By: Amanda Crescenzo
Freelance Journalist Brooke Mazurek visited Garnet Valley High School this past Friday to speak about her incredible creative writing journey. Brooke has published articles in prestigious magazines such as the New York Times, GQ.com, NPR, The Hollywood Reporter, Robb Report, and Paper.
Her educational background is unique. Her journey started in high school. She wrote for her school newspaper and took her creative writing skills to an all-women’s college. She majored in English while minoring in environmental science and Spanish simultaneously. During her presentation, she illustrated her love for anthropology, religion, and the ecological classes she took at Barnard College in New York.
She brought these experiences to the Big Apple when she interned for Good Housekeeping Magazine. She operated in the Culinary and Kitchen Technology Department, where she tested several cooking appliances and eventually wrote reviews on each one.
Her editor experience began with In Style Magazine, where she served as the assistant to the Editor-In-Chief and Assistant Editor; after her time with In Style, she took a Senior Associate Editor position at Billboard Magazine. She demonstrated her love for the interviewing process with musicians all over the radar, specifically in the Hip-Hop genre. Brooke is now a freelance writer and Fashion Features Editor for Harper’s Bazaar.
Brooke was kind enough to answer all the questions from the audience to the future writers and journalists. From advice on how to help with writer’s block to meeting deadlines to how to create a name for yourself in the media world. The overall theme she portrayed with answering every question was “just express yourself in whatever you write,” whether taking one word and adding on to create a piece of writing or just rambling on a topic to generate ideas.
One piece of advice that stuck with me was her advice to find a topic you love from the arts, sports, music, or anything of the sort and write about it; meaning that writing about something you are passionate about can help a writer advance their background, heighten their sophistication and grow their love for writing even more. We wish Brooke tons of luck with her upcoming movie screenplayed by her!
If you have any questions, Brooke’s email as well as her website is pasted below.
brooke.victoria.mazurek@gmail.com
by 
