On Friday, Oct. 2, the Paul W. Ward ’25 Memorial Prize was presented at Twilight Hall auditorium, honoring 74 members of the classes of 2018 and 2018.5. Led by Writing Center director, Mary Ellen Bertolini, Friday’s hour-long ceremony highlighted the many ways in which students are taught to communicate clearly and effectively through writing in all areas of academic life at the College.
The Paul W. Ward ’25 Memorial Prize was established 37 years ago by his widow, Dorothy Cate Ward ’28, to feature writing that employs, as she put it, “precise and exact usage of words, exact meanings, phrases expressed lucidly and gracefully.” All nominees of the prize are invited by the Writing Center to train as peer writing tutors. In addition, the two runners-up and the winner receive cash prizes of $250 and $500, respectively. In an impressive display of the diversity of academic pursuits on campus, this year’s ceremony featured papers on criminal justice, street art, philosophy, linguistics, the nature sciences and much more, ranging in format from scholarly research articles to personal narratives.
Despite these far-reaching fields of study, this year’s judges – Vicki Backus of the biology department, Ellery Foutch of the American Studies department and Director of Academic Technology Bill Koulopoulos – were tasked with selecting writing pieces that communicate with precision and grace. As such, the prize continues to champion the merits of good writing across all fields of academic study.
As Bertolini expressed in her opening speech at Friday’s ceremony, “when Middlebury College committed itself to requiring writing in courses throughout the curriculum, we committed ourselves to an idea about the place of writing in a liberal arts education.”
Following the opening remarks, the honorable mention awards were presented to Naomi Eisenburg ’18, Robert Erickson ’18 and Gabe Weisbuch ’18. As the three nominating faculty members handed over the certificates, each professor spoke of a moment in which they were struck by the quality of their candidate’s writing. Whatever differences existed amongst the papers, each student was able to captivate the reader’s attention and elevate the content of the work through clear, impactful and effective communication.
This point became especially clear to the audience during the presentation of the runner-up awards, as winners were called upon to read a condensed version of their works, following a brief introduction by their respective nominating professors. Sawyer Crosby ’18 shared “The Depletion of Groundwater Reserves in the Rio Laja Watershed,” incorporating social and political elements into an otherwise strictly environmental paper. In this way, what may have been inaccessible to audiences unfamiliar with this subject area became relevant and comprehensible. As an audience member with no prior understanding of this region or its environmental features, I found the piece to be fascinating, made engaging by Crosby’s style and dedication to the principles of effective writing.
The personal narrative “I Used to Play the Harp,” written by Morgan Grady-Benson ’18, was also the recipient of the runner-up prize. Culled from recent life experiences, Grady-Benson’s paper dealt primarily with hardship and loss, making sense of a series of diverse, complex life experiences through thoughtful reflection. Her story captivated the audience in a style that rang clear and powerful throughout the auditorium.
First-place winner, Nina Colombotos ’18, offered yet another illuminating piece of writing in a unique academic arena. Her paper, entitled “Stand Your Ground: A Southern History Meets Modern Law,” brought a broad historical-social context to modern-day criminal cases related to the “Stand Your Ground” law. In connecting these significant current events to a long and complex cultural history of the south, Colombotos succeeded in unpacking a realm of criminal justice in ways both insightful and relevant.
The three writers honored by the Paul W. Ward Prize, as well as the 69 nominees and two honorable mention recipients, represent only a fraction of all Middlebury students who continually hone their writing skills in a diverse array of academic settings. The works of these particular students demonstrate the qualities of effective writing, and highlight why such writing is important. As Mary Ellen Bertolini stated in her opening remarks, “Those colleagues who are shaping the course of the future are the communicators.”
Ward Prize Honors Excellence in Writing
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