RIT honors students for writing excellence

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A. Sue Weisler

Winners of the 36th Henry and Mary Kearse Distinguished Lecture and Student Writing Awards, with RIT College of Liberal Arts Dean James Winebrake, center, and distinguished lecturer David Swiencicki Martins, second from right.

RIT’s College of Liberal Arts honored student achievement in writing on Friday with the presentation of the 2016 Henry and Mary Kearse Distinguished Lecture and Student Writing Award Ceremony.

“This is our big event of the year where we honor students in each of our programs who have done some outstanding writing in classes in the College of Liberal Arts,” said Dean James Winebrake. “It really allows us to recognize and celebrate the good work of our students.”

Winebrake also said the awards are also a good reflection of the faculty.

“There’s not a prouder moment in a faculty member’s career than to see one of their students win an award like this,” he said.

It was the 36th year the awards have been presented. Faculty committees in each department within the College of Liberal Arts select student awardees from a variety of disciplines whose work embodies the ideals and standards of excellence, creative endeavor and scholarship.

This year’s Kearse Award recipients are:

• Natalie Paskoski, a fourth-year advertising and public relations major from Finksburg, Md., representing the School of Communication, with “Bein’ the Girl in a Country Song.”
• Avanelle St. Bernard, a fourth-year criminal justice major from Brooklyn, N.Y., representing the Department of Criminal Justice, with “Title IX: Sexual Misconduct.”
• Michael Guesev, a second-year economics major from Scarborough, Maine, representing the Department of Economics, with “Wex, Inc.: Strategic Position and Future Projects.”
• Maria Nadeau, a first-year biochemistry major from Lancaster, N.H., representing the Department of English, with “My Favorite Place.”
• Melissa Fanton, a fourth-year museum studies major from Henrietta, N.Y., won two awards: representing the Department of History with “The Cornerstone of Peace: Peace, War and Post-War Politics;” and representing the Department of Performing Arts and Visual Culture with “Guerilla Girls: The Difficulty of Maintaining Objectivity.”
• Rafael Lopez, a fifth-year software engineering major from Katy, Texas, and Sarathi Hansen, a fifth-year computer science major from East Elmhurst, N.Y., representing the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, with “The First Day of My College.”
• Alexander Flavin, a second-year double major in biochemistry and philosophy, from, Conneautville, Pa., representing the Department of Philosophy, with “Hume in Japan.”
• Brian Palamar, a third-year political science major from Webster, N.Y., representing the Department of Political Science, with “The Weakest Branch: An Auxiliary Precaution, Publius’ Account of the Judiciary and Judicial Review.”
• Ciara Lutz, a third-year psychology major from Webster, N.Y., representing the Department of Psychology, with “The Knee-Jerk Reaction: Automaticity and Attention in Modified Stroop Tasks.”
• Matthew Anauo, a first-year electrical engineering major from Elba, N.Y., representing the Department of Public Policy, with “Rethinking Third-Party Doctrine for the Digital Era.”
• Kevin Kha, a second-year imaging science major from Chili, N.Y., representing the Department of Science, Technology and Society, with “Pollen Essay.”
• Brianna Larson, a fourth-year double major in international and global studies and political science, from Stockton, Mo., representing the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, with “In Defense of the Syrian Refugee: Assessing Actual vs. Perceived Risk in Syrian Resettlement.”

The awards were 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.

Also, the Stanley McKenzie Endowed Writing Prize for first-year students, funded by and named for RIT’s former provost and member of the English department, was awarded to Ethelia Lung, a new media design major from Hong Kong, whose essay “Nurturing Discipline,” earned her first place. Second place was awarded to Corinne Green, a game design and development major from Los Gatos, Calif., who wrote “Timed Writing Assessments: How They Are Useless.”

This year’s distinguished lecturer at the ceremony was David Swiencicki Martins, director of the University Writing Program and associate professor in the Department of English, who spoke about “The Liberal Arts: An Invitation to Revise” at the ceremony.