In August 2005, New Orleans native Diarra McCormick and her family were forced from their home when Hurricane Katrina struck.
“We evacuated to Mississippi and stayed there for a week,” she says. “It was the worst week of my life. All we could do was watch TV and watch the water rise.”
McCormick, a graduate of Xavier University, knew she wanted to attend graduate school, but considered taking a year off to work and to decide on a field of study. When Katrina came, she had no choice but to put off graduate school. Her distressing experience, however, helped her decide on a career path.
“Something about that storm …” she says, “it just clicked in my head: ‘screenwriting -- that’s what you want to do.’”
Clearly, McCormick, a graduate student in the School of Film & Television, chose the right program, at the right school. She recently earned a $5,000 scholarship -- the highest award -- from LMU’s African American Alumni Association. The aspiring screenwriter was “shocked” at the amount she received.
“I opened the letter and I thought I saw $500,” she says. “Then I saw an extra zero and I just started jumping up and down!”
McCormick admits her first semester in the program was rough, having done no writing the previous year while moving from Mississippi to Texas and back to Louisiana. She credits her instructor, Stephen Duncan, for getting her back on track.
“I used to go to his office and say, ‘I don’t think I’m doing well,’ she recalls. “And he’d say, ‘Every new writer struggles … if you don’t struggle, then you’re not a writer.’”
There’s no question McCormick is a natural born writer. Her mother is a poet, dramatist and visual artist. Many of her 12 siblings also have a knack for writing. It’s no surprise, then, that McCormick began receiving awards for her talent in elementary school.
The major dilemma until now has been deciding which style of writing would be her focus. Having tried journalism and fiction, she stumbled upon her strength accidentally while attending a study abroad program for creative writing at NYU during her junior year of college.
“They told me my short stories had too much dialogue,” she explains. “They looked like a movie and sounded like a movie instead of a short story. My teachers said, ‘This is what you’re really good at; maybe this is your niche.’”
Writing television show scripts for the likes of Disney and Nickelodeon is what McCormick would like to do upon finishing the program. While establishing her career, she’d also like to dedicate time to developing writing and acting workshops, and summer camps for inner city youth.
“I’d like to go back to [New Orleans], which has a lot of talented kids, but no resources for them,” she says. “I’ll also go on to other inner cities, including here in California … I’m getting my start here, so it only makes sense to come back here as well.”
Though the devastation of Katrina is still evident in her hometown and her family remains scattered over several states, McCormick says she’s determined to stay positive and focused on reaching her goals. She hopes other hurricane victims -- or anyone going through difficult times -- will do the same.
“I hope if any New Orleans natives, if they get to read this, are inspired to do something positive,” she says. “Maybe they didn’t get help … maybe they’re still going through a lot … but if whatever I’m doing can inspire them, that’s great.”