Outstanding First-Year Students
Hannah Culp
Jasir Dash
Hailey Embree
Alexis Jackson
Christian Kay
Carter Kuntz
Georgia Manning
Delaney Lewis
Madison Haverilla
Charlie Roadarmel
Molly Sisitki
Wendy Carse Sophomore Scholars
Simon Bianco
Haylee Blystone
Connor Bradley
Andrew Corey
Grace Fette
Valerie Fiore
Leanne Goodell
Adriana Guth-Borowski
Hailie Hearn
Heather Jackson
Natalia Malandro
Michaela Lenhart
Garrison Lutch
Christina Lyttle
Abigail McKibben
Jill Montag
Jenna Painter
Payton Smathers
Emily Spezialetti
Delaney Stitt
Rebecca Sulava
Joshua Tozer
Rebecca Walker
T. Kenneth Wilson Junior Scholars
Kylie Barrett
Regan Covert
Katelynn Cramer
Leslie Folino
Emily Kline
Julie Kopp
Amy Kukula
Dana Minser
Jessica Morse
Emma Naughton
Julie Pittman
Kailey Swope
William Betts Senior Scholars
Cassidy Black
Leah Bogert
Haley Brown
Jared Burkhardt
Emily Buseck
Gabriella Byrne
Allison Carl
Haley Cook
Samuel Cunningham
Marti Easter
Sydney Edwards
Mackenzie Eicher
Shaye Emerick
Kevin Figueroa
Devan Ghee
Cat Hebner
Nina Jesko
Toni Juart
Rachel Kennedy
Maren Krizner
Tessa Letso
Jacie Martin
Elijah Minteer
Alayna Pesce
Kaycee Reesman
Asher Rehn
Jared Swansboro
Isis Truxon
First-Year Student of the Year - English Education
Delaney Lewis
Second-Year Student of the Year - English Education
Joshua Tozer
Third-Year Student of the Year - English Education
Amy Kukula
Valedictorian - English Education
Sydney Edwards
First-Year Student of the Year - BA English
Charlie Radarmel
Second-Year Student of the Year - BA English
Adriana Guth-Borowski
Third-Year Student of the Year - BA English
Emma Naughton
Valedictorian - BA English
Leah Bogert
Claudette Dolan Service Award
Amy Kukula
Undergraduate English Scholarships
Dessy Scholarship
Grace Fette
Wendy Carse Scholarship
Alayna Pesce
Betty Ann Moore Wallwork Scholarship
Michaela Lenhart
Outstanding English Intern
Nina Jesko
Writing Awards
Creative Nonfiction
First prize: Hannah Culp "A Walk Among the Pines"
"A Walk Among the Pines" is about a memory within a memory. Culp's tightly controlled prose creates a mood of dread and regret that is tempered by a more remote memory of hope.
Second Prize: Samuel Cunningham "A(f)MAB"
"A(f)MAB" is an extended odyssey of discovery and desire that leads to self-definition as "Assigned (fe)Male at Birth."
Critical Essay
First prize: Amy Kukula “Desanctifying War: Mark Twain’s Weapons of Satire”
The essay situates a timely topic within the minds of readers, challenging them to rethink their own definition of patriotism. It effectively demonstrates thorough research skills, as well as a mastery in conveying complex ideas and information clearly.
Second Prize: Kaycee Reesman “Keep Our Children Safe in School”
This essay clearly articulates the reasons why teachers should not be armed in a way that does not cast judgment on those who contest this perspective.
Third Prize: Sydney Mather “Native Families and Erdrich’s Masterful Use of Language”
This essay presents a strong thesis and discussion of the ways Love Medicine depicts the Native American lifestyle. Its focus on figurative language particularly resonates with readers.
Short Fiction
First Prize: Jeanie Baughman, “Purgatory From a Cushioned Wooden Chair”
The struggle and fear of going on a date is an emotional storm that everyone fears. This story encapsulates that fear and chaos of a date in an exaggerated manner that brings out the worst fears of the character. The internal monologue, combined with the surrealistic elements of the story, gives this piece a memorable take on a first date experience. Drinking glasses and glasses of water to fill the awkward moments, and cuts that never stop bleeding, utilize stylistic choices that makes this story stand out.
Honorable Mention: Jeremy Robertson, “The Final Voyage of the Amelia”
This story captures the thrill and danger of a sea chase during a storm and illuminates the extreme actions that a captain obsessed with revenge might take.
Honorable Mention: Molly Sisitki, “Memory”
This short fiction tells of a woman’s life seen backwards through objects saved in a box. From a pair of pink hand gloves, outgrown, to a black dress that ominously “fits like it had been made for her only,” these possessions remind us of what few tangible parts of our lives are left at the end.
Pedagogical Writing
First Prize: Cassidy Black "Final Poetry Project Unit Plan"
This unit satisfies multiple different standards pertaining to writing because students are engaging in the writing process, thinking about how tone and meaning are formed through word use, and think about how stylistic choices in writing dramatically affect the outcome.
Second Prize: Amy Kukula "Imagery and Clashing Perspectives in “Turtle Came to See Me” by Margarita Engle"
This lesson teaches English Language Arts skills and terminology (such as imagery) in combination with higher-level thinking about the world and human relationships (such as working through situations of clashing perspectives and interactions between people with diverse cultural backgrounds). This is accomplished using various class activities centered around the poem “Turtle Came to See Me” by Margarita Engle.
Third Prize: Sydney Mather "Women Writers Unit Plan"
This is a unit plan that will help high-school students learn about historical women writers and the significance of their work. These works are then used to teach literary elements and essay writing.
Play- and Screenwriting
First Prize: Amy Kukula “Packing It In”
“Packing It In” is a moving, witty, and creative one-act play about two odd-couple college roommates and their vulnerable and flawed attempts to connect with each other, the wider world, and themselves. It’s a standout piece distinctively marked by the wit of its dialogue, the psychological complexity of its characters, its keen awareness of socioeconomic disparities, its creative incorporation of a meditation script, and a glass elephant named Chester.
Poetry
First Prize: Maren Krizner
Starlight and Other Artifacts: a brief history of work and thunder
A collection of love poems depicting the progression of a relationship over the course of four years. Notable for its evocative imagery and resonant themes.
Second Prize: Lucia Ugarte “Feeling a lot when feeling nothing”
Lucia advocates for mental health awareness, using poetry as a form of expression. "Feeling a lot when feeling nothing" is Lucia’s unique take on experiencing dissociation.
Third Prize: Sam Cunningham “Woes, Blows, and Bloody, Butchered Prose”
A collection of poems, including ambitious experiments in poetic form, depicting pains and pangs of growing up.
Workplace Writing
Honorable Mention: Leslie Folino "How to Approve Supplier Requests in Ariba SourcePoint"
Innovative Writing
First Place: Maren Krizner “GRAVEYARD”
Fragmented, evocative, multi-media nonfiction piece about an old friend, a childhood home that no longer exists, moving, and the things you take with you.
A special thank you: The faculty organizers and judges of the writing contests would like to extend their appreciation to all English majors who submitted entries and through their writing help keep literature alive.