LoginJoin Bold.org
user profile avatar

Keri Stewart

5x

Finalist

General information

Age
23
Gender
Female

Hobbies & Interests

  • Poetry
  • Psychology
  • Self Care
  • Exercise And Fitness
  • Spending Time With Friends and Family
  • Shopping And Thrifting
  • Fashion
  • Music
  • Reading
  • Yoga
  • Painting and Studio Art
  • Cooking
  • Exploring Nature And Being Outside
  • Birdwatching
  • Botany
  • Movies And Film
  • Writing
  • Concerts
  • Learning
  • Anatomy
  • Animals

Reading

  • Poetry
  • Mystery
  • Literature
  • Personal Development
  • Adult Fiction
  • Contemporary
  • Literary Fiction
  • Women's Fiction
  • Short Stories
  • Environment

I read books daily.

Bio

Keri Stewart is a neurodivergent MFA student at The University of New Hampshire who intertwines her poetry with birdwatching. She is the Birding Tourism Columnist at Blinter Magazine where she writes articles exploring birdwatching hotspots and a Reader for Barnstorm Journal's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry genres. Her work has been featured in Potted Purple, Portrait of New England, Main Street Magazine, and more. Additionally, Stewart co-ran panels at the Nossrat Yassini Poetry Festival in 2024 and 2025. When Stewart is not writing, she enjoys live concerts, birding, and watching horror game playthroughs on YouTube.

Education

University of New Hampshire-Main Campus

Master's degree program

2025 – 2027

Majors:
  • Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
GPA4.0 GPA

University of New Hampshire-Main Campus

Bachelor's degree program

2021 – 2024

Majors:
  • Psychology, General
Minors:
  • Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
GPA4.0 GPA

Nipmuc Regional High

High School

2017 – 2021

GPA3.9 GPA

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Master's degree program
Majors of interest:
Psychology, General, Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
English as first language:
Yes
Homeschooled:
No

Career

  • Assistant Editor

    Writing and Editing · Blinter Magazine

    Jan 2025 – Jan 2025

  • Poetry Editor

    Writing and Editing · Barnstorm Journal

    Jan 2026 – Present

  • Reader (Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction)

    Writing and Editing · Barnstorm Journal

    Jan 2025 – Jan 2026

  • Manging Editor

    Writing and Editing · Main Street Magazine

    Jan 2024 – Jan 2025

  • Birding Tourism Columnist

    Writing and Editing · Blinter Magazine

    Jan 2025 – Present

  • Founder/Editor-in-Chief/Social Media Manager

    Writing and Editing · Meadow Mouse Zine

    Jan 2022 – Jan 2024

  • Shift Leader

    Food & Beverages · Dunkin'

    Jan 2024 – Present

  • Crew Member

    Food & Beverages · Dunkin'

    Jan 2022 – Jan 2024

  • Poetry Columnist

    Writing and Editing · Outlander Zine

    Jan 2022 – Jan 2024

  • Content Editor

    Writing and Editing · Main Street Magazine

    Jan 2023 – Jan 2024

  • Kitchen Prep Caterer

    Food Production · University of New Hampshire

    Jan 2021 – Jan 2022

  • Associate

    Food & Beverages · Panera Bread

    Jan 2019 – Jan 2019

  • Summer Camp Counselor

    Recreational Facilities and Services · Kids at Play

    Jan 2020 – Jan 2020

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Writing and Editing
Dream career goals:
Poet and Editor
Work experience:
5 years
Has nursing license:
No
Leadership experience:
Yes

