Department of English Awards—2020-21 winners

The Department of English again hosted a virtual awards ceremony for 2021, but the result is the same—recognition for the department’s outstanding student writers, teachers, and scholars.

The awards committee, along with other department faculty members, judged the nominations for 27 undergraduate and graduate awards. Although COVID-19 restrictions prevented the department from celebrating the students’ achievements in person, many professors took time to record short videos of their congratulations for the winners.

Click here to watch the department’s virtual awards ceremony. Robert O. Lawton Professor Gary Taylor, chair of the English department, offers his introduction for the awards and the ceremony. Although we encourage you to watch the entire video, the times in parentheses below denote when in the video those awards are announced. Here is the entire list of this year’s winners.

 

List of Awards

UNDERGRADUATE WRITING AWARDS (3:50​)

Cody Harris Allen Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Writing winner Alexa Kellenberger introduces the awards.

Click here to read about Alexa's IDEA Grant project.

Cody Harris Allen Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Writing (1st runner up)—Rachel Corry

Click here to hear about Rachel's Honors in the Major project.

Cody Harris Allen Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Writing (2nd runner up)—Tionee Lewis

John Mackay Shaw Academy of American Poets Undergraduate Award—Noah Brown

Sassaman Undergraduate Creative Writing Award—Catherine Cosgrove

Sassaman Undergraduate Critical Writing Award—Alanna Felton

Steven D. Schloff Undergraduate Creative Writing Award for Poetry—Noah Brown

Steven D. Schloff Undergraduate Creative Writing Award for Fiction—Kiersten Wright

Steven D. Schloff Undergraduate Creative Writing Award for Fiction—Paola Quintero

George and Ruth Yost Award for Best Personal Essay—Mia Mirageas

Waters Award for Excellence in Literature—Emily Colley

 
GRADUATE WRITING AWARDS (6:00​)

English Associate Professor and Creative Writing Program Director Skip Horack congratulates the following winners:

Sassaman Graduate Critical Writing Award—Liesel Hamilton

Sassaman Graduate Creative Writing Award—Laura Biagi

Waters Award for Excellence in Literature—Iain Grinbergs

English Robert O. Lawton Professor David Kirby and University Distinguished Scholar Barbara Hamby congratulate John Mackay Shaw Academy of American Poets Award winner Alexa Doran.

Click here to read about Alexa winning the May Sarton Poetry Prize.

 
EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION (8:48​)

English Associate Professor and College Composition Program Director Elias Dominguez Barajas congratulates the following winners:

Marian Bashinski Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Composition—Alexandra Pippin

Click here to read about Alexandra's Master's in Four entry.

Robert O. Lawton Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Composition—Austin Jenkins

Bryan Hall Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Composition—Landis Grenville

James McCrimmon Award for Outstanding Student Writing in College Composition— Elizabeth Nichols 

Robert O. Lawton Professor Gary Taylor, chair of the English department, congratulates Fred L. Standley Award for Most Effective Teacher

Among Graduate Assistants winner Eleanor Boudreau.

Click here to read about Eleanor's collection of poetry, Earnest, Earnest?

 
UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC AWARDS (14:30​)

Dr. Sally Karioth and Amanda Thompson congratulate Gerald Ensley Emerging Journalist Award winner Dana Sardina.

University Distinguished Scholar Barbaba Hamby congratulates Fred L. Standley Award for Undergraduate Excellence winner Parker Logan.

Click here to read a recent poem by Parker Logan.

English Associate Professor Tarez Samra Graban congratulates Mart P. Hill Award for Outstanding English Honors Thesis winner Amber Hedquist.

Click here to read about Amber and her Honors in the Major project.

English Associate Professor and Rhetoric and Composition Program Director Michael Neal congratulates Edward H. And Marie C. Kingsbury Achievership Award winner Carolyn Sizemore.

Click here to read about Outstanding Senior Scholar Carolyn Sizemore's Honors in the Major project.

