Andy Tullis / The BulletinLaura Robson, a Summit High School senior, is an accomplished creative writer who was recently admitted to Stanford University.

One day in fifth grade, Laura Robson’s teacher gave her a black-and-white composition notebook and asked her to write a story.

Maybe it was something about having a brand new notebook to work in, or maybe it was something about a set of freshly sharpened pencils, but sitting in the classroom that day, Laura was suddenly struck with inspiration. She filled the book with stories, writing until her hands were smeared with graphite.

Later that year, when her parents got her a laptop, Laura did the same thing, writing until the letters on the keyboard were stuck in place and no longer functioned.

Since then, the Summit High School senior has written 4½ books, won her division in the Nature of Word’s Rising Star Creative Writing Contest and attended the University of Iowa’s Young Writers’ Studio .

“I just started writing, and it feels like I never looked back,” Laura, 17, said.

She was also recently accepted to Stanford University, in a year when only 5 percent of applicants were admitted.

“She’s brilliant — her language skills and insight about the human condition and what it means to be human is exceptional,” said Christie McCormick, Laura’s English teacher.

“But what I like most about her is how normal she is. She’s funny and savvy, and she knows how to enjoy life. She gets along with all kinds of people and doesn’t take anything too seriously.”

While Laura’s been involved in plenty of activities, including swim team, newspaper staff and mock trial, the two that have become her real passions are water polo and creative writing. Laura started playing water polo her freshman year. That year, her team didn’t win a single game. Since then, Laura has helped take the Summit water polo team to state, where it placed second two years in a row.

“It was a real Cinderella moment,” Laura said. “We went from other teams seeing us and saying ‘that’s the team we’re sure we can beat’ to ‘Uh-oh, Summit’s coming.’”

Laura said the turnaround is a testament to the effort each of her teammates put into practice.

When she’s not in the pool, the rest of Laura’s free time is taken up by her second and biggest passion: writing. Her enthusiasm for the written word prompted her to apply to the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio a couple of summers ago. She said getting up the nerve to even apply for the prestigious workshop was incredibly difficult.

“Before that, I was really shy about showing people my writing,” she said. “Sometimes I’d pull out one of the books I wrote and reread it, and just cringe.”

But although Laura may have lacked confidence in her ability, there were others who believed in her. After reviewing her application, the workshop organizers invited her to attend.

At the studio, Laura and about 60 other students her age from around the world spent their time sharing and then critiquing one another’s writing. Laura was nervous and somewhat intimidated at first. But, eventually, she found her rhythm.

“It was the two best weeks of my life,” Laura said. “It forced me out of my comfort zone — but in the best possible way.”

Attending the conference inspired the teen to start a creative writing club at Summit High. She also entered one of her short stories at the workshop in the Nature of Word’s Rising Star Creative Writing Competition last year, which earned her first place for her age group in creative fiction. Laura has also continued to write novels, focusing on subjects that center around fantasy and magic.

“I don’t like stuffy writing — I like writing about things that apply to me,” Laura said. “And even though it’s magic and fantasy, that kind of subject matter can sometimes resonate with you better. It can sometimes reflect real life back better than a book about actual real life.”

Laura found out a few weeks ago that she was among the talented and lucky few to get into Stanford University’s 2014 admission class. She said she was shocked to find out she’d been accepted, attributing much of the reason to luck.

McCormick doesn’t agree.

“Anybody who looked at her application would see that she’s an exceptional kid that you would want in your freshman class,” McCormick said. “She’s a catalyst for moving people forward. If I were looking for students to make up my freshman class, I would sure put her in there.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0354, mkehoe@bendbulletin.com.