Annual PNC Writing Contest Winners Announced

WESTVILLE – Thirteen Purdue University North Central students were named winners in the annual Student Writing Contest for the 2003-2004 year, announced Sharon Koelm, continuing lecturer of English composition and director of the writing contest. Their winning entries will be published in Portals, the annual PNC student literary journal.

The judging teams for the eight contest categories included faculty members who teach English and writing as well as students. The winners are:

English Composition - Non-Research Paper: first place – Belinda Wheeler, Shelby: “This is one game I will sit out;” second place – Eric Westforth, Valparaiso: “Going to California;” third place – Tonya M. Rogers, Michigan City: “Didja Learn Anything?”

Research Paper: first place - Erica M. Maar, Valparaiso: “The Voice Of America: For Sale To The Highest Bidder: A Look at Individual and Corporate Wealth in the American Political System;” second place - Eric Westforth, Valparaiso: “The Challenge of Prison Health Care;” third place - Brenda Green Darrol, Valparaiso: “The Etiology of Genocide: Cautions for the Future.”

Personal Essay: first place - Carol Wilson, Valparaiso: “My Mother’s Lover;” second place (tie) - Katie Anderson, Valparaiso: “The Creation of a World-Creator;” Kenneth Bernard, Michigan City: “The Room behind the Glass Wall.”

Poetry: first place - Katie Anderson, Valparaiso: “Isle of Spring;” second place - Cassandra Zurawski, LaPorte: “Men;” third place - John Minor, Portage: “The Dance.”

Short Fiction: first place - Cassandra Zurawski, LaPorte: “Smoke;” second place - Cassandra Zurawski, LaPorte: “The Willow;” third place - Sue Antoszewski, Westville: “Address Unknown.”

The John J. Pappas Literary Essay Award: first place - Terri Bartels, Michigan City: “The House on Mango Street: Esperanza Cordero’s Search for Womanhood within a Patriarchal Social System;” honorable mention - Angela M. Clark, Valparaiso: “An Unfolding of Sylvia Plath’s ‘Tulips;’ ” honorable mention - Cassandra Zurawski, LaPorte: “Morals without Instruction: The Downfall of Charlotte Temple.”

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