 
GRADUATE ACADEMIC AWARDS (19:55​)

English George Mills Harper Professor and Associate Chair for Curriculum Judith Pascoe congratulates Bertram and Ruth Davis Award for Outstanding Dissertation in English Literature, Criticism, Linguistics or Rhetoric winner Molly Marotta.

English Professor Maxine Montgomery congratulates J. Russell Reaver Award for Outstanding Dissertation in American Literature winner Cocoa Williams.

Click here to read about Cocoa's Black Book Interactive Project Scholar Program Award.

English Professor Kristie S. Fleckenstein congratulates Bertram and Ruth Davis Award for Outstanding Career as a Graduate Student Kamila Albert.

Click here to read about Kamila's contribution to the 2019 FSU Digital Symposium.

English Professor James Kimbrell congratulates Adam M. Johnson Fellowship winner Liesel Hamilton.

 
EDWARD H. AND MARIE C. KINGSBURY FELLOWSHIP GRADUATE AWARDS (25:30​)

English Professor Leigh Edwards congratulates Farrah Hersh.

Click here to read Farrah's journal article "Visualizing the Real Reel in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard."

English Assistant Professor L. Lamar Wilson congratulates Kathleen Taylor.

 

 

In addition to the department-specific awards, many English majors earned university-wide recognition for outstanding academic achievements as undergraduates. Congratulations to all English Spring 2021 graduates who achieved distinction for Honors, Honors in the Major, Outstanding Student Scholars, and Garnet & Gold Scholars .

Click for virtual Spring 2021 Honors Medallions Ceremony

UNIVERSITY HONORS

University Honors students focus on their social, intellectual, and personal development through academic, service, research, entrepreneurship, and leadership opportunities. They can be found conducting groundbreaking research with faculty, competing for National Fellowships, serving on the executive boards of many student organizations, and more.

Karelis Albornoz

Morgan Bobo

Bailey Davis

Marisa Luciano

Meagan Martinez

Kathryn Voorneveld

Emily Voytecek

Anna Wood

 
UNIVERSITY Honors in the Major

FSU developed the Honors in the Major Program to encourage students to explore their major disciplines in greater depth by completing a research or creative project, and the program is open to all qualified FSU students. While many students conduct traditional research, the program also supports the creative endeavors of students in majors such as Creative Writing, Dance, Film, Music, Studio Art, and Theatre.

Isabella Bogle

Charles Boudet

Caitlin Bradbury

Rachel Corry

Theodore Dryce

Amber Hedquist

Jessica Hole

Parker Logan

Isabella Massardi

Nicole Van Der Sommen

 
UNIVERSITY OUTSTANDING SENIOR SCHOLARS

Each year, the Honors Program recognizes graduating seniors who have distinguished themselves by completing three exceptional academic achievements: maintaining a 3.9 GPA or higher, graduating Summa Cum Laude; challenging themselves and enriching their education by completing the University Honors Program, in which they completed a minimum of 18 Honors points; earning Honors in their Major by completing an Honors thesis. To achieve any of these distinctions is a noteworthy accomplishment; achieving all three is a rarity.

Suzanne Raybuck

Carolyn Sizemore

 
Garnet & Gold Scholar Society

Established in 2010, the Garnet & Gold Scholar Society facilitates student involvement and recognizes undergraduate students who excel within and beyond the classroom in at least three of five areas: international experience, internship, leadership, research and service. To become an inductee of the Garnet & Gold Scholar Society, students must meet the engagement criteria and submit a synthesis reflection project in their final semester before graduation.

Click for more about Spring 2021 Garnet & Gold Society Ceremony.

Isabella Acitelli

Rachel Corry

Catherine Cosgrove

Dominick Durante

Amber Hedquist

Lauren Martin

Isabella Massardi

Rebecca McCandless

Savannah Tindall

Katie Voorneveld

 

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