Fresh onto the Muhlenberg scene, Becca Baitel ‘23 is ready to write her way into the campus narrative. A storyteller for as long as she can remember, Baitel has always believed that writing has the power to unite, captivate and inspire. Pursuing a degree in Media & Communications and possibly adding a minor in English, she intends to utilize her passion for the written word to entice social justice and advocacy on the Muhlenberg campus and beyond.
Growing up with a nonverbal learning disorder, Baitel befriended more books than classmates. She struggled to “verbally communicate with peers,” causing a frequent feeling of isolation. After discovering picture books and eventually learning to write on her own, crafting stories became Baitel’s most prominent creative outlet. It helped her to find the “inner voice” that she had been searching for all her childhood.
Today, Baitel considers herself to be a “multifaceted writer.” She is one to enjoy nonfiction and journalism work while also dabbling in poetry, short story writing and “the tiniest bit of songwriting!”
During her junior year of high school, Baitel gained a certain confidence in her writing. She followed an urge, and decided to share her writing with the world. Her blog, creatively titled A Cup of Tea with B is intended to inspire positivity and self-love among readers. She hopes that “people smile when they click” upon her page. Baitel describes the collection as “a mix of funny, emotional, sad, snarky and just flat out quirky.” She wants everyone to feel welcome on her blog and feel as though they can relate to at least one piece.
When asked which piece of work she was most proud of, Baitel quickly asserted that it was a poem entitled “Shower Thoughts” because it is so relatable to much of her audience. Relatability is key for Baitel. She finds this type of connection with her audience very crucial as well as exciting. She loves “hearing about the different interpretations people have regarding my work. Art is non-binary and that is what I love about it!” It is clear that Baitel is most invested and connected to her poetry writing, as that is the largest portion of work on A Cup of Tea with B.
What readers may currently notice on the blog is that, upon clicking on the “Journalism” tab, they are brought to a “Coming Soon” page. This is because in addition to poetry, news writing has become a beloved passion of Baitel’s. What started as strictly a creative writing hobby in high school has now blossomed into a lifelong passion for advocacy writing. Today, Baitel is looking to develop change in the world through news writing.
Never wasting time, Baitel is already looking to get ahead in developing this passion at Muhlenberg. Baitel is currently enrolled in both News Practices and Processes and Media & Society: Media Literacy classes.
Learning about how news is produced and the impacts it ripples onto the world fascinate her.
“I love learning about journalism, the media and how they impact society today. It is very eye opening to learn about the specific strategies in which they try and target media consumers and their interests,” said Baitel.
As for the future, Baitel is unsure of what her plans are. She knows that she wants to work in the media industry and she is certainly “excited to see what is out there!” For now, she wants to work on constantly improving her writing through experience and practice so that she can always produce the best work possible. Baitel is proud to look back at her old work and see her growth until now.
“As a writer, it is really interesting to see that progression in skill,” said Baitel. She never wants to lose that feeling and is constantly striving for better.
“I have four more years here, and I cannot wait to take some…nonfiction and creative writing classes.” she added.
Wherever it is Baitel’s future brings her, she knows that she wants to use her passion for all forms of writing to “bring all different types of people together.”
