By Valerie Franklin (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 15, 2014
The Writing Prize Competition handed out nine awards for excellence in student writing to 12 students from a variety of disciplines in a ceremony that took place on October 6 in A225. The competition, which is facilitated by the Writing Centre, recognizes academic writing that exceeds expectations, explained UFV instructor and Writing Centre mentor Nadeane Trowse.
“It’s always an honour to be nominated for the awards,” Trowse said. “Only a small number of people are nominated, and an even smaller amount win.”
The topics of award-winning submissions were diverse, and included work from artists, science students, and teachers in training.
Jennifer Colbourne, a psychology student, was the winner of the Applied Theory category for her submission on animal cognition, titled “The Corvid Controversy: Whether Self-Awareness Truly Exists in Avian Species.” Colbourne argued that self-consciousness is not exclusive to mammals, and emphasized that the discoveries being made about animal cognition “could dramatically alter our beliefs about life itself.”
The Upper Division Technical Problem Solving category was won by a consultant’s guide written by four adult education students: Julie Bell, Lee Derksen, Claire Février, and Kim McLaren. Février, who was wearing her new baby, represented the group to receive the award.
Many of the award-winning entries showed how students addressed real-world social problems through research. Dylan Thiessen won the Socially Current Research category for his essay on “The Online and Real World Community of Couch Surfing,” while Anna Nienhuis won the Upper Division Criminology category for her directed studies project on employment opportunities for offenders released from prison.
Hayley Cooper won the First Year Research category with an essay about the transition from child welfare to independent adulthood. Her instructor, Lisa Moy, explained that documenting experiences like these through writing is important to social work.
“We have a window into a painful part of people’s lives, and it’s important to write with compassion, integrity, and professionalism,” Moy said.
A project by Joelle Bausenhaus examined the political, economic, and environmental implications of water quality conflicts on the Rio Grande River, which forms part of the border between the US and Mexico, and won the Upper Division with a National Focus category.
An art history essay by David Seymour won the Explorations of Marginality category. Seymour’s work challenged the colonial gaze in visual art and the representation of “two-spirited” individuals, challenging gender stereotypes in art.
“It’s important because it’s not written about a lot, and it’s still an issue that we deal a lot with today,” he said.
Trowse noted that award types often change from year to year as new courses and projects are introduced. A new category this year was Poetry Portfolios, for which two winners tied: Katie Stobbart and Sarah Sovereign. Sovereign’s work reimagined her family history in Ontario, while Stobbart explored poetic form through line breaks. Stobbart also one the Lower Division Reflective Analysis category for an essay on suburban literature.
This ceremony marked the fifth year of on-site ceremonies. Previously, congratulations were sent via mail.
“We thought we should make it a celebration for the winners,” Trowse said. “It’s important for faculty to recognize [the students] reading.”
All winners received a an award certificate as well as a small honorarium. The winning pieces will also be published in the writing centres in both Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Trowse said that in previous years the only prize was grades that went on students’ transcripts, but now the award recognizes their accomplishments.
“It looks great for a CV,” she said. “Something employers will look at and say, ‘amazing!’”
Katie Stobbart is the Editor-in-Chief of The Cascade.
With files from Simon Grant.
