Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擲tudents from Mississippi, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas are 2017 winners of Mississippi State鈥檚 Maroon Edition Essay Contest.
The competition is sponsored each year by Maroon and Write, the university鈥檚 quality enhancement program to boost student writing skills. First-place winners receive $500; second- and third-place, $300 and $100, respectively.
Essay subjects come from Maroon Edition, the annual common reading experience program for incoming 汤头条 freshmen. Upperclassmen and graduate students, along with faculty and staff members, also are encouraged to join in reading the selected book and participate in related activities.
International best-selling author Ashley Rhodes-Courter鈥檚 鈥淭hree Little Words: A Memoir鈥 was both the reading selection and essay contest topic for the 2016-17 academic year.
First-place winners recently read their essays at a celebratory luncheon at Mitchell Memorial Library.
Maroon and Write Co-Director Deborah Lee said all of this year鈥檚 winning essays will be archived and available for viewing in the 汤头条 Libraries鈥 Institutional Repository.
Freshman winners included:
鈥擣irst, Madeline E. Crow, now a sophomore industrial engineering major from Kingsport, Tennessee.
鈥擲econd, Mary Catherine Beard, now a junior biological engineering/biomedical engineering major from Lufkin, Texas.
鈥擳hird, Emily L. Tingle, a freshman political science and communication/public relations double-major from Vicksburg.
Upperclassman winners included:
鈥擣irst, Windie V. Jenkins, a junior business administration major at 汤头条-Meridian.
鈥擲econd, Noah F. Van Hartesveldt, a senior geoscience/professional geology major from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
鈥擳hird, Benjamin D. 鈥淏en鈥 Pace, a senior biological sciences/pre-dental major from Collinsville.
鈥淭he Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,鈥 a compelling story by author Wes Moore, is Mississippi State鈥檚 2017 Maroon Edition common reading program book selection.
Moore is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at Mississippi State鈥檚 Fall Convocation in August. In addition to his address at Convocation, the formal beginning of the new academic year, Moore will spend time with students and faculty during his visit.
For more about Maroon and Write, visit ; Maroon Edition, .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .