Students honored in Jo Cleveland Writing Contest
Several students were honored in the 45th Annual Jo Cleveland Creative Writing Contest at a formal ceremony on campus March 24.The contest honors excellence in student authorship at Harding each year. This year’s winners included:
• Mark Kellermeyer, a sophomore computer science major – first place in the poetry category with his entry “Psalm of the Pleasant Lane”
• Lauren Thompson, a junior English major – second place in the poetry category with her entry “Snowflake Pieces”
• Barrett Smith, a junior English major – third place in poetry with his entry “A Time for Big Apples”
• Kendall Stevens, a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology major – first place in the nonfiction category with her entry “Inspiration” and honorable mention for “Yellow Tears;” honorable mention in the poetry category for “America the Beautiful?”
• Ethan Bundy, a junior painting major – third place in the fiction category with his entry $30,000.00” and honorable mention in the poetry category for “Time, Treasure, Sin and Sustenance”
• Lucas Nossaman, a senior English major – first place in the fiction category with his entry “The Old Teacher and Courage” and second place in the fiction category for “Randy and His Land”
• Daniel Kiser, a senior biology major – second place in the nonfiction category with his entry “Sustainability”
• Lauren Bucher, a senior print journalism major – third place in the nonfiction category with her entry “Jump”
Three different sets of three judges evaluated entries for each section of the contest including nonfiction, fiction and poetry. In each set of judges, there were two from the English department and one from outside the department. This year, the judges evaluated more than 41 entries from 20 different student writers.
“The contest and awards are named for Dr. Jo Cleveland, who taught English at Harding from 1966 to her retirement in 1982. During her tenure she demanded excellence but also inspired it. These awards honoring student achievement also honor her life and work,” said Dr. Stephanie Eddleman, assistant professor of English at Harding and director of the contest.
The winning entries and honorable mentions are published in “Shapes and Names,” published yearly by the Harding English Department.