Blinn College-Schulenburg celebrates exceptional writing with its Emerging Writers Contest
Six students receive honors in academic writing, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry categories
May 6, 2019
Six Blinn College students recently were recognized from more than 114 entries in the eighth annual Blinn College-Schulenburg Campus Emerging Writers Contest.
Suzanne Osborne placed first and Connor Blahuta placed second in academic writing, Braden Meyer placed first and Noah Centeno placed second in fiction, Mona Desselle placed first and Osborne placed second in non-fiction, and Osborne placed first and Scott Wenske placed second in poetry.
“I am so happy that this contest allows students to be recognized for their talent and encourages them to build off of it,” Professor Audrey Wick said. “This contest is a good way for students to extend their learning outside of class, get everybody involved on campus, and practice the skills that we have been teaching them.”
The winning papers can be found at www.blinn.edu/emerging-writers. Writing from past winners also can be found on the website.
This year, Osborne was named a winner in three categories for “The Digital Soapbox,” “A Pink Skirt,” and “Ancestor.”
“I am so excited to be a winner in three categories, especially since I decided to go to college later in life,” freshman Suzanne Osborne said. “To come back to college and be honored like this means a lot to me. I have always written for myself, but the best part about this contest is getting to share all these little pieces of me and being recognized by others who thought it had merit.”
The annual contest is open to all students who have taken a Blinn-Schulenburg course within the past academic year, including dual credit or continuing education courses.
This year’s event welcomed guest speaker Beth Wiseman, the best selling author of the Daughters of the Promise, Land of Canaan, the Amish Secrets, and the Amish Journeys series. Having sold over two million books, her novels have held spots on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller List, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Bestseller List, and the Christian Book Association Bestseller List. She was the recipient of the prestigious Carol Award in 2011 and 2013, is a three-time winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and recipient of the coveted Holt Medallion.
“I love being part of this contest because it pushes students to be their best and I want to mentor every writer who has the potential to take their talent somewhere,” Wiseman said. “I still enter writing contests because when you do you become aware of every word and every sentence that you write. This year’s writers really stood out to me as outstanding.”
Blinn-Schulenburg offers a variety of academic transfer, workforce training, and continuing education classes to fit the needs of any student. For information on course offerings and student registration, visit www.blinn.edu/schulenburg-campus or call 979-743-5200.
