Senior Alex Bell will be able to add published author to his star-studded resume in the midst of college admissions season.

Bell and Marquette Catholic High School learned Monday that his mini saga Dreamland will be featured in The Glitch - A World of Words, an anthology published by Young Writers USA.

He joins Allyson Henrich '24, Leah Lawson '22, Nevaha Pam '22, and Ava Zientarski '22 in becoming the fifth Marquette student to earn publication honors under upper-level English instructor Stacey Cassady's tutelage. Cassady has been teaching dual-credit courses at Marquette since January 2020 after serving several years as a professor at Valparaiso University. In addition to cultivating young writers, she has helped bolster the English curriculum on 10th Street.

"Alex is a deep thinker and a very good communicator who comes up with new, provocative, creative, and thoughtful ways to bring his readers into the experience, into his story. I look forward to seeing how he will take his writing skill and use it in the future," Cassady said.

Bell boasts a 4.45 cumulative grade-point average through seven semesters. He has already earned 56 dual credits and expects to graduate with 65 total in addition to the Indiana College Core.

Dreamland by Alex Bell

She awoke, finding herself in a bed of matted grass. It wasn't itchy, but rather comforting, like wisps of cotton candy. Dazed, she rubbed the dreamful sleep from her eyes, scanning her surroundings. It was a far cry from her familiar bedroom where she had begun that night. Cotton candy grass sprawled across the floor and spade-shaped trees with ivory bark and periwinkle leaves hung softly above her. She stood up, frozen in reverie, panicking and wiping neon dust from her blouse. "I must be dreaming," she thought, pinching her forearm. Nothing. She did it again. Nothing. And again. Nothing.