Here are the winners of the English Department's Award for Outstanding Performance in an English Course, which is awarded each term to undergraduate students who have done exceptional work in an English course. The award may be given for an exceptional paper or other assignment, for outstanding improvement in the quality of work over the course, for outstanding contributions to class discussion or community over a term, or for a combination of these efforts. Only one award can be given out for each class section. Congratulations to the winners!
Fall 2024
| Student | Course | Instructor | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoe Achim | ENGL 347 | Chad Wriglesworth | Zoe’s ongoing contributions to class discussion kept this course lively, enjoyable, and rigorous. Her comments and insights were affirming of others’ ideas, but -- when the moment was right -- she could just as easily take the class in entirely new and needed directions. Zoe ended the course with a remarkably strong essay on critical attempts to define ineffable moments of religious experience in James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain by exploring overlaps between what constitutes seemingly disparate experiences of “cosmic horror” and “holiness.” |
| Cassidy Adams | ENGL 193 | Megan Selinger | Cassidy was an exceptional student throughout the term. Not only was her work exemplary throughout the term, but her contributions to class discussions and to group work were outstanding. Cassidy never missed a class and was a joy to work with and learn from throughout the term. |
| Sydney Bernal | ARTS 140 | Randy Harris | Ms Bernal was a shining bright spot in a difficult context (a post-pandemic, first-year course with low student engagement and some tricky technical material). She was a constant presence, always asked sharp questions or made insightful observations which revealed she had mastered the readings, completed the numerous assignments with skill and panache, blew away the final exam and handed in a brilliant essay. |
| Vanessa Boyce | ENGL108T | Sarah Tolmie | In this course, Vanessa earned the highest grade I have ever given in an undergraduate course. This outstanding grade was the result of her consistent and high quality participation, a series of perfect tests, and the excellent writing skills and analytical aptitude that she came in with. Welcome to English, Vanessa! I know you will be a star in the firmament of Creative and Professional Writing! |
| Haley Burnett | ENGL 193 (Section 009) | Jessica Van De Kemp | I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Haley Burnett in recognition of her academic excellence in ENGL 193 (Section 009) and most exemplary character, particularly her positive attitude and contributions to the learning environment. Keep shining! |
| Angelica Celestial | ENGL 309A | Norm Klassen | Angelica achieved a very high grade and throughout the term demonstrated attentiveness, inquisitiveness, perceptive insights, and imaginative engagement. She was a pleasure to have in class. |
| Dan Chiem | ENGL 119 | Allyson Conrad | Dan consistently submitted outstanding work and regularly participated in class discussions with insightful, inquisitive and supportive contributions. His dedication to growth and excellence culminated in receiving the highest grade in the class, but in addition, he was helpful to other students and a delight to teach. |
| Lauren Cowper | ENGL 251 | Chad Wriglesworth | Lauren wrote three exceptional essays in this course. In addition to offering strong engagement with theoretical readings and concepts, Lauren managed (in every case) to tactfully integrate her own life experiences into the close readings of both theory and the literary texts that we studied. In a course that sometimes pushes against impressionistic readings of texts, Lauren’s work recovered the necessity of maintaining interpretive agency, which was truly refreshing to witness. |
| Ria Ghuman | ENGL 348 | Chad Wriglesworth | Ria’s final essay for this course was the most ambitious, creative, and original essay that I read this term. The submission, “Our Mandala Bodies: Gary Snyder’s and Sim Van der Ryn’s Bioregional Consciousness,” explores principles of ecological design theory and notions of human consciousness found in bioregional theory and practice by attending to close readings of both poetry and architecture. This remarkable essay is held together by the idea that the designs and meanings of mandalas are what holds this bioregional way of being (and perhaps the planet itself!) together. Truly remarkable work. |
| Latchvy Gopalakrishnan | ENGL 109 | Danielle Deveau | Latchvy put a considerable effort into improving their course performance throughout the term, including asking me for extra help and receiving support from the writing centre. Latchvy maintained an amazing attitude and received constructive criticism with a spirit of growth. In the end, Latchvy produced excellent essays for this course, and deserves to have this work acknowledged. |
| Jared Jiacheng He | ENGL 101B | Valerie Uher | I would like nominate Jared for his insightful, original and expertly-crafted written work in the course; his engaged and generous approach to classroom participation and outstanding dedication to the understanding the hidden meaning and purpose of rhetorical communication. Congrats, Jared! |
| Isabelle Lee | ENGL 109 | Danielle Deveau | Isabelle was an engaged and enthusiastic student. She participated fully in the writing process, producing not only polished final essays, but also impressive brainstorming and reflection. Isabelle took feedback with grace and a keen desire to learn. Working with Isabelle was a great experience and she deserves to be acknowledged for outstanding course performance. |
| Amy Li | ENGL 109 | Danielle Deveau | Amy was a consistently strong writer throughout the course, submitting several exceptional pieces. She was respectful and open to feedback, and made great contributions to her peers. She is talented when it comes to writing, particularly regarding narrative and she deserves to be rewarded for her excellent work this term! |
