Mission Statement:
Portals is Cape Fear Community College’s literary and arts journal, featuring poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and two-dimensional visual art. Literary and art submissions are open to our students, faculty, and staff at CFCC. Additionally, literary submissions are now open to all NC undergraduate college students. CFCC’S English faculty and student editors work together to create and design the magazine, process and select the submissions, and practice editing and publishing.
​
The editors of Portals believe that the arts uplift, educate, and create meaning in our lives. We believe in the tapestry of diverse voices and visions that creates a community, and at the heart of community is sharing. We also seek to enhance North Carolinians’ lives by having free access to a quality literary and arts magazine while continuing CFCC’s reputation as a student-focused, academic institution with an emphasis on quality writing and creative expression.
About Us:
2024 Student Editors:
Student Editor: Ava Skiba is in her second year at Cape Fear Community College and plans to graduate with an
associates degree in Arts. Her hobbies include reading, painting and drawing.
.png)
Student Editor: Anna Orvin is currently in her first year at Cape Fear Community College and she is looking to graduate with her associate in arts. Anna enjoys exploring any and all creative outlets, but her favorite activities are graphic design, writing, and her evening walks. After graduation she aspires to attend a four year university and pursue a degree in Creative Writing. Some of Anna's goals are to become a best-selling author and a screenwriter for a Production Company.
.jpg)
Student Editor: Sean Ray is a sophomore at Cape Fear Community College looking to graduate with an associate in the arts. In his spare time, Sean likes to read and write poetry, write music, paint, and play tennis. After Cape Fear, Sean is looking to go to a four year university in Boston where he plans to get a degree in English Education.
Student Editor: Kymberli Smith is a dual-enrolled student attending Cape Fear Community College and Pender Early College High School. They plan to graduate with their high school diploma and Associate in Applied Science in 2025. They like to read horror books, write poetry and short stories, and listen to music! After graduation, they plan on going into the forensic chemistry world.
Student Editor: Kelly Tierney is a dually enrolled student at Cape Fear Community College, and plans to transfer to Belmont Abbey College in the fall of 2025 to major in Elementary Education. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys listening to music and writing poetry. Much of Kelly’s writing is inspired by her life experiences and her home state of Connecticut.
Faculty Editor: Brenda Nicholas earned her M.F.A from UNC-Wilmington with an emphasis in poetry. She has taught college English and writing at Siena College, The College of Saint Rose, Temple College, and Cape Fear Community College. She has published 1 chapbook and 2 books of poetry, and her work appears in numerous literary journals.
Faculty Editor: Lesley Richardson holds an M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a certificate in Multicultural and Transnational Literature from East Carolina University. Her M.F.A. thesis was awarded a Pass with Distinction, a first-time award. She taught at Coastal Carolina Community College for eight years, and she is in her eleventh year of teaching at Cape Fear Community College. Her publications are included in the following literary magazines and journals: Coal City Review, Flint Hills Review, The Asheville Poetry Review, California Quarterly, and Main Street Rag among others. She is currently working on a novel and a book of poetry.
Portals has long been a part of Cape Fear Community College culture, bringing together faculty, students, and staff to celebrate the arts every year as spring blossoms. Portals began as many artistic inspirations do, with a hand-stapled handout of student scribbles and in the spring of 2004, it became a printed and curated magazine featuring student work. Portals has been printed and celebrated every spring since. Over the years, it expanded its reach and opened submissions to the faculty and staff. The last printed version was circulated and mailed in the spring of 2020, as the world folded in on itself to adjust to a global pandemic. Today, we have transitioned the magazine to a digital format while inviting other North Carolina college students to submit their literary work. The English Department at CFCC enjoys coordinating with the Fine Arts department to bring fresh voices and new perspectives to North Carolina, and we are extremely proud of our students and their work yesterday, today, and tomorrow.