Department Awards

2025

Greetings from the Department Chair

Dan Beachy-Quick

  • Professor
  • Interim Chair &
  • Undergraduate Coordinator
  • University Distinguished Teaching Scholar

Dear Friends of the English Department,

I love it that our annual Awards Celebration occurs as the crab-apple and plum trees are in bloom, the tulips are open, and the daffodils are only beginning to look back down at the ground from which they so recently sprung. It’s also the time of year where we all look back at the year that has passed, wondering how it could be that August turned so quickly into late April. The work we’ve labored at for all these months has come into blossom, and we reserved two hours on April 21, 2025 to join together as a community and celebrate all that’s worth celebrating.

Our students gained honors of many kinds, which you'll learn of below, in the Department, College, and University. We love cheering on their successes, and we also understand how each individual success is nourished by a community of staff and faculty whose large care is necessary to our students’ growth. This year we also took time to celebrate the whole Department, naming the names of those nominated for awards, yes, but more largely, offering our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has made this year a vital one for us all.

Our Scholarship Committee deserves a singular thanks: thank you Tatiana Nekrasova-Beker, Maurice Irvin, and Debra Walker, for your care, attention, and time. Thank you to Tom Conway and Tobi Jacobi, for helping widen the scope of our celebratory vision. And thank you Sheila Dargon, without whom, this event wouldn’t occur.

To our kind donors who make these scholarships possible, I hope the happiness that fills our hearts also fills yours: your generosity makes what we do possible.

May is not far away. (That’s a little like a one-line poem, isn’t it?)

May is not far away, but I’m glad it’s not here yet, if only for this small chance to greet and thank the colleagues, students, friends, and family who have gathered around these happy hours—happy hours the work and care of many years has made possible.

Sincerely,

Dan Beachy-Quick
Interim Chair, English

Undergraduate Creative & Performing Arts Scholarship Awards

Fiction

Mikayla Crotchett

Mikayla Crotchett

"Things Left to the Dirt"

 

Bear Atwood

Bear Atwood

"Servals, Collies, and Okapi"

Jessie Strong

Jessie Strong

"The Decent”

Mandy Gonzales

Mandy Gonzales

"A Reflection of the Past"

Creative Nonfiction

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

Addison Mitchell

“Digging to Italy”

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

Fiona Mayes

“Oversharing"

Max Pohl

Max Pohl

"Beelzebub and Black Holes"

Poetry

Stella Van Buskirk

Stella Van Buskirk

“winter,” “picture day,” “Introduction to Astronomy,” “that i must love stella,” “Anonymous is a Woman.”

 

Kelly Hobbick

Kelly Hobbick

“The Fallout of a Nuclear Family,” “Temporary Ichor,” “And We Walk After.”

Mae Ferry

Mae Ferry

“Split Seconds: Four ways of Seeing American,” “Daily science,” “Sonata: mornings on a phone.”

Department Scholarships and Fellowships

Recipients of department scholarships and fellowships receive a certificate, inscription on the departmental perpetual plaque, and scholarship or fellowship funding. Current students select a faculty member to say a few words about them and to present the award. The following students received scholarships for 25-26.

Riley Bashkin

The Diane Keating Woodcox and Larry G. Woodcox Scholarship

Endowed by an alumna of the English department, this scholarship is awarded to a full-time junior or senior undergraduate major with an overall minimum 2.5 GPA. The student must have held gainful employment or have participated in a paid or unpaid internship and exhibit exceptional focus and determination as a student. Preference is given to a graduate of a Colorado high school. This year’s recipient is Riley Bashkin.

Will Engle

The Judith A. Dean Memorial English  Scholarship

This scholarship was created in memory of Judith A. Dean, a graduate in the master’s program in the Department of English, and prominent professional in the English teaching field and the organizations that support it.  Judith Dean earned an MAT at Colorado State in 1978 and taught at high schools in Colorado, Idaho, and New Mexico.  She served two terms as President of the Colorado Language Arts Society, and several years on the Society’s executive committee—strong measures of her prominence in public education in Colorado. The recipient is Will Engle.

 

Mae Ferry

The Sarah Sandra Collins Creative Writing Memorial Scholarship

Sarah Sandra Collins attended Colorado State University in 1970 and 1971. She discontinued her studies in Psychology and English to become a CSU police officer, due to lack of funds and a desire to help people. Sarah was a profoundly honest and courageous person with great loyalty and generosity towards those she loved. Undaunted by difficult decisions in her work or personal life, she sometimes found herself enmeshed in controversy…an African American poetry writing police sergeant who converted to Orthodox Judaism in her thirties. She wrote poetry and short stories, serious and whimsical, throughout her life. The purpose of this Scholarship is to provide financial assistance for a CSU full-time undergraduate student and encouragement for the lifelong pursuit of creative writing. This year’s recipient is Mae Ferry.

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

The O’Connor-Miller Scholarship

This annual scholarship is given by an alumna of the English department and parent of a former CSU student who studied electrical engineering, computer science, and string bass performance. The recipient of this award must be a full-time graduate or undergraduate student, or a part-time graduate or undergraduate enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts in the Department of English. The recipient is Ava Richardson.

Isabel Blosser

The Donna Weyrick Memorial Scholarship

The Donna Weyrick Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of Donna Weyrick, a 1962 graduate of the Department of English. This endowed scholarship for undergraduates is made possible by contributions from the Weyrick family and friends. This year’s recipients is Isabel Blosser.

