Midland College English department honors students for writing excellenceApril 30, 2020

Midland College awarded student authors in two contests during spring 2020.

“The MC English faculty were very impressed with the entries for both of these contests,” said Dr. William Christopher Brown, MC department chair of Language Arts, Philosophy, Humanities and Technical Writing.  “We applaud the winners’ achievements and their fortitude to persevere and excel, especially during the obstacles placed upon them by the Covid-19 pandemic during this semester.”

Nonfiction Writing Contest – The Nonfiction Writing Contest is a new competition this year and includes categories of Narrative Nonfiction, Feature Stories and Research/Essay Reports.

In the Narrative Nonfiction category, Michelle Sanchez won 1st place with “What He Taught Me,” Faith Dolan won 2nd place with “(Dis)ability” and Christian Bell won honorable mention with “Essential Lessons in Nature.”

Angel Quiñonez-Bustamante’s work entitled “Life-long Mentorship” won first place in the Feature Stories category; Allyson Murillo-Rankin won 2nd place with “A Teaching of Faith; and Hena Patel’s “What My Best Friend Taught Me.” received honorable mention.

The winners in the Research Essay/Reports category were Ariel Brown, 1st place, "Praxiteles: Intentional Sexualization or Projection?"; Jada Strilchuk, 2nd place, "Behind the Scenes of an 80s Classic"; and Priscilla Lopez, honorable mention, "Processes for Land Technicians / Landmen."

Hilda Simmons Levitt Poetry Contest –Stanley Levitt established the Hilda Simmons Levitt Poetry in 1988 to honor the memory of his wife Hilda Simmons Levitt who took poetry writing classes at MC for many years.  The Levitt’s daughter, Carol Schwartz, continues to underwrite the contest. 

Kairah Hendricks won the grand prize and a cash award of $600 for her poems “Home” and “Human.”  Camila Justus wrote “Daughter of an Immigrant” and won 2nd place and $400.  Gabrielle Rubio won 3rd place and $200 for “Catchin’ Feelings” and “Trapped?”  Fourth place and $100 went to Marisol Tarin for “In the Night.”  Rachel Howard and Jaylene Partida won Honorable Mention for “Serenity” and “For Granted” respectively.  

Lawrence Musgrove, professor and chair of English and modern languages at Angelo State University, served as the judge for this year’s Hilda Simmons Levitt Poetry Contest.