| Zoya Randhawa | ENGL 409A | Randy Harris | Ms. Randhawa was exceptional in this course for the way she kept on top of the readings, propelled class discussions with her informed and wide-ranging curiosity, and completed exemplary assignments throughout, but mostly for the way she supported and encouraged and guided her group members. |
| Saveta Solomon | ENGL 193 (Section 010) | Jessica Van De Kemp | I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Saveta Solomon in recognition of her ability to lead and act as a positive role model in ENGL 193 (Section 010), particularly the genuine joy and enthusiasm that she brings to her work, such as her oral presentation video. Congratulations! |
| Martin Torres | ENGL 193 (Section 011) | Jessica Van De Kemp | I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Martin Torres in recognition of his exceptional efforts in ENGL 193 (Section 011), especially his strong leadership qualities in the classroom and also his confidence as a public speaker during the group poster presentation. Bravo! |
| Ethan Warren | ENGL 100B | David Williams | Throughout the term Ethan challenged himself to build and extend his analytical and argumentative skill. And he rose to that challenge, producing top-rate work all term. |
Spring 2024
| Student | Course | Instructor | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Alpajaro | ENGL 119 | Jessica Van de Kemp |
I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Georgia Alpajaro, who has demonstrated exceptional performance in ENGL 119, particularly on her oral presentation video. |
| Qianxu Guo | ENGL 108D | Jessica Van de Kemp |
I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Qianxu Guo for outstanding improvement in the quality of their work over the course of ENGL 108D Online, as evidenced by their new media project. |
| Jason Hon | ENGL 119 | Jessica Van de Kemp |
I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Jason Hon for his exceptional hard work, dedication, and focus in ENGL 119, especially on the team research project. |
| Nadia Koltun | ENGL 486 | Kevin McGuirk |
Nadia is probably an unusual nominee: she's a part-time student and she's elderly. Her written work was disciplined, informed by curiosity and intellectual appetite, along with all the experience and knowledge she brought to literary and critical texts. But most of all, in this small seminar she was a wonderful model of engagement; I think the young people were both charmed by and full of respect for her - I was. |
| Jordan Turner | ENGL 251 | Kenneth Graham |
This award recognizes Jordan's outstanding contribution to class discussion throughout the term. He was consistently the best-prepared student in the class. |
| Khadijah Vakily | ARTS 130 | Sadia Afrin | Khadijah has invested her knowledge of the course in a very delicate way with her own teaching experiences, lived experiences, and critical consciousness toward academia in a North American context. The sincerity, hard work, and critical reflection were obvious in every assignment, and it has been very rewarding for me as an instructor to see how the assignment itself was engaging and meaningful and provided learners with a platform for freedom, choices, and constructive ideas. Her argumentative essay titled "The Case Against Educational Shaping for Indigenous Postsecondary Students" was a great rhetorical composition in which traditional academic writing style with ethos, pathos, and logos as well as personal observation, analysis, and scholarship from her teaching experiences were blended eloquently to teach writing instructors of 21st century that knowledge-making with a rigid and Euro-centric rhetorical style is not acceptable anymore in this new age. |
Winter 2024
| Student | Course | Instructor | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aryana Arturi | ENGL 109 | Jessica Van de Kemp |
I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Aryana Arturi for her exceptional papers and contributions to our class discussions. |
| Sukhmanpreet Bains | ENGL 119 | Megan Selinger | Sukhmanpreet was my highest achieving student this year. Her work was consistently exceptional; she always came prepared to class and demonstrated professionalism in all aspects of the course. Beyond this, her work exhibited passion and a genuine desire for social change. She was a welcome addition to my class and well deserving of this award. |
| Hailey Bingeman | ENGL 193 | Jessica Van de Kemp | I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Hailey Bingeman for her outstanding contributions to our class discussions and community over the term. |
| Kieran Brown | ARTS 140 | Eve Morton | Kieran was always on-time and attentive in class; he was also the person who I could almost always count on to ask a question to the student presenting. Considering how quiet his section was, and how often people presented, sometimes he really did carry the whole class discussion and I'd like to recognize him for that. |
| Johanna Chort | ENGL 108D | Lara El Mekaui | The student performed exceptionally in the course. They were engaged in class discussions and put a lot of effort into assignments. Notably, the student started working on the creative project that was due at the end of the semester quite early on. The student showed great time-management and dedication when it came to developing their project. They ultimately submitted an exceptional Twine Game. |
| Jillian Franz | ENGL 210G | Danielle Deveau | Jillian was a professional and talented student in this grant writing course. We worked with real clients, and Jillian was responsibly, respectful, and engaged in these high stakes, client-centred projects. Jillian was a leader on two different grant writing teams and contributed to the production of valuable and exceptional grant proposal writing for our not-for-profit clients. She went above and beyond in terms of supporting the classroom learning environment and participating fully. Fantastic job this term Jillian! |
