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“What are some problems you see in the world that you would like to change?” asks Denisha Bland ’18, also known as Coco Blossom, in poetry workshops for Sacramento high school students.

A poet, mentor and educator, Bland empowers young adults throughout the region with spoken word and writing.

“There’s power in my voice so I’m speaking to empowered youth,” she said in a performance for students. 

Bland is the associate director of , an outreach program founded in 2008 to create pathways for high-risk youth into higher education. She said she views spoken word poetry as the fuse to create change in the world and strives to share its power with others.

As a result, she is often on the go, driving from one school to the next to engage with students through spoken word poetry and writing workshops.

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