The Island by Rosalie Garzia

Last year, Rosalie decided that for her 20% Time project, she wanted to write a book. She blogged about her quest to create a story that was engaging enough to draw readers in and keep them interested until the end. This is what all writers attempt to do. She is a very good writer. Rosalie excelled on the writing assignments in English class. She was imaginative, creative and communicated in a narrative that was descriptive and robust. We were confident that if she pursued her dream to publish a novel, she would!

During her Student TED Talk at the end of last year, Rosalie talked about the progress she made, the drafts she'd written and the struggles she had during the writing process. It was an honest assessment of where she was in May 2015. She said at the end of her talk that she wanted to continue to write the novel and get it published. She was determined.

A week or so ago, another district teacher tweeted to Melissa (@melissahellwig4) that Rosalie did indeed publish her novel. She was able to finish the writing and editing and also go through the publishing process. The publishing process is a learning curve unto itself.

This is the whole point of 20% Time. We want kids to find their passions and pursue them even when they are not in school. The work of 20% Time should be something that kids want to do, not have to do. In this case, Rosalie has a passion for writing. 20% Time was the way for her to pursue her passion in the space of a classroom environment as well as beyond the classroom environment. We are supremely excited for Rosalie as she begins her career as a published author. We are so very proud of her.