Age / Grade / School
16 /11 / Connections Academy
Tell us about your organization, its mission, and your role.
Poets of Wonder is a youth & woman-owned startup organization made to teach and publish the art of poetry. We publish poetry from global contributors in a monthly journal and are in the process of writing a curriculum to teach those in schools and mental health therapies to write poetry as a form of healthy communication. I am Founder & CEO. In other words, I am the person who buys tubs of ice cream and prepares to stress when submission flow to the journal is running scarce!
What are some of the biggest challenges your organization faces in its operations, and how did you overcome them?
Beginning was definitely an overwhelming process, as I never had felt as strongly about a goal as I did for connecting people through poetry. All I knew was that I had to hop on the idea quickly before it slipped away. Figuring out where to start and how to spread the message was tricky. I never knew how to network and create partnerships until I immersed myself in the culture of other organizations trying to make their dreams happen on social media. Once you put yourself in the environment of people doing what you want to do, you see ways to grow that you never would’ve otherwise imagined. To this day I am still learning all the savvy ways of pushing Poets of Wonder out into the world. Creating a list of ideas and goals I had for the future definitely has always helped at chipping at the major tasks I wanted to see happen. You can never have enough lists!
Is there anything you would have done differently when starting up or running your organization?
By far I would have not taken on so many ambitions for my organization when thinking of where I wanted to go in the writing world. Poets of Wonder was originally going to be way broader in the sense that I would have welcomed all genres of writing. Trying to organize how I was going to go about accepting all these other potentially lengthy and tedious pieces was a huge time waster. Moral of the story: dominate a niche rather than try to conquer everything.
What does leadership mean to you? Describe how you lead.
Leadership means mastering connecting everyone you are leading. Leaders, including me, we have to listen and see stories from every perspective. We have to uplift freedom and demolish fear. Connection and communication are key to any group, a leader instills those two concepts.
What would you say to girls or young women who are interested in making a difference or considering leadership?
Start now, do not wait! The longer you sit on your ideas, the quicker they will engulf you and make you think they are too good for you... Which is not true! Take those ideas of yours and show them who’s boss! Convince yourself that there is always a way, and hold yourself to it. Do not give up on yourself and the ideas you have, because they surely are capable of becoming your lifelong passion and even your legacy.
Who inspires you?
My Dad has always inspired me. Considering he intercepted me from anyone else holding me at my birth, you can bet at least a sliver of his determination and excitement transferred over to me. He has always encouraged me to write, and he loved to listen to whatever I had to say. As an extraordinary leader himself, he taught me to be strong and friendly. Two components I use constantly in leading, and even in just being myself. Life really is more simple when you’re a pragmatic teddy bear. I can’t thank my Dad enough for that advice.
Where can we learn more about what you do?
Instagram: https://instagram.com/poets_of_wonder
Website: https://poetsofwonder.wordpress.com
More about you (bio):
Dachel Fohne is the Founder of Poets of Wonder and is the CoDirector of Writing at Simply Neuroscience. Common themes in her writing include philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Her hobbies aside from writing include rock climbing, snowboarding, photography, and traveling. She aspires to become a medical writer with specialties in rare diseases and natural medicine.
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