By Noah Eichenholtz
Hendrick Hudson High School
It started with the “Lord of the Rings” series.
Allie Harrison says she found inspiration for writing in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. She decided to try writing her own stories, and that has morphed into journalism. And that led her to the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists.
“As somebody who hopes to be a journalist professionally,” she said, “this program makes me excited to improve my writing skills and see how people do it in real life.”
Allie is 16 and grew up in Setauket. She lives at home with her sister, Olivia, 12, and her parents, Thomas and Kristin. Allie is a rising senior at Ward Melville High School, where she is the current opinion editor and the future editor-in-chief for her school’s newspaper, The Kaleidoscope. Allie is active in the school’s literary magazine, Cinnabar, and DECA, a club that educates students on business and finance.
Besides journalism, Allie has discovered she likes writing short stories. “For my short stories, I just love creating worlds, characters, and plot lines in my mind and bringing them to life through words,” she said.
She called the “Lord of the Rings” series “the best books series and best movie series ever.” She said these books inspired her to write two of her fantasy novels in middle school.
“I got really into reading in like third grade and decided in fifth grade I wanted to write my own books as an adult,” she said, “and in sixth grade I decided, why not just do that now?”
Mary Williams, one of Allie’s old friends, recalled reading these books. “They were pretty good considering her age,” she said. Mary described Allie as a “smart, kind, and generous person.”
It was the swordplay in “Lord of the Rings” that drew Allie to fencing, which has become another passion for her. “I first heard that my high school had a fencing team in seventh grade and I thought it sounded cool, so I joined a private club before I could even do the school team, and I’ve loved it ever since,” she said.
Fencing also brought Allie a new group of friends, but many were significantly older and have since moved on. “It’s really sad. I became friends with them when I was in seventh grade, so when they’re all gone all of the sudden, it sucks,” she said. “Of course I still love fencing, but it feels different with all of them gone.”
Allie hopes to continue fencing through college. “It’s a fun challenge for both the mind and body,” she said. “I like individual sports in general, and I met some of my best friends there.”
Like the characters in “Lord of the Rings,” Allie is embarking on her own journey — into the world of professional journalism — and the Greene Team is her first step.
