We’re proud to recognize the incredible talent, hard work, and dedication of our students and instructors. Here is the list of the 2026 Ҵý English Awards winners.
Distinguished Guest Speaker: Featured Alumna Lauren Grant (’20)
Scholarships:
- The David Scott Sutelan Memorial Scholarship: Charles Rhodes
- Perry Morgan Fellows: Ella Smith and Maddy Terlep
- Friends of the MFA Program Scholarship: Madison Britt
- Jerri Fuller Dickseski Endowed MA in English Scholarship: Michael Burdette
- Joan Argyle Shambaugh Graduate Scholarship in English: Dahlia Perez
Ҵý College Poetry Prize Winners:
- Graduate Honorable Mentions: “I like,” by Evelyn Griffith; “abecedarian while on hold with,” by Winnie Wong
- Graduate Runner-up: “What discerns the desperate from the willing?” by Megan A. Pastore
- Graduate Winner: “Inspecting the Crabs,” by Gabriela A. Igloria
- Undergraduate Runner-up: “Slip,” by Esidra Swift
- Undergraduate Winner: “May you never exist to learn my language,” by Kalea Brasfield
Sigma Tau Delta Inductees:
- Eryn Anderson
- Emily Dubicke
- Jorja Connelley
- Cassidy Fernandez
- Ashton Marten
- Laney Overholt
- Kyla (Ky) Phillips
- Grace Reaves
- Morgan Robinson
- Sam Saunders
- Ash Thomas
Undergraduate Critical Essay Winner:
Breyanah Drayton for “Deconstructing ‘Fight Club’ Through Eagleton and Norton”
Undergraduate Curriculum Design, Teacher Research, Practitioner Writing Competition:
Asli Peri Ergur for “Innovative Teaching Ideas”
Undergraduate Applied Linguistics Research Paper Competition:
Natalie Hillinger for “Ethnography”
Dickseski Fiction Prize Winners (2025):
- Undergraduate Winner: Shane Green, “Down with Delivery Boy”
- Graduate Honorable Mention: A.J. Miller, “Hunger”
- Graduate Winner: Rebekah Sanderlin, “Jump to Recipe”
The Diane Zinna Creative Nonfiction Prize:
- Undergraduate Honorable Mention: Jeremy Phillips, “A Pleasant Walk Alone”
- Undergraduate Winner: Madison Delbrugge, “Laurel Highlands”
- Graduate Honorable Mention: Matt Holsopple, “A View of the Box”
- Graduate Winner: Jerome Newsome, “Bites”
Benjamin Equitan Jr. Essay Prize:
- Honorable Mentions: “I Am Not Enough” by Janice G. Estepa and “Ben Equitan Essay” by Jessica Anne M. Villaluna
- Winner: “Threading Tides” by Kennice Balmoria
Outstanding First-Year Teacher:
Megan Pastore
Outstanding GTA Teaching Award:
Matt Holsopple
University GTA Award:
Helen Peluso
Outstanding Tutor:
Dana Broadus and Sydney Walker
Outstanding Student(s) in English:
Natalie Hillinger and Ash Thomas