Awards and Scholarships
"Shippensburg's English Department is where I grew into the leader I am today with the guidance and instruction of my amazing professors. They helped me develop my writing, public speaking, and leadership skills so I could follow my dreams of becoming a teacher. I'll never forget the impact Ship's had on me and I truly appreciate the time I spent there."
- Angela Neil, '21
Department Awards 2023
Minnick Award, granted to a Sophomore Secondary Education Major: Annikka Stangil
Heiges Award, granted to a Junior: Theresa Weber
Steck Award, granted to a Freshman: Tomi May
Departmental APSCUF Award, granted to an outstanding English major: Alaina Conaway
SU Teacher Education Award - Secondary, granted to a Secondary Ed. Major: Megan Gardenhour
Campus Reflector Award, granted to a Senior: Alaina Conaway
Lindner Award, granted to an English Major who excels in creative writing or prose: Kimberly Braet
Wagner Excellence in Humanities Award, granted to a student that has demonstrated academic success and professional commitment in their field of study: Piper Kull
CAS Dean's Award for the Arts and Humanities, granted to an accomplished student in the area of scholarship and service: Megan Gardenhour
Outstanding English Major
At the conclusion of every academic year, one student in the English department is chosen to receive the Outstanding English Major (OEM) recognition award. This award is given to a student that has demonstrated excellent academic endeavors and achievements within the English major.
Read further for past OEMS. Find out where they are today and what being an English Major provided for them to succeed beyond our hallways.
2022 - Ashleigh Kennedy
2021 - Haley Bennett
2020 - Anna D'Orazio
2019 - Ash Chapman
2018 - Rachel Smith
2017 - Spencer Pechart
Spencer graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education for English and is now working as a sixth grade English Language Arts teacher for the Susquehanna Township School District in Harrisburg. He believes that majoring in English did more than prepare him for his career, but also helped to establish his identity in ways he previously couldn't before attending Shippensburg. Spencer says he learned two important lessons while studying English: there is more to English than grammar and Shakespeare and that the literary side of English is endless and inclusive which allows students to be empowered critical thinkers through literary theory. Spencer credits several in the English department for teaching him a variety of skills including how to craft graduate-level theses, produce polished portfolios, discover teaching philosophies, and approach "adolescent literature" in a more broader spectrum. He firmly believes English is an umbrella of necessary skills for life that will prepare any student to grow and develop appropriately toward the twenty-first century.
2016 - Shelby Sellers
Shelby graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education for English. She believes that majoring in English helped her to come out of her shell, master the art of conversation, and develop a unique writing voice. The program not only helped her gain confidence by allowing her to present ideas efficiently but also helped shaped her goal of working in a classroom one day via her pedagogy courses. She currently works in Chambersburg School District as a Secondary ESL teacher. She teaches 11th and 12th grade English, as well as Reading classes for "newcomer" EL's (meaning that it is their first or second year in the district). She also has an emergency certificate to teach ESL, but will soon begin classes to get her certification and Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language.
Academy of American Poets Poetry Contest
Each Spring, our department hosts an Academy of American Poets Poetry Contest, titled the Laura A. Rice Poetry Prize. Ashleigh Kennedy is our Spring 2022 winner. Congratulations, Ashleigh!
self-portrait as the local legend
by Ashleigh Kennedy
after Mary-Kim Arnold
what you’ve heard about me
just might be true. i am
nobody’s daughter but
my own; nobody knows
where i come from. the days
get hotter, and i spend them
like change, dip my toes
in different dive-bars, sip
my summers among
the strange. silly
humans. they see me dance on knives
and call it art,
mystique. pain, to them,
is mere tragedy.
maybe they’re right. what am i, after all,
but performance? dinner
and a show? but they don’t know
what it means to straddle
an ocean, to strut as if
you’ll never
fall. and here
is my little secret: each night
i answer the moon’s
slow crawl, press
my body into
blue, the slap
of seafoam on
my skin. i name
the river’s mouth
my mother, its kiss
my only next
of kin, and when
the tide drafts a bed
of sand, and the river
merchant calls me
his own, his love for me
a fevered sound, I tell him there is
a catch: you must unearth
me in the sweetest
deep; to love me
you must dream
and drown.