Vanderbilt’s Writing Studio has named the winners of the 2023 Henrietta Hickman Morgan Memorial Award for First-Year Writers.
Established by William Morgan in memory of his wife, the award goes to the first-year student who submits the best sample of original writing. Cash prizes of $200, $150, and $100 are awarded to three students after judges examine submissions.
“The Morgan Award for First-Year Writers gives the university a chance to honor excellence in writing during students’ first year at Vanderbilt. An undergraduate’s first year in college is such a formative time, including the new challenges they face with college writing, and I see this award as providing an incentive for first-year writers to lean into those challenges and dare to grow in and through the writing process,” said John Bradley, director of the Writing Studio and Tutoring Services at Vanderbilt.
This year’s winners are students Megan McGrath, Elizabeth Grimm, Faisal Khreis and Emma Williams.
Beth Estes, academic support coordinator at the Writing Studio and member of the 2023 Morgan Award Selection Committee, said more than 90 submissions showcased the exceptional quality of writing among first-year students.
“The review committee was especially moved by the caliber of our top three papers and honorable mention. Each of these pieces tackles an important and complex question through sophisticated, thoughtful analysis and exemplary writing,” Estes said. “It is clear that each author was eager to submerse themselves into a unique scholarly territory, taking risks both intellectually and creatively. These pieces truly embody the spirit of the Morgan Award, and we cannot wait to watch these thinkers flourish throughout their time at Vanderbilt and beyond.”