2009 Seaton Essay Awards Announced
The annual Seaton Essay Competition is judged by an interdisciplinary panel of faculty and students. This year, we had over twenty essay submissions. In the middle of April, posters advertising the contest were placed around campus, and the contest details were e-mailed to all instructors. The contest was open to all students. The judges were people from different disciplines who enjoy the diverse topics of the essays and the dedication of the writers.
Winners of the Awards:
- Ashley Caggiano—First Place—“Same Old Hell”
Ashley is an English major with a focus in rhetorical composition. She will be graduating this Spring Quarter. She has spent all four years at Newark and “loved every one.”
- Chris Metcalf—Second Place—“Tragic Death of Romanticism”
Chris a freshman finance major who loves to read classical/canonical literature. His love for reading as well as writing reveals the value he places on a wide breadth of knowledge.
- Elizabeth Varrasso—Third Place—“Guilty by Ethnicity”
Elizabeth plans to teach history in high school before she pursues a Ph.D. in History. She would like to write professionally before and after she gets her degrees.
Names and Positions of the Judges:
- Dr. Julie Hupp—Psychology
- Dr. Adrian Rodgers—Education
- Dr. Elizabeth Weiser—English
- April Sears—Student Judge
- Dr. Laura Younger—Award Director--English
2008 Seaton Essay Awards Announced
The annual Seaton Essay Competition is judged by an interdisciplinary panel of faculty and students. This year's faculty judges were Dr. Derek Alwes of the English program, Dr. Jill Coleman in psychology, and Dr. Adrian Rodgers of the education program. Student judges were Mr. Jacob Greene and Ms. Ashley Caggiano, who are both students and peer writing consultants at the Writer's Studio.
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Michael Morrison-$150.00. "Speaking with Authority in Contemporary Travel Writing." This first place essay was written for Dr. Liz Weiser's English 579 class. The essay traces evolutionary changes in the genre of travel writing--particularly as travel writing fought to drop its imperialistic tone. The author asks this beautiful question: how does one write about a place without assuming authority over that region?
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Jonathan Holmes-$100.00. The second place winner's essay, entitled "The Seven Deadly Sins, the Protestant Reformation, and The Faerie Queene," was written for Dr. Derek Alwes's English 598 Class. The essay argues that Spencer's use of the seven deadly sins may reveal a break with some medieval moral considerations, and become a springboard for a re-evaluation of some of the moral rhetoric of Spencer's time.
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Katie Waldrop-$50.00. This essay was written for Dr. Katey Borland's Comparative Studies 100 Course and discusses issues of imperialism still in play today, through the use of the novel Tierra de Fuego. The discussion of a country's resistance against unwanted saviors is piquant and the judges' comments reflected the relevant nature of the paper.
The Promising Writer Awards for the 2007-2008 academic year are as follows:
Emmanuel Akomeah for "Epiphany at the Poolside"
Candace Barber for "Food Education: In Addition to the Curriculum"
Lauren Braemer for "Facebook: An Addiction of the New Age"
Tim J. Miller for "Words that Inspire""""""
These students were honored at an award reception on October 13, 2008 in the new Writer's Studio where they were introduced by the award committee to the English faculty, Dr. Paul Sanders, and Dr. William MacDonald. A brief synopsis of their papers was provided by the committee and each committee member read a quote from one of the winning papers.
The Promising Writer Award was established in 2006 in order to recognize the outstanding writing of four first-year writing students each year. Any student in a 109, 110.03, or 110 course is eligible, as long as the course was completed since the beginning of summer quarter 2008. The awards are made in the fall and announced on the English Program Website.
The First-Year Writing Program invites students in all first-year writing courses to submit their best work for the Promising Writer Award. To submit an essay to the competition (one per writer, please), send the text electronically to green.518@osu.edu or drop off a hard copy at the Writer's Studio in Warner 210. All submissions must be accompanied by the completed cover sheet. The deadline for submissions this year is May 15th.
Click the link to download the cover sheet. You may then send the completed sheet as an attachment if you are submitting electronically, or print it out and attach it to your hard copy for delivery to the Writing Lab.
Please contact Shawna Green at green.518@osu.edu extension 130, Derek Boczkowski at Boczkowski.1@osu.edu extension 411, or Michael Trovato at trovato.2@osu.edu extension 169 if you have any questions.
2007 Seaton Essay Awards Announced
The annual Seaton Essay Competition is judged by an interdisciplinary panel of faculty and students. This year’s faculty judges were Derek Boczkowski, assistant coordinator of the OSUN Writing Lab, Christine Warner of the education department, and J. Andrew Roberts, of the biology department. Student judges were Josh Maccombs and Melissa Keller, both seniors going into graduate programs in education in the fall, and peer writing consultants at the Writing Lab.
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Kelly Whitney-$150.00. The first-place essay reflects its author’s interest in the history of sexual identity in the United States. The paper treats the combination of local, national, and international events that led to widespread demands for the equal treatment of the gay community, and was written for Dr. Mitch Lerner’s History 597, Critical Issues of the Twentieth Century World. The essay is entitled “Following the Rainbow: A Look into the Events That Sparked the Stonewall Riots” and its author will attend the University of Dayton graduate program in English starting this fall.
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Chris Phillps-$100.00. The second place winner’s essay, entitled “Understanding the Use of the Sublime in Frankenstein,” discusses a defining idea of British Romanticism, the notion of the sublime, in the context of the classic novel by Mary Shelley. The essay was written for Dr. Virginia Cope’s English 592 class, “Special Topics in Women in Literature: the Gothic.“ Its author is starting a graduate program in English at Northern Texas University this fall.
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Ashley Miravalle-$50.00. Third place goes to a student in another history course. The essay is entitled “The Evolution of Social Welfare and Government Assistance in Ohio to People and Families in Need,” and was written for Dr. Michael Mangus’s History 310, “History of Ohio.”