F&M Stories
First-Year Students Honored for Excellence in Writing
Three Franklin & Marshall College first-year students were recently recognized for their exemplary writing across a wide range of subjects they discovered through their Connections courses, which are explicitly designed to help new students explore and answer complex questions related to real-world issues.
Guan Wang ’29 submitted the winning entry in the Phyllis C. Whitesell Prize for Excellence in First-Year Writing contest, garnering him a $200 prize. He originally wrote the piece, “Systematic Vulnerability: Why Epidemiology Must Incorporate Social Ecology,” for his course, “Conceptualizing Community,” taught by Associate Professor of Sociology and Ware College House Don Ashley Rondini. The Whitesell Prize is administered by F&M’s Writing Center.
“I wasn’t expecting to win. Don Rondini encouraged me to submit it, so I said, ‘let’s try this out,’” Wang said.
As an aspiring physician, his motivation is to look more closely at the social and cultural aspects of the predominantly science-centered field of health care.“I want to change people’s lives. We need to change how we study the topic in order to better monitor how we manage public health,” he said.
Guan Wang ’29 submitted the winning entry in the Phyllis C. Whitesell Prize for Excellence in First-Year Writing contest.
Brynn Harrison ’29 received an Honorable Mention for her submission, “Colombian Transitional Justice.”
Devin Mitchell ’29 received an Honorable Mention for his submission of an untitled performance piece script.
Two students received honorable mentions and $75 prizes.
Brynn Harrison ’29 submitted “Colombian Transitional Justice,” written for the course “National Reckonings,” taught by Professor of Government Jennifer Kibbe.
Devin Mitchell ’29 submitted an untitled performance piece script written for the course “Solo Performance Art,” taught by Associate Professor of Theatre and Theatre Program Co-Director Rachel Anderson-Rabern.
Justin Hopkins, director of the Writing Center, said there were 24 total entries. Five tutors narrowed the field to 12, then a panel of four judges decided the winning entry and two honorable mentions. The judges were Writing Center tutors Megan Corry ’28 and Nikhita Kuntipuram ’28, Kibbe, and Senior Teaching Professor of Geosciences Tim Bechtel.
The prize is named for Phyllis Whitesell, who directed the Writing Center from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s.
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