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.

DSC students honored in 7th annual writing competitionThe 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

###