Writer on the Rise

“She has star power that she doesn’t even know she has. Helium in her veins, she will rise rapidly and make us proud,” wrote Professor of English Philip Deaver of Charlotte Jarrett '08, this year’s winner of the Laura van den Berg Scholarship. Jarrett, an English major with a writing minor, received the award at Winter With the Writers, Rollins’ annual festival of the literary arts. Egerton van den Berg, father of the Holt alumna for whom it is named, created the award, presented annually to an outstanding Hamilton Holt student, to recognize his daughter’s achievement at the School.

“I’m hugely honored to win the van den Berg scholarship,” Jarrett said. “It’s an amazing opportunity. The scholarship made it possible for me to be in the Winter With the Writers class.” A highlight of the class was the opportunity to have Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham critique and praise one of her short stories.

An aspiring professional writer who is currently negotiating a contract for her first screenplay, Jarrett acknowledges her creative connection with the scholarship namesake and fellow writer. “Every time I hear something new about Laura van den Berg, it inspires me all over again. Her career is really taking off, and I’m sure a lot of that comes from being driven by her passion for writing.”

Jarrett’s own passion for writing began early. “I started writing when I was seven years old. I wrote a short story about a little girl, just like myself, who had a toy pony that came to life. That was my first experience with how writing allows you to control things, to be god over the page. I could have the pony I couldn’t have in real life.”

Jarrett credits her Holt School experience for nurturing her talent for mastering words on pages. “Both the professors and other students have done nothing but encourage my own personal growth by challenging me, by supporting me, and encouraging and inspiring me. That’s been a huge component of my own maturation. Everybody is so driven and excited to be here, so dedicated to learning, succeeding, and getting great grades. They motivated me to rise to a higher level.”

Jarrett’s continued ascent seems a safe prediction. “My experience here has made me want to come back and say to the people who helped give me my start, ‘Look what I’ve done; look what you guys have taught me to do.’”