Work of OBU students published in annual journal
ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist University’s Department of Language and Literature honored students on Aug. 30 for having their essays chosen for publication in its annual “Assayers” journal.
“Assayers 26” is the 2017-18 edition of the journal. Students submit their essays to the Department of Language and Literature each year for a panel of judges to read and rank their work.
The journal allows students to share their ideas, experiences and research with the university community. It is used as a teaching tool in writing classes at Ouachita and winning writers receive cash awards.
“Writing well with clarity, creativity and courage is an art,” said Doug Sonheim, chairman of the department, professor of English and holder of the Clarence and Bennie Sue Anthony Chair of Bible and Humanities. “The writers are being generous and giving their art to the community.”
The journal includes the two categories of personal essays and research-oriented papers.
Mattie Mae Dodson, a sophomore Biblical studies and English double major from Arkadelphia, placed first in the personal essay category.
She described in her essay, “Under the Lights of Times Square,” a trip to New York while her family was going through a failed adoption.
“I used this essay as a healing process,” Dodson said. “Though my first trip to Times Square was glamorous, the rest of my life wasn’t. That’s what real life is — the bad things we experience emphasize the good.
“It’s a huge honor to win and it’s every writer’s dream to have their essay read and talked about in a classroom setting.”
Laura Ward, a junior English major from Springdale, won second place and Bonnie Gentry, a sophomore musical theater major from Arlington, Texas, won third place. Faith Melton, a sophomore pre-professional kinesiology major from Maumelle, and Laura Ames Ocampo, a sophomore art education major from Stuttgart, received honorable mentions.
Haydn Jeffers, a junior English and mass communications double major and graduate of Mountain Pine High School, placed first in the research category for her essay about Washington Irving. Her essay, “Washington Irving and the Not-So-American Myth,” explained Irving had no interest in American life but was heavily influenced by traditional European folk tales. She said Irving’s most famous works are retellings of popular European fairy tales.
“As a writer, I’m proud my professors thought something I wrote was good enough to publish, let alone to assign as reading for classes,” Jeffers said. “It really motivates me to keep writing and to always put as much of myself into my work as I possibly can.”
Victoria Anderson, a senior English and mass communications double major from Armorel, won second place; and Emily Bradley, a senior English, Spanish and secondary education triple major from Conway, won third place. Carrie Hill, a junior graphic design major from Benton, and Barrett Pfeiffer, a sophomore mass communications major from Benton, received honorable mentions.