2023-2024 Writing Award Winners

Congratulations to the recipients of the 31st Annual UCI Writing Awards!

The UCI Office of the Campus Writing & Communication Coordinator, the Composition Program, the Humanities Core, and the Department of English are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2023-2024 UCI Undergraduate Writing Contests.

The winners will be honored in a Writing Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 16, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Humanities Gateway 1030.

The John Hollowell Composition Program Awards

Navya M. Gowda

Navya M. Gowda

Instructor: Jennifer Geraci, Writing 40 & 45 Assistant Course Director, Department of English

Writing 40 (Intro to Writing and Rhetoric) Exemplary ePortrolio Award

Yunuo (Daisy) Ma

Yunuo (Daisy) Ma

Instructor: Tagert Ellis, Lecturer, Department of English

Writing 45 (Intensive Writing) Exemplary ePortfolio Award
Jaanika Velliste

Jaanika Velliste

Instructor: Louise McCune, Associate Instructor, Department of English

Writing 50 (Critical Reading and Rhetoric) Exemplary ePortfolio Award
Divya Boora

Divya Boora

Instructor: Javiera Letelier, Lecturer, Department of English

Writing 60 (Argument and Research) Exemplary ePortfolio Award

The Nora Folkenflik Memorial Essay Awards

Lexus Clark

Lexus Clark

Instructor: Cole Morgan, Assistant Professor, Department of English

Best Essay in English 15 Course

Simon Li

Simon Li

Instructor: Susan Morse, Lecturer, Humanities Core

Best Essay in Humanities Core Course


Brianna Smith

Brianna Smith

Instructor: Natasha Synycia, Lecturer, Humanities Core

The Humanities Core Outstanding Website Project in Multimodal Writing Award

Sammy Ismet Merabet

Sammy Ismet Merabet

Instructor: Claire Watkins, Professor, Department of English

The Ariel Miranda Caldwell Memorial Short Story Award

Celeste Webb

Celeste Webb

The Bret Baldwin Memorial Poetry Award
Elaine Vinh

Elaine Vinh

The Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Poetry
Clarissa Gao

Clarissa Gao

The James McMichael Prize for Excellence in Poetry

Brian Hoang Nguyen

Brian Hoang Nguyen

Instructor: Annie McClanahan, Associate Professor, Department of English

The Howard Babb Memorial Essay Award
Jasmine Desai

Jasmine Desai

Instructor: Amy Wilentz, Professor, Department of English

The Literary Journalism Writing Award

The Upper-Division Writing Awards

Sky Hayden

Sky Hayden

Instructor: Kyle Grady, Assistant Professor, Department of English

Award for Excellent Upper-Division Academic Writing in Humanities and Arts

Sergio Guil

Sergio Guil

Instructor: Judith Stepan-Norris, Professor Emerita, Department of Sociology

Award for Excellent Upper-Division Academic Writing in Social Sciences and Social Ecology
Meili Soriano

Meili Soriano

Instructor: Celia Symons, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Award for Excellent Upper-Division Academic Writing in Science and Technology

Babak Azadgilani

Babak Azadgilani

Instructor: Judith Stepan-Norris, Professor Emerita, Department of Sociology

Award for Best Public or Professional Writing

Matt Sereno

Matt Sereno

English 105: American Indian Autobiography with Alicia Carroll English 16: The Craft of Poetry with Rebecca Schultz Literary Journalism 103: The Literature of Memoir with Amy Wilentz Literary Journalism 101: The History and Ethics of Literary Journalism with Barry Siegel and Bridget Winifred O’Reilly

Award for Best Writing Portfolio