Undergraduate Award Recipients 2021–2022

Cardinal Cushing Award — for the best fiction published in a BC undergraduate publication:

  • First Place:  Megan Cresitello ’23,  for "Sacré-Coeur” (Stylus, Spring 2022)

  • Second Place:  Sydney Fosnick-Davis ’23,  for "House” (Stylus, Fall 2021)

  • Third Place:  Julia Evers ’22,  for "First Blood” (Stylus, Spring 2022)

Dever Fellowship — a substantial grant presented in honor of novelist and BC alumnus Joseph Dever, to a graduating senior who proposes to pursue a career in writing:

  • Julia Evers ’22

  • Ryan Fitzgerald ’22

Dever Award for Freshman Writing — For the best three essays by first year students in a Spring ‘21 or AY ‘21-22 English course (three first prizes): 

  • Ava Cahill ’25, for “Perceptions of Blackness in Fred Wilson’s Iago’s Mirror” (nominated by Nell Wasserstrom)

  • Corbin Buchwald ’25, for “The Role of the Boston Accent in Local Politics” (nominated by Vincent Portillo)

  • Ananya Kuttikkad ’25, for “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” (nominated by Mali Barker)

Doherty Prize for an Exemplary Honors Project (Creative): 

  • Ian McPheters, “Toward What: A Meandering Narrative About Commercial Fishing, a $200MM Suicide Factory, Walking in a Straight Line for Many Consecutive Days, and Class in a Precarious America”

Doherty Prize for an Exemplary Honors Project (Critical): 

  • Hannah Murphy, “Buried Under Interpretation: George Eliot’s Early Heroines”

English Language Learner Essay Award — for the best essay by an English Language Learner written for an ELL section of First Year Writing Seminar or Literature Core:

  • Winner: Yuan Shi ’25, for “Feng Lan” (nominated by Amanda Labriola)

  • Honorable Mention: Geqi (“Allie”) Li ’24, for “More Than Just an Extra Stitch” (nominated by Alex Puente)

John Randall Award — presented in honor and memory of author and BC Professor John Randall to the undergraduate writer of the best essay on American literature and culture:

  • Caitlyn Neville, ’22, "A Short Cultural History of the Thoreau Society, Chapter 2: The Fight for Walden Pond"  (nominated by Min Song)

  • Honorable Mention:  Madeleine Sopel, ’24, "(Un)Minimalist: An Exploration of Philip Glass' Rejection of Musical Stereotypes in His Score to the Film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" (nominated by Jason McCool)

  • Honorable Mention:  Emma Fleet, ’22 "An Angel in the House: The Beautiful Suffering of Beth March" (nominated by Susan Roberts)

William A. Kean Memorial Award — to the graduating senior judged to be the outstanding English major:

  • Alicia Kang ’22

Bishop Kelleher Award — for the best poetry published in a BC undergraduate publication:

  • First Place:  Lily Mesterhazy ’22 , “Abecedarian on Dahmer Street" (Stylus, Spring 2022)

  • Second place:  Cecilia Durcan ’23 , “22 years of pacing back and forth is enough pacing to lose yourself in your own kitchen" (Stylus, Fall 2021)

  • Third Place:  Max White ’24, “Lost to Crater Lake" (Stylus, Fall 2021)

Dennis A. McCarthy Award — for the best collection of creative writing by a junior or senior:

  • First Place:  Jacob Atwood ’22

  • Second Place:  Julianna Markus ’23

  • Third Place:  Alexis Slotterback ’22


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