Student Writing Awards

Through the generous support of the Clark College Foundation, Clark English students have the opportunity to be considered for several writing awards. The Hawkins and Bostwick/Gallivan prizes honor students in several categories. Each April English faculty select the best basic skills, expository, critical, technical, and research essays written during the academic year. Faculty also select the best works of fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry written in creative writing classes. Winning works are honored each May at an award banquet and are given a certificate of achievement, a letter of appreciation, and a monetary award.

Creative writing students also have the opportunity to be considered for a McCordic Talent Award. Funded again by the generous support of Clark College Foundation, this award acknowledges the talent of one creative writing student. Nominated and selected by creative writing faculty, the winning student receives a certificate of achievement and a monetary award that is applied towards a tuition payment.

For more information about any of these awards, please contact the faculty listed below:

Hawkins Prize for Academic Writing
Bostwick/Gallivan Prize for Creative Writing
Lynne Nolan
smith@clark.edu
360-992-7803

McCordic Talent Award for Creative Writing
Alexis Nelson
anelson@clark.edu
360-992-2373

Gallivan Prize for Technical Writing
Tobias Peterson
tpeterson@clark.edu
360-992-2637

2025 Award Winners

Fiction/Non-fiction:

First place: "The Boy Who Could Not Look Up at the Sky" by Paula Blower Brandao (Joe Pitkin's English 125)

Second place: "The Endurable" by Graeden Rebagliati (Alexis Nelson's English 127)

Third place: "Matt" by Julia Stiffler (Joe Pitkin's English 125) 

Poetry:

First place: "Evidence Tagged Six" by Derek Klein (Jesse Morse's English 126) 

Second place: "Saudade" by Jasmin Adams (Dawn Knopf's English 126)

Third place: "Dulce Periculum" by Hailey Addington (Jesse Morse's English 126)

Expository (English 90): 

First place: "We Were Offered A Bouquet, Crested Butte, Oleander and a Hint of Middlemist Red Camellia" by Melissa May (Lee Ware)

Second place: "Foster Care: Where it Originated and How I Made It Out" by Julia Johnson (Lee Ware)

Third place: "The Rising of Zahara" by Mary Broten (Lee Ware)

English 101:

First place: "A Rhetorical/Contextual Analysis of Christian Sermons" by Jaden Peterson (Eleanor Howell)

Second place: "Ancient Curse of Nightshade" by Lauren Vasquez (Michael Guerra)

Third place: "Where I've Been, Where I'm Going; I'm Not Even Supposed To Be Here" by Alexander Lusk (Eleanor Howell)

Research Essay (English 102): 

First place: "Bombs and Betrayals" by Mahnoor Siddiqua (Tara Williams) 

Second place: "What Domestication Does to Horses" by Angelee Long (Eleanor Howell)

Third place: "Fu-Go: The Silent Project" by Sarah Splain (Jill Darley-Vanis)

Critical/Literary Analysis:

First place: "She From The Islands" Payton Lopez (Jill Darley-Vanis's English 135)

Second place: "The Heart of our Hinterland" by Laurel McKay (Jill Darley-Vanis's English 271)

Third place: "Personal Narrative as Resistance Against Oppression" by Kate Laubernds (Mel Favara's English 246)

Technical Writing: 

First place: "Business Structure Recommendation Report for Peer" by Jaxson Walrath (Linda Stewart)

Second place: "CRISPR" by Franklin Keqja (Toby Peterson)