USU English Students Win Awards at International Honors Convention

LOGAN — Fifteen undergraduate English students from Utah State University Logan, Vernal, and Ephraim campuses presented at the 100th Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society Convention from April 3-6 and brought home awards in three categories.

Students, accompanied by faculty advisers Christine Cooper-Rompato and Michaelann Nelson, traveled to St. Louis where they delivered roundtable presentations on this year’s common reader — “Then the War” by Pulitzer-prize-winning poet Carl Phillips — as well as individual presentations featuring critical essays and creative writing.

USU student Basil Payne won second prize for original poetry, Kris Carpenter claimed second prize in the category of critical essay in British literature, and Logan’s Rho Tau chapter tied for second prize for best chapter display. In addition, Nelson was elected to the board of regents for the international organization.

At the close of the jam-packed conference, students reflected on how much they had learned from attending paper sessions, workshops, lectures and readings, as well as from delivering their own papers. For new convention attendees, it was the first time most had presented their work in front of an audience not comprised of their peers.

April Allbee, a first-time attendee from Ephraim, said: “This conference has had a profound impact on me. I feel like I have finally found my people.”

Allbee was one of many to say the convention helped them to connect with students from other universities.

Logan student Ariel Longoria also attended the honor society conference for the first time.

“This conference made me confident in my place as an English major,” Longoria said. “I can’t wait to work on a paper for next year’s conference.”

Returning conferencegoer Aimee Olson said: “Attending the annual Sigma Tau Delta Convention is one of my favorite undergraduate experiences. … It’s given me the opportunity to travel to new places … engage in collaborative learning … (and) hone my writing.”

USU Conference Roundtables:

• “Zoopoetics in ‘Then the War’: Animals and Chimeras” Roundtable: April Allbee (Ephraim), Shayna Butler (Logan), Dakota Mecham (Vernal), Aimee Olson (Logan), Beth Pace (Logan), chaired by Kris Carpenter (Logan)
• “The Queer Forest in ‘Then the War’” Roundtable: Zachary Brady (Logan), Kris Carpenter (Logan), Basil Payne (Logan), Kaylee Jo Stocks; chaired by Preston Waddoups (Logan)
• “Liminal Love in ‘Then the War’” Roundtable: William Clark (Logan), Ariel Longoria (Logan), Ashleigh Sabin (Logan), Zada Stephens (Logan), Katharine Tesar (Southern Utah University), chaired by Aimee Olson (Logan)

USU Individual Presentations:

• “Favorite Color” (creative nonfiction), Zach Brady (Logan)
• “The Justice of Giving in Shakespeare's ‘King Lear’” (critical essay, award winner), Kris Carpenter (Logan)
• “Screaming, Suicidality, and Cilantro” (fiction), Aimee Olson (Logan)
• “Queerness in Nature” (poetry, award winner), Basil Payne (Logan)
• “Letters to You and Other Obsessive Endeavors” (poetry), Ashleigh Sabin (Logan)
• “Double Lives in Queer Classic Literature” (critical essay), Sierra Slaugh (Logan)
• “Cather, Connection, and Modernism” (critical essay), Preston Waddoups (Logan)

USU Sigma Tau Delta students would like to thank the Department of English, the Office of Undergraduate Research, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Honors Program, and the Center for Intersectional Gender and Research Studies, as well as statewide offices in Vernal and Ephraim, for making this conference possible.