Gwynnivere Riethoven

The Smith-Schamberger-Swinson Literature Fellowship

The Smith-Schamberger Literature Fellowship is given to a new or returning full-or part-time graduate student in the MA literature program. The recipient is Gwynnivere Riethoven.

English Department Legacy Scholarship

This annual scholarship prioritizes support for  high-performing undergraduate and graduate students to finish their degree.

Bear Atwood

Bear Atwood

Amirhossein Nobarian

The TEFL/TESL Scholarship

Funded by the INTO CSU English Language Program, the TEFL/TESL Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student in the TEFL/TESL graduate program. The recipient is Amirhossein Nobarian.

Emily Owens

The Cross-Cultural Understanding Scholarship

The Cross-Cultural Understanding Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding graduate student who has demonstrated a commitment to international/cross-cultural issues and education. The recipient is Emily Owens.

Shema Akter

The James J. Garvey Graduate English Language Scholarship

This award is given in memory of Professor James Garvey. It is presented annually to a graduate student in their second semester or beyond in the TEFL/TESL graduate program, or a student in the Rhetoric and Composition or English Education graduate programs. The recipient must have shown a strong interest in advanced language study. Recipients of this award may be first-generation students. The recipient is Shema Akter.

Yesica Martin Felipe

The James J. Garvey Undergraduate English Language Scholarship

This award is also given in memory of Professor James Garvey, and presented annually to an undergraduate student who has a documented interest and coursework in the study of the English language. Recipients of this award also demonstrate a commitment to diversity in education and may be first-generation students. The recipient is Yesica Martin Felipe.

The Ann Osborn Zimdahl Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded in memory of Ann Osborn Zimdahl, a 1981 graduate of the CSU MA TEFL/TESL program.  Ann taught in the Intensive English Program and contributed to the international community of the university and Fort Collins.  Her career also extended overseas where she held several different teaching appointments. Ann was strongly committed to cross-cultural understanding and enthusiastically shared her love of new cultures with her students both here and abroad. There were a total of two recipients this year.

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

The first award is for an outstanding graduate student in the TEFL/TESL program who is committed to international education and language teaching in support of the second year of study. The first recipient is Uchenna Nwagbara.

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

The next award is given to an outstanding graduate student in any program in English. The recipient is Steven Zimmer.

The Karyn L. Evans Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students in memory of Karyn L. Evans, an alumna of the English department, and is created through a gift from her estate. The recipients are Medhaa Lakshman, Katherine White, Leslie Rae Means, and Joy Tran-Dyrenforth.

Medhaa Lakshman

Medhaa Lakshman

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

Katherine White

Leslie Rae Means

Leslie Rae Means

Joy Lynn Tran-Dyrenforth

Joy Tran-Dyrenforth

The Stephen Reid Award for Excellence in Teaching

The award recognizes the long-standing contributions and commitment to teaching of Dr. Stephen Reid, who taught in the Department of English from 1972-2014 and who is nationally known for his work in writing pedagogy. The selection committee have chosen a prize winner and an honorable mention; this year's awardees are Danny Saldana and Yanni Angelis (honorable mention).

Danny Saldana

Danny Saldana

Yanni Angelis

Yanni Angelis

Outstanding Literary Essay Awards

 

These awards, selected by the English department's Literature program, recognize outstanding critical writing and interpretive work in literary studies. Applicants must be registered graduate or undergraduate English majors or minors.

Graduate

Sam Peters

1st Place

Sam Peters

Essay Title: “Nothing on the Horizon to Unite Them: Failed Communities and Forsaken Kinship in Toni Morrison’s A Mercy

Andy Parker

2nd Place

Andy Parker

Essay Title: “Reviving the Butterfly: Nuances in Queer Desire in M. Butterfly (2017)”

Cody Reed

3rd Place

Cody Reed

Essay Title: "The Archives of Annihilation": An Understanding of The Crawler and Nonhuman Ethnoscapes through Mycosovereignty

Undergraduate

CanaPeirce1

1st Place

Cana Peirce

Essay Title: “Slaves, Spittoons, and Sacrifices: the Women of The Iliad as Victims and Vehicles”

Devon Bower

2nd Place

Devon Bower

Essay Title: “Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Difference: The Intersection of Punishment and Nature in Medieval Turkic Populations”

Sonya Bauer

2nd Place

Sonya Bauer

Essay Title: “On Cages and the Cost of Escaping Them: How Mortality, Maternal Love, and Gender Relations in Lars von Trier’s Adaptation Heighten the Human tragedy of Medea

Maddy King

3rd Place

Maddy King

Essay Title: “Amitav Ghosh’s Genre Blending and Historical Storytelling”

Outstanding Writing Awards in Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy

This award recognizes innovative ideas, critical thinking, and stellar communication in the broad area of writing studies.

"Colorado State University English Department Awards 2025" graphic with CSU ram logo on green background featuring university building and geometric design elements in school colors.

Gabby Franklin

Essay Title: "Fighting Climate Change: How a President's Rhetoric Affects Climate Change Mitigation"

Graduate Distinctions

English graduate students can earn recognition for excellence on a final project, portfolio of work, or thesis.

Anna Letova

Anna Letova

Distinction in TEFL/TESL Research Project

Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts Awards

Conrad Schaefer

Conrad Schaefer

Conrad Schaefer was awarded The Academy of American Poets Prize for his poem, “Aboretum”

Kristy Nowak

Kristy Nowak

Kristy Nowak was named Honorable Mention for The Academy of American Poets Prize for her poem, “the present moment arrives as a dog”

Chase Cate

Chase Cate

Chase Cate was named Honorable Mention for The AWP Intro Journals Project Award for his poem, “Theology”