Sophia McLain
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Essays Uplift in Annual Writing Center Contest
Written By: Judith Hansen
The experience is so satisfying that people who judge the Writing Center鈥檚 annual writing contest routinely ask Dr. Mary Lutze to invite them to judge again.
Each year, writing prompts ask students 鈥� students in any major, students who use the Writing Center or don鈥檛 鈥� to consider and write about their experiences at the 91老司机 - Fort Smith and the insights they have gained.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really an uplifting experience all around,鈥� Lutze, Writing Center director, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really heartwarming to hear from students how much they value 91老司机 and how much they value the community they formed here. 鈥� For the students, it鈥檚 uplifting to think back on their experiences here. It鈥檚 definitely uplifting for faculty and staff members who participate in judging to hear 鈥� what 91老司机 has meant to its students.鈥�
The annual competition, now in its fourth year, was the brainchild of 91老司机 Chancellor Dr. Terisa Riley when the Writing Center opened in October 2020. Riley offered the prompt the first year. Since then, the Writing Center staff, including the student peer tutors, offered the topics.
This year, the panel of judges considered 15 essays written in response to the prompt: Describe the most transformative relationship you鈥檝e made while at 91老司机.
The Grand Prize winner is Sophia McLain, a senior rhetoric and writing major when she submitted her essay. Sophia wrote about how a chance meeting with a non-traditional student caused her to rethink her attitude about attending her hometown college. In 鈥�91老司机, said like Doofus,鈥� Sophia acknowledges she was a 鈥渏udgmental idiot鈥� who came to understand that 鈥�91老司机 itself was an opportunity; it wasn鈥檛 a limit.鈥�
As a tutor at the Writing Center, Sophia had the opportunity to talk with many students and learn about the unique challenges each student faces.
鈥淚鈥檇 leave these sessions thinking, what a wonderful thing it is to hear a perspective different from your own,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭hen I鈥檇 pause and think how ironic it is that I鈥檝e learned it from a small regional school in Arkansas, and that really, that is what 91老司机 is.鈥�
Sophia won $500 for her grand prize-winning essay.
Mitchell Collins, a junior political science major, wrote the second-place essay. Mitchell wrote about his chaotic life as the son of a 鈥渟oldier father鈥� who moved the family from place to place far too quickly to learn how to develop friendships. Finally, Mitchell, his mother, and his brother landed in Fort Smith 鈥渋n our 15th move of the past decade.鈥�
In Fort Smith and especially at 91老司机, Mitchell learns to form connections, starting with the Bell Tower, which was under repair, the campus green, and the unchanging bricks of Lion Pride Square. From there, he learned to build human relationships, transforming people from 鈥渟uperficial conveniences to genuine friends.鈥�
鈥淢y life has changed forever due to the relationships I鈥檝e had the privilege to grow at 91老司机, and these two years have taught me more than all the days that came before,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭he mentors, friends, and colleagues I鈥檝e found will remain with me always as I choose to fight ever-onward for both my family and for my new family at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith.鈥�
Mitchell was awarded $250 for his entry.
A senior English major, Lyla Flint, wrote the third-place essay about her sometimes challenging but ultimately transformative relationship with literature.
Lyla admits that for years, if she didn鈥檛 like something or didn鈥檛 understand it, she would dismiss it, as she dismissed 鈥淓than Frome,鈥� a work she 鈥渓oathed鈥� and considered 鈥渁 鈥榖ad book.鈥欌�� But now, she says, she has 鈥渁dopted the idea of studying written works as an opportunity for growth, not an educational obligation.鈥�
She talks about learning to value an author鈥檚 life, especially the environment in which they lived, how it is transformed into the book鈥檚 setting, and how the work鈥檚 characters define it.
She has undertaken this sea change because of her experiences as a university student.
鈥淚鈥檒l always be grateful for qualified educators that treat learning as an earned privilege instead of a monotonous burden by providing their students with relevant reading material in place of unwanted pieces that discourage readers from exploring all that the literary world has to offer.鈥�
Lyla received $100 for her essay.
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- College of Health Education and Human Sciences
- Arts and Sciences
- Writing Center