| Sophia Galizia | Arts130 | Sadia Afrin | I am giving the award to Sophia because of her consistency, brilliance, and sincerity to contribute in all discussions (in-class and on LEARN), in written projects that exhibit her exceptional and enthusiastic efforts toward learning and growth, and an outstanding final essay. Sophia tried to learn from the core and embrace the new knowledge with its entirety. She invested her critical consciousness and voice in her writing, which was the central focus of the course I teach. Her final essay embodied all the critical practices of writing and challenged the status quo of academic writing in the colonial educational system of North America. |
| Romina Hashemi | ENGL 306 | Andrew McMurry | The highest grade in this course by several points. Outstanding performance in all aspects of the course. |
| Amaya Kodituwakku | ENGL 309G | Brianna Wiens | There are many reasons to nominate Amaya for this award--their attentive way of relating ideas across their classes to the topic at hand, their excellent dialogue paper on reclaiming the grotesque with classmate Jackie Cardoso, and their enthusiastic class facilitation on disability justice with Jackie Cardoso and Briana Cheah are just a few examples that would, alone, make them stand out. But here, a defining feature of Amaya's presence in class is their role as an engaged, thoughtful class citizen. In the neoliberal academy, this is hard work. Amaya focuses on building relationships of care with others in the class and moving discussions from inside the classroom out into the university community–-all while making astute, critical reflections on course materials. |
| Marco Lo Dico | ENGL 119 | Megan Selinger | Marco was an exceptional student this term. Not only was he receptive to new ideas and concepts, but he was inquisitive, enthusiastic, and critically engaged in the material. Both in classroom activities and in his individual work, Marco exhibited excellence. |
| Sonja Markez | ENGL 210F | Dorothy Hadfield | Sonja's regional manager reported being impressed with her performance every week of the course. Sonja was always one of the first students to submit her work, always sought clarification and confirmation on important instructions, and went above and beyond in all of her assignments. She effortlessly slipped into the leadership role during all group tasks and assignments, setting an example each week of what a committed, devoted, and hard-working team member looks like. Sonja was enthusiastic, dedicated and hardworking; a true delight to have as a student. |
| Sophia Mehra | ENGL 109 | Jessica Van de Kemp | I would like to give an Outstanding Course Performance Award to Sophia Mehra for her outstanding contributions to our class discussions and community over the term. |
| Anish Neethi Ganesh | ENGL 192 | Megan Selinger | I would like to nominate Anish for outstanding contributions to the classroom environment. Anish demonstrated excellent critical thinking throughout the term alongside genuine curiosity, a determination for self-improvement and, most importantly in this context, outstanding citizenship in the classroom. Numerous students commented on Anish's helpfulness throughout the term. He asked generous questions of his colleagues during presentations and passed on resources they might use in their individual reports. |
| Tofunmi Olywayemi | ENGL 295 | Danielle Deveau | Tofunmi demonstrated excellence throughout the course. She was engaged with course material, participated actively and intelligently in course discussions, and excelled at written work throughout the term. Tofunmi demonstrated advanced understandings of course concepts and facility with critical analysis that went well beyond the the level expected of a second year media theory course. Tofunmi achieved perfect scores on two unit exams, an achievement that is rare in an English course of this nature. Well done Tofunmi! |
| Mike Qi | ENGL 119 | Allyson Conrad | This student completed all assignments with excellence and dedication. They participated in lectures with poignant questions and was an encouraging, hardworking group member in group assignments. This student achieved the highest grade in the course which is testament to their hard work and dedication. Well done! |
| Paige Sweeney | ENGL 495A/B | Lamees Al Ethari | I worked with Paige for two terms on her Honours Thesis, "Ethical Relationality in Helen Knott's Memoirs." The paper is an autoethnographic study of motherhood and belonging in Knott's work. Keeping in mind her position as a white settler, Paige chose to include her own experiences in learning about and researching indigenous culture and traditions. She met and interviewed the author in order to present a more comprehensive perspective and analysis of the work. Her research is thoughtful, insightful, and engaging in its presentation of the impact that colonialism has had on relationality within indigenous communities and, in turn, it sheds light on these communities' practices of healing and resilience. |
| Brandon Tan | ENGL 119 | Allyson Conrad | This student consistently displayed excellence in their completion of assignments. They were always on time to class and participated in lectures and group assignments with congeniality and hard work. This student achieved the highest grade in the course which is testament to their hard work and dedication. |
| Alexandra Veenstra | ENGL 493 | Danielle Deveau | Alexandra entered this audio production course with limited audio experience, and rapidly worked to develop her skills, producing 3 exceptional audio works. Alexandra's work was mature, courageous, and honest. She fully embraced the challenge of making engaging audio art. Wonderful work this term Alexandra! |
| Steve Wood | ENGL 200B | Kate Lawson | This was a difficult choice because there were so many excellent students in ENGL200B in winter 2024. Steve edged them by a nose because of his stellar Essay 2 submission. Congratulations Steve! |