College of Liberal Arts honors students for writing excellence

Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Liberal Arts honored student achievements in writing with 15 writing awards on Friday, March 19. This year marks the 41st year the awards were presented, though the first time the ceremony was held virtually.

Students studying in seven RIT colleges were honored, including Kate Gleason College of Engineering, College of Art and Design, School of Individualized Study, College of Engineering Technology,  College of Science, Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, and College of Liberal Arts.

“These awards recognize exceptional student writers in our RIT community each year,” said LaVerne McQuiller Williams, interim dean of RIT’s College of Liberal Arts. “Our faculty works with many talented students across many disciplines, helping them hone this important skill. We are very proud to honor these 15 winners and bring attention to their outstanding written pieces.”

Faculty committees in each department within the College of Liberal Arts selected student awardees from a number of disciplines whose work embodies the ideals and standards of excellence, creative endeavor, and scholarship.

Awards include the Henry and Mary Kearse Writing Award, created in 1980 thanks to a donation from Henry J. Kearse, founder and president of the construction firm H.J. Kearse Inc., and his wife, Mary, a longtime member of RIT’s Nathaniel Rochester Society.

Other awards are named in honor of Stan McKenzie and Mary C. Sullivan, both esteemed former deans of the College of Liberal Arts.

The 2021 Kearse Award recipients are:

• Julia Provenzano, a 2020 chemical engineering and international and global studies graduate from Milford, Conn., representing the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures for “La vida y obra de Pablo Neruda.”
• Priscilla Nascimento, a first-year film and animation major from Watertown, Conn., representing the School of Communication for “Examination of News Media’s Dehumanization of Undocumented Immigrants.”
• Helayne Drell, a third-year applied arts and sciences major from Roslyn, N.Y., representing the Department of Criminal Justice for “The Unconstitutional Treatment of Pregnant Women in U.S. Correctional Facilities.”
• Damien D’Arcy, a second-year economics major from Pittsford, N.Y., representing the Department of Economics for “Consequences of an Employer Based Health Insurance System.”
• Joseph Armstrong, a fifth-year mechanical engineering technology major from West Bath, Maine, representing the Department of English for “The Middle Way: The Lathe of Heaven and Our Place in Nature.”
• Lee Nicoloro, a fourth-year film and animation major from Redding, Conn., representing the Department of History for “The Ones Left Behind.”
• Zachary Gazzillo, a fourth-year physics major from Schenectady, N.Y., representing the Department of Philosophy for “The Problems of Time and Power: A Case for Avoiding Corporate Cooperation in Environmental Conservation.”
• Michael Vandelune, a third-year political science major from Webster, N.Y., representing the Department of Political Science for “War: From State-Making to State Destabilization.”
• Helen Healy, a third-year psychology major from Montclair, N.J., representing the Department of Psychology for “Bilingual Stroop Interference between Similar and Dissimilar Written Languages.”
• Sinclaire Ogof, a first-year public policy major from Lake Ariel, Pa., representing the Department of Public Policy for “Clean Water Act and how it is Disproportionately Representing American Minorities.”
• Matthias Hausman, a fifth-year mechanical engineering and international and global studies major from Abington Township, Pa., representing the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for “Russian Roulette: Germany’s (and therefore the EU’s) Gamble on Russian Oil.”
• Julia Hotaling, a fourth-year new media interactive development major from New Market, Md., representing the Department of Science, Technology, and Society for “Social Robotics.”

Other 2021 award winners are:

• Carley Visser, a first-year electrical engineering major from Cornelius, N.C., received first prize in the Stan McKenzie Endowed Writing Award for “Spanish-English Dual Language Programs and Identity Formation.”
• Tiana Daye, a first-year human-centered computing major from Dix Hills, N.Y., received second prize in the Stan McKenzie Endowed Writing Award for “The Unscrutinized Division.”
• Frank Abbey, a fifth-year computer science major from Fairport, N.Y., won the Mary C. Sullivan Women & Gender Studies Writing Award for “What Bloodchild Asks of Us.”