Humanities Don Rothman Writing Award Don Rothman founded the Don Rothman Endowed Award in First-Year Writing, to honor the achievements of one or more first-year students in the genre of nonfiction, academic, analytic writing, and to recognize excellence in writing pedagogy. A team of Writing Program Faculty determine the winning submissions, including honorable mentions.
First Place: Alma Morales “Nina de Mexico, Student of America-Daughter of Nowhere” As an avid writer I always found my greatest struggles arose when the subject of my discourse was myself. The prospect of embarking on a long paper full of self-examination was a daunting task: to describe my experience straddling two cultures—as a Mexican, an American, and a woman. I knew that my response to Instructor Carter’s prompt would be as messy and complicated as its subject matter. Writing “Nina de Mexico, Student of America- Daughter of Nowhere” resurfaced many old memories, insecurities, and inner conflicts. But reading Anzaldua and Sartre helped me to structure and define my identity. Winning this award has been a great honor for me. Thank you, Instructor Steve Carter and the Rothman Endowment for valuing the skills of a small town writer who is proud of her work and now confident in her writing capabilities.
Second Place: Jeremiah Tsyporin “The Mega University” In high school I had the attitude that if I did well in mathematics and sciences, there would be no need to write well. I shudder when I imagine my old mindset. I remember receiving my first C, in English; and on a progress report I once received a D- in History because I failed the main writing assignment. Yet after coming to UCSC, I entered Maggie Amis’ class enthusiastic and confident about writing for the first time in my life. I began writing about issues that interested me, and I was able to develop my own unique writing voice and style. When I read about massive online education the fire was really ignited in me. For how can the humanities be taught without person-to-person discussion, and live feedback from a professor?
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