TOWAMENCIN-The rich cultural and ethnic diversity that the North Penn School District offers has inspired young students for years to make something of themselves. The many clubs and teams have encouraged many starry-eyed students as they did Philadelphia’s newest Poet Laureate and North Penn High School class of 94’ alumni, Yolanda Wisher.  Her experience in the halls of North Penn High School and growing up as an African American female in the far Philadelphia suburbs became the basis of her works. Since her graduation from North Penn she has overcome many barriers, and in doing so, she has helped pave the way for other aspiring young poets like herself.

“It’s a pretty special time (Black History Month) to come back. It was tough being a black student here, and I felt like I had to prove myself sometimes more than other students. I had to be exceptional here. I had to work really hard to stand out in 2,000 people. So it feels like full circle to be able to come back feeling like a lot of the struggles I had here are light years away. It’s important for me to come back so people can see that yes, you can survive this place and thrive beyond it and that the experiences that you’re getting here will be the foundation for your career.”

Wisher shared many thoughts about her creative influences with the creative writing class she visited while at the school. She encouraged the students to follow their own path even if it seemed unpopular or improbable because that is where the best artist are created.  She suggested that doing things your way is what keeps poetry authentic.

“It’s important for me, as a black alumni, to come back, and be visible, and be involved, and be engaged to let young folks know that I existed.  I was here, and that there is a world beyond this place that’s waiting for you.”

At the age of eight, Wisher found herself taking an interest in the art of poetry. This interest grew as she journeyed through North Penn and later as she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College and a Master’s degree  from Temple University. She is Philadelphia’s third Poet Laureate.  As Laureate, which is primarily a civic responsibility, she is expected to be an ambassador of poetry, to be available to make visits to schools and community organizations, to be a part of major city events, and to make poetry present and visible in these areas. More specifically she is responsible for creating a citywide signature project which will take place in April. In addition, she gets to help choose the Youth Poet Laureate and mentor them as they continue their journey of expression.

Wisher found herself being influenced by the people around her.

“I like being able to be in control of my words. That wasn’t something that I was always good at. I always felt like I was one of those people who was called to speak up in moments and be able to have something really sassy and fierce to say, but I would always find myself at moments where I wouldn’t have anything to say, or the right words would fail me. That really drew me to poetry, that kind of fire that comes across in some poet’s work, where somebody’s mouth can be a weapon, it can be a bomb, something that soothes you. I was always entranced by the power of words [and people] who could wield words like that whether they were academics or whether they were just the working class folks in my family who just had a wicked way with language.”

Of her many experiences, her biggest influence in poetry stemmed from inside her own home.

“My mother had this enormous record collection from the 60’s and 70’s, so between the album covers, which were like visually stimulating and weird, and surreal, and sexy, and funky, and creative, there were also these lyrics that were also very romantic and futuristic in some of the cases like Earth Wind and Fire or political like Marvin Gaye. And so I got to physically hold those albums and they were kind of like almost talking books and so those for me, when I go back and try to pinpoint my romance with language it pretty much starts with great poets that I came across and great music,” she shared.

In addition to her life at home, her active involvement at North Penn helped shape the person who she is today. She was a three sport athlete who played field hockey in the fall, basketball in the winter, and ran track in the spring. She spent most of her school days practicing, and her summers prepping and training for the next season. She also played the cello in the Orchestra starting in elementary school all the way through her senior year. When she didn’t have Orchestra, she could be found in Doctor Welsh’s classroom for Poetry Club.

“The biggest thing that I’m so grateful for is that Poetry Club eighth period. I have this love affair with tea that started in Doctor Welsh’s classroom because she always had tea and sugar cubes. We’d always have our little tea and one year we read The Stranger by Canus. Some years we would just do workshops with poems,” said Wisher.

“It was poetry that connected us. It also gave us a sense of community that didn’t exist outside of that classroom. Doctor Welsh also gave me my first opportunity to teach in one of her tenth grade classes when I was a senior,” she shared.

In addition, she was a part of the school’s newspaper for a few years, African American Awareness Club, Student Government, National Honor Society,Creative Writing, theater, and the gifted resources program.

“My mom had this will to make all of her girls Renaissance women,” remembered Wisher who was one of three sisters who graduated from North Penn. “It was important for her that we did know how to play an instrument, that we played sports, because she felt that that would make us more successful to be able to take advantage of the things coming our way. And sports were important to her because she wanted us to be strong and kind of warriors and not be afraid to go after things.”

What she was able to accomplish with the creative writing class was she allowed the class of aspiring students the opportunity to receive personal interaction and advice.

“Jayne Cortez, one of my favorite poets, has a great poem called Find Your Voice. It says ‘find your own voice and use it, use your own voice and find it,’” shared Wisher. “I don’t want anyone to sound like me. I don’t want anyone to follow my path. I just want to be inspiring…influential in helping people find their own voice and their path. The best teachers did that for me. They wouldn’t let me be like that, they were like no go create something new that nobody else can do. So I don’t want to be the one shutting the door for all these new possibilities that can be opened. I want people to kind and go searching themselves and not beat themselves up about the little things like how you write this day, or I didn’t win this award. The sense is that you have something inside of you that needs to be expressed; you need to get it out. It doesn’t matter if you should get paid for it or wealth or fame you should just want to share it,” said Wisher.

Her return to the high school was inspiration to the many creative writing students who have considered pursuing a career in literature. For many students, receiving advice from an esteemed alumni whose experiences are strikingly similar to theirs was rewarding.

“The main concept I took from Yolanda’s visit was the idea of taking opportunities wherever they are. She spoke a lot about her inspirations and the opportunities she had, and I found it really powerful. She expressed a message of finding what you love, getting to know yourself and the world around you, and using every opportunity given to you to create art.

Surely, Wisher’s visit had resonated with many of the creative writing students and their teachers. Wisher’s story is another example of ambitious and talented students thriving after their years at North Penn.