DSC students honored in 7th annual writing competition

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 17, 2017) – Twenty-two students were honored on April 13 during Daytona State College's seventh annual Outstanding Student Writing Awards ceremony.

The winning pieces were among well over 100 submitted for the competition, with categories ranging from poetry and short fiction to argumentative and narrative writing, general research, literary analysis and a new multimodal web composition category.

"Through this competition, Daytona State hopes to raise awareness about the importance of writing, identify emerging writers and encourage students to become prolific and outstanding authors," said Donna Mixon, chair of the college's Outstanding Writing Awards Committee. "That's why we're here."

English and humanities faculty were asked to submit writings they believe to be excellent examples of student work. Names of the authors were removed prior to submittal to the awards committee judges.

Dr. Amy Locklear, provost and vice president of academic affairs, lauded the students, noting they represent DSC's best. "Parents, relatives and friends of the students getting awards today, I know you are very proud. You know how much time and effort, writing and re-writing, thought and concentration, it takes to produce good work. I want you to know that we all share in your pride."

Students were given the opportunity to read their work to family, friends and faculty who attended the ceremony. Certificates and $50-credits to student accounts were presented to the top finishers.

The 2017 winners in each category are:

Place	Student	Title	Submitting Professor
	Poetry
1st	Duvanté Williams	"Your Eyes"	Donna Mixon
2nd	Mikki Jeanlouis	"Love Leaves"	Jill Clark
3rd	Zachary Kott	"Smoke"	Lynn Hawkins
	Personal Narrative
1st	Julie Nguyen	"The Art of Writing"	Michelle Thompson
1st	Julie Craig	"Breast Cancer at a Very Young Age"	Richard Vollaro
2nd	Mary Evans	"A Choice to Die"	Sally McGhee
3rd	Samuel Robbins	"Quiet but Never Silent"	Sally McGhee
	Analysis
1st	Shannon Chaffers	"The Damage of Societal Expectations"	Donna Mixon
2nd	Melissa Gasparini	"Transforming Lester"	Sam Goldstein
3rd	Waleed Tahir	"Violence and Its Causes"	Lynn Hawkins
	Argumentation
1st	Octavio Licairac	"The United States Income Tax Code: Complexity and Inequality"	Sally McGhee
2nd	Gabriela Peña	"Preparing Inmates for Successful Re-entry into Society"	Sally McGhee
3rd	Derek Augustine	"A Country of Diversity"	Cherelyn Bush
	Research
1st	Payten Ford	"Including Students with Disabilities into Elective Courses"	Lynn Hawkins
2nd	Isabel Vigil	"Considering Genetic Engineering"	Leslie Thornhill
3rd	Nicholas Belz	"Homeless Youth in Volusia County"	Lynn Hawkins
	Short Fiction
1st	Kyra Lieberman	"Holocene"	Lynn Hawkins
2nd	Daniel Amaral	"The Quintessence of Dust"	Brian Lysholm
3rd	Joseph Grimm	"The Oncoming Storm"	Brian Lysholm (CW)
	Multimodal Web Composition
1st	Mark Carmignani	"Waiting: The Sweet and Sour of It"	Brian Lysholm
2nd	Kameron Pollock	"Simply Beautiful"	Brian Lysholm
3rd	Brandon K. Seymour	"Out of This World Resorts"	James Newell

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