Nearly 150 writing enthusiasts recently came together on the Wayne College campus for the annual University of Akron Wayne College Writers Workshop. The workshop gives writers a chance to sharpen their skills as well as receive awards for exceptional writing. The competition recognizes students from area high schools, Wayne College students and regional writers for projects they submitted at the end of the fall semester.
High school writers competed in poetry, short story or personal essay categories; college writers wrote poetry or personal essay works; regional writing competitors submitted poetry, short story or nonfiction pieces. The winners in each category received a monetary prize and complimentary registration to the April 2 workshop event.
In the high school poetry category, Tyler Raber of Wadsworth High School won first place with “The Nature I Cannot See.” Lexy Marrin of Wadsworth High School was awarded second place for “See It.” Third-place honors went to Sarah Maxon of Wadsworth High School for “Winter.” There were two honorable mentions this year: McKay Cavanaugh of Wadsworth High School for “A Lesson on Imagination” and Nellie Turner of Loudonville High School for “1,000 Words.”
In the high school short story category, first place went to Anna Chen, who attends Copley High School, for “Six Steps to God.” The second-place awards went to Andrea Giffin of Wooster High School for “Archie Smith, The One.” Allen Liew of Wooster High School took third place with “A Simple Closure.”
Bethany Kaufman of Tri-County International Academy was the first-place winner in the high school personal essay category with “One of the Beautiful People.” Also from Tri-County International Academy, Kristen Schmid placed second for “Don’t Wish Your Life Away.” Kat Meade of Smithville High School received third place for “Don’t Do Meth” and honorable mention went to Demi White for “More Alike, Than Different.”
In the college poetry division, Kristen Brown received the first place award for “To Prepare for the New Year.” Darlene Mullett of Doylestown received the second place award for “Beholder” and also the third-place award for “Go Away.”
In the college personal essay division, Heather Holmes took first place with “Wings to Fly.” Tannya Forcone won second place with “Women’s Work”, and “The Couch Pillows” earned Casey Vancil the third-place award.
In the regional awards poetry category, Denice Hazlett of Millersburg won first place for “Glass of Milk”. Heather Hunter of Medina won second place with “r.j.h.,” and Ryan Mohr from Shreve won the third-place award for “The Space Between You & I”. Three honorable mentions were awarded in this category: Sue Spirit of West Salem for “Elephant Magic,” Joe Cheslock from Cuyahoga Falls for “An Uneventful Day,” and Daniel Hunter of Medina for “Hawkeye’s Sanity Walk”.
In the regional awards short story category, Denice Hazlett took first place for “Bradbury”. Melinda S. Neuhauser of Burbank was awarded second place for “Jeb”. Third-place honors went to Ryan Mohr for “Waiting”.
Denice Hazlett was also the first place winner in the regional nonfiction category with “Gary the Giant”. Melinda S. Neuhauser placed second with “Healing a Child’s Soul,” and Sandy Bee Lynn of Doylestown received third place for “Letters from Vietnam.”
Regarding Hazlett’s trio of first-place awards, Wayne College Dean Jack Kristofco says, “It’s the first time in the eleven-year history of the Writing Awards that a single person has taken three first-place awards. With the number of entries and the quality of the work that we receive, it’s an impressive achievement indeed, demonstrating Denice’s skill as a well-rounded writer.”
Wayne College is the regional campus of The University of Akron, offering associate degrees, a baccalaureate degree in organizational supervision, a Saturday MBA program, and the first two years of general studies courses for students who plan to complete their degrees at the Akron campus or other colleges or universities. In addition, Wayne College prepares students for a variety of paraprofessional and technical careers and offers a wide range of continuing education and workforce development programming.