“I remember my very first writing workshop at the Mount,” explains Aaron Gillego’03. “The instructor asked us the difference between fiction and nonfiction—then said, ‘I don’t believe in genres.  Once something is on the page, it’s literature.’  Right now I’m writing a hybrid book.  It’s prose poetry, but also memoir—and meant to be read like a novel.”

Gillego’s work-in-progress, In the Neighborhood of Madness (a phrase from Nietzsche), begins in the Philippines, where the author was born, and ends in the U.S. when Gillego is 25. The narrative explores the complexities of “immigrants and the American dream,” particularized in Gillego’s family.  “I want to understand postcolonial mentality,” the author explains.  “The ethnic identity crisis that people have when they move to a new place.  That’s very relevant right now.”

Gillego first became interested in writing through “The Talented Writers Program” offered by his high school in Long Beach, New York.  “I forwent taking a lunch so I could sit in a writing workshop for four years,” he says.  “And I became very prolific, producing different kinds of work in different genres.  That’s why I became an English major—and a writer.”

Gillego found the Mount “fortuitously” at a college fair and later received the Corazón Aquino Scholarship (offered to Filipino students).  His experience as an English major was characterized by diversity.  “Each one of the writers I worked with at the Mount taught a different genre,” he explains.  “And there were many opportunities to do different kinds of writing.”  He wrote editorials as the chief editor of the MountTimes, minoring in performing arts and creative writing.  “Actually, I was able to create my own curriculum,” he adds.

Gillego also founded the Mount’s Filipino student organization Samahan (Students at the Mount Advancing their Humanity and their Nationality), which became a “labor of love” for him—and which continues to serve Filipino students and others at the Mount.  He is currently working toward his Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) at the University of Miami, where he also teaches—and continues to grow as a writer.

“Growth is inevitable as you go through the process of writing,” Gillego explains—but he also attributes many of his writing interests to his time at the Mount.  “Riverdale as a setting is perfect for a writer.  You can draw inspiration from the natural setting—and New York is just a quick subway ride away.  I took every chance to extend my education beyond the campus.  I went to jazz clubs, the opera, museums, galleries and Broadway shows. 
“And the Mount itself is a testament to the American Dream.  Students are from such diverse backgrounds—first-generation immigrants working hard, making something of themselves.  It’s a remarkable thing.”