and he said three words to me, that’s all, just three words that were to sustain me for the rest of my life. He looked at me and said, ‘You can write,’” recalled Bombeck, whose columns later graced the pages of 900 newspapers and books topped the bestseller list.

The Ryans, an alumni couple in Columbus, started the retreat to offer other students that same sort of inspiration and encouragement. It’s intentionally designed for students of any major or experience level.

“We want to help cultivate confidence and spark a fire in students,” said Liz Ryan, an English major and retired teacher. 

For more information, contact Katrina Kittle at kkittle1@udayton.edu or Meredith Doench at mdoench1@udayton.edu.

-30-