DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 29, 2016) - Seventeen students were honored on Thursday, April 28, during Daytona State College's sixth annual Outstanding Student Writing Awards ceremony.

The winning pieces were among more than 60 submitted for the competition, with categories ranging from poetry and short fiction to argumentative and narrative writing, general research and literary analysis.

"This ceremony is an opportunity for the learning community at Daytona State to come together in celebration of the talents and success of our students and their faculty mentors," said Donna Mixon, chair of the college's Outstanding Writing Awards Committee.

English faculty were asked to submit to the awards committee judges writings they believe to be excellent examples of student work. Names of the authors were removed prior to submittal. Mixon said the judges found this year's submissions particularly insightful. "The subject matter this year, especially in the Research and Argumentative categories, is indicative of our students' awareness and recognition of social influences affecting us today," she said. "Our students are very talented!"

Students were given the opportunity to read their work to family, friends and faculty who attended the ceremony. Certificates and token monetary awards were presented to the top finishers.

The top winners in each category were:

Outstanding Student Writing Awards Winners 2016

Poetry
1st - Saiful Bari "Kauai Island" submitted by Jill Clark
2nd - Michael Simon "The Lonely" submitted by Jill Clark
Narrative
1st - Candice Thompson "The Dangers of Anti-Depressants—Are They Worth the Risk?" submitted by Elena Jarvis
2nd - Jerry Costanzo "Yellow Footprints" submitted by Richard Vollaro
3rd - Carolyn Duenas "Wisdom in Disguise" submitted by Cherelyn Bush
Analysis
1st - Jesse Do "Education Reformation: The Root of the Problem" submitted by Jill Clark
2nd - Jon Geier "Mama's Guiding Light: From the South Side to Selma" submitted by Bronwen Llewellyn
3rd - Caity Sensenig "The Real Abuse at the Heart of Fifty Shades of Grey" submitted by Richard Vollaro
Argumentative
1st - Jon Geier "A Recipe for Disaster: Boys, Violence, and the Disney Prince" submitted by Bronwen Llewellyn
2nd - David Netto "Teenage Drug Abuse" submitted by Patricia Vetter
3rd - Anita Perkins "Sexual Overdose: The Media's Crime Against Our Society" submitted by Donna Mixon
Research
1st - Jessica Snellback "Orcinus Orca: Slaves to Humanity" submitted by Leslie Thornhill
2nd - Brendan Leonard "In Light of Recent Developments: Is It Time to Reexamine Death Penalty Methods?" submitted by Leslie Thornhill
3rd - Daniela Anant "Unhealthy Nerves" submitted by Richard Vollaro
Short Fiction
1st - Caleb Lee "The Patrol" submitted by Jill Clark
2nd - Jayne-Elizabeth Taylor "Got Brains?" submitted by Jill Clark
3rd - Tiffany Thomas "Missing" submitted by Jill Clark

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