Since graduating as Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan High School’s (now St. Michael the Archangel Diocesan Regional High School) valedictorian in 2003, Philana Imade Omorotionmwan has led a life steeped in literature and the arts. A talented writer and poet, Omorotionmwan is also an accomplished playwright: Her plays have been performed throughout the United States and she has been a finalist for a slew of playwriting awards.
Was becoming a valedictorian something you always dreamed of doing? If so, what study habits did you pick up to help achieve it?
It wasn’t until I got into the 10th grade that it became something I wanted to achieve. For study habits … I stayed on top of whatever the homework assignments were and took part in study groups, particularly for calculus because that was really challenging. It was a combination of different things.
How did you feel when you were named the school’s valedictorian?
It felt like a really big accomplishment. It was the thing I was most proud of at the time, and maybe for a little while afterwards, because it was the way that my hard work was recognized and paid off.
Also, the school I went to was predominantly a White school and I believe it’s very possible that I was the first Black valedictorian at that school. So that was also a big deal for me at that time.
I always remember my grandmother coming to the graduation and not realizing I was going to make a speech, and her getting very excited about that.
Did you attend college?
Yes, I went to Stanford and got a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, in fiction writing. Then I took some time off and went back to school six years later for a Master of Fine Arts degree in playwriting from Ohio University.
What was your first job?
As a tutor, for the Princeton Review, actually, and I guess that’s kind of how it started. I worked as an ACT and SAT tutor. I was with that company for quite some time as a contractor; afterwards I decided I wanted to go into the classroom full time so I became an English teacher in Baton Rouge for a couple of years, though I decided to transition out of that.
Did your career plans change after you finished high school?
I didn’t have a clear plan when I was in high school, but I knew I liked reading and books and writing. I had a wild dream back then that I wanted to be an actress, though when I got to college I realized that was not what I wanted, that I’d rather write, which is how I ended up studying English. And then, through that, I ended up taking playwriting classes when I was in college.
What’s your current job? You have a decorated career as a playwright …
I am trained as a playwright, though that’s not really something you can … earn a living in, necessarily. I work in curriculum development. In my current role, I serve as part thought partner, part editor, and part writer in the creation of English Language Arts lesson plans for middle school teachers. I also still write creatively; my play “The Defiance of Dandelions” will be produced in May as part of the We Will Dream New Works Festival in New Orleans.
Is your career where you expected it would be 20 years ago?
It’s not in the sense of the thing that I’m now doing. … Back then, I didn’t know curriculum development was a role. I didn’t think about playwriting as a role. But I think in terms of wanting to do work that felt meaningful and had an impact, and potentially change people’s hearts and minds, in that way it is what I’d hoped I would be doing.
Do you have any career goals for the future?
As I continue to work as a writer in my own free time, I dream to work in television — writing for TV — but we’ll see what happens. If that doesn’t happen, I love the work I do now with the curriculum: I get paid to read and talk about books. I see myself staying there for a while.
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