Military

ROTC:
No

Future Interests

  • Advocacy
  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
Elliot Hoan Neurodivergent Navigator Scholarship
As a late-diagnosed autistic, I grew up without the support that I needed to get through schooling without sensory stressors. In my wheel of autism traits, sensory sensitivities are something I struggle with the most, often leading to overstimulation and thus meltdowns at home. I always knew that I processed the world differently. I didn’t know why. Growing up clueless, I didn’t know I could have gotten accommodations, such as separate testing environments or preferential seating. I grew up on high alert, always trying to get the front corner seat. I wanted low visual input so that my environment wouldn’t overwhelm me. I grew up using my hands to shield the corner of my vision as a bandage in my sensory overload. The nervous system overwhelm peaked through, and I barely held on with the little coping mechanisms that I had. Later in high school, I was known for wearing headphones a lot during project work or in between lectures. I needed something to block out stressful noises (pen clicks, fingernail tapping, the electric overhead lights, etc.) because I didn’t have a way to turn off my attention to any sensory stimuli. School was overwhelming, and I cried a whole lot of tears due to my sensory sensitivities, but over time I learned to view my world processing in a newfound way. Without being able to shut off any sensory stimuli at a given moment, I found that in sensory-safe environments I was more in tune with the natural world than my peers. My attention to detail helped me reframe my previous struggles into something positive. A simple walk in the woods wasn’t just trees and sunlight. It was the sound of a Wood Thrush, the shimmering of sun brushing against leaves, and the subtle saltiness of a marshland down the road. It was the simple tapping of a woodpecker that my neurotypical peers wouldn’t notice. Even though I struggled with overstimulation, especially in school, I realized my attention to sensory details could also be an asset; I conjured my sensory observations into my writing and made poetry my haven. Writing lets me navigate my sensory world and engage in the abstract. I keep a journal of weird sensory details that I notice. For instance, the way the lights at my job shuffle with electrical sounds. All these moments inspire poems or new associations I can play with in my work. I also realized that because I am so affixed to details rather than the big picture, weird associations between words pop up all the time in my brain. These unique associations make my poetry weird to the extent that my poetry professor encourages me to explore this playful strangeness in my thesis work. One of the poems in my thesis draft, “Aural Surge,” is about overstimulation: Aural Surge Acid overlays strike my aural membrane. Sonic capacities explode into me, into rat king CDs twisted on a curve. I am no longer myself. Sonic capacities explode into me. Acid overlays strike my aural membrane. I am no longer true; rat kings eat my twisted nerves. ​ After all these years of growing up with late-diagnosed autism and struggling with my sensory sensitivities, I aspire to share my poetry to reshape what being human can mean. I want to normalize neurodivergent experiences and educate neurotypicals on what it’s like to grow up different. I never had the support I needed or the knowledge of what was happening to me, so if my poetry could make that knowledge more accessible, particularly to the youth, I would be more than grateful. I would love for my poetry to encourage schools to provide more sensory-friendly environments so that kids don’t have to struggle in the way I did. Whether through dim lighting, access to headphones, or even a classroom with low visual input, I believe schools can accommodate autistic students more effortlessly. Through poetry, I invite readers into my unique sensory world to normalize neurodivergence and encourage schools to provide sensory-friendly environments.
Hobbies Matter
Words are universal. They are the essence of our communication whether verbal or on paper. Just a single word can evoke such an intense sentiment towards a reader. Writing is more than a hobby to me. It’s the gift that has latched its hand on my soul and together we are tied as one, together I am determined to share the gift of poetry with those around me. For seven years I have been inspired by the idea of writing as a means of communication and connection. Sometimes when I speak, my voice just isn’t enough to depict the raw emotions inside me. Through the use of symbolism and metaphors, I find it easier to connect to others on a deeper level. This authentic, deep style of poetry not only impacts my own life, but additionally leaves my mark on others. I admire how something as simple as writing a single poem can lead someone to tears from past heartache or invoke laughter in its purest most bubbly form. This grand form of communication has also been a means of healing my own soul. When I’m held captive under my own emotions as if trapped underneath raging rapids, I know my hobby—this gift is the means of my resolution. My soul enters peace with the chance to truly express myself through this art form. Instead of moping around through dark days, I take this negative energy and channel it into something meaningful, something raw and authentic. I truly appreciate how poetry has become this healing aspect of my life revolved around authenticity and true, healthy vulnerability. Hobbies are gifts. They are ways we can channel our soul’s energies towards finding the little pleasures in life. They are ways we can admire the present instead of focusing on the future. Poetry, such a simple yet raw art form, has a hold on my heart. Together this passion and I have been through thick and thin, my childhood towards adulthood. As I grow older on my journey of self, I always leave room for my beloved hobby: poetry.
Pettable Pet Lovers Scholarship
This is my six-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Maggie. This feisty yet somehow also lazy dog helped me through some dark times of loneliness, mental health battles, and just those mundane bad days everyone experiences. Maggie enjoys learning new tricks, such as playing dead or waving, eating carrots that she catches with her mouth, and looking really cute. Sometimes, I'll give her a mohawk as shown in the pictures, but Maggie and I tend to disagree on the functionality of such a hairstyle. She also loves long walks, running around the yard, and cuddling during movie nights. Instagram handle: @keri.27
Austin Kramer Music-Maker Scholarship
I'm stuck at a crossroads at a time in my life where my next decision could affect the rest of my life. The transition to adulthood and the sense of being lost during one's senior year is depicted in this song. One night I was truly feeling the fact that I had little time left as a senior, so I sat down on my floor and just wrote until I felt the song was done. I didn't get up, I didn't move. I just wrote the song until my feelings about the transition to adulthood poured out of me. I wrote down my lyrics on my note app, recorded on garageband, and then made a lyric video on the video editor on my computer.
Keri Stewart Student Profile | Bold.org