Scholarships and Awards

The Mary Collar English Explicator Prize was established by Mitchell and Belinda Stapley to recognize the invaluable support and mentorship Belinda Stapley (’83) and her daughter Emma Stapley (’16) received from Dr. Collar while at Albion College. The award is intended to further Dr. Collar’s contributions to fostering a passion for literary criticism in many students at Albion by recognizing an outstanding piece of written literary analysis produced in a literature course during a student’s time at Albion.

Awardees include:

• 2024 – Joshua Baylor, Liberty Eaton
• 2023 – Kara Anderson, Isabella Bakeman, Ashlynn Reed
• 2022 – Sondra Sewell and Lucy Nevrly
• 2021 – Lucy Nevrly
• 2020 – Eryn Starr

This prize is awarded each year to the student(s) who have made the greatest contribution to the Pleiad in editing, writing, reporting, layout, photography, online editing, graphics, distribution, and/or business management.

This prize is made possible by donors Dr. Glenn A. Corliss, ’61 and Nan D. Corliss, ’63.

Awardees include:

2024 Awardees

• Bella Bakeman
• Juan Rodriguez

2023 Awardees

• Bella Bakeman
• Liam Rappleye

2022 Awardees

• Samantha Semerau
• Irene Corona Avila
• Aura Ware

2021 Awardees

• Samantha Semerau
• Irene Corona Avila

2020 Awardees

• Gabrielle Henriksen
• Jordan Revenaugh
• Maclean Robertson

A gift to the English Department made possible the creation of the Robert H. Gildart Creative Writing Awards. These are cash prizes designed to honor the career of Bob Gildart, who taught at Albion College for 25 years and cared deeply about the quality of student writing. The prizes will be awarded each year to sophomores at Albion College. Up to three awards in each category (Poetry, Fiction, Drama) will be made.

Awardees include:

2024 Drama Winner

• Seph Cartier

2024 Fiction Winner

• Tichael Jackson

2024 Poetry Winner

• Lynsey Light

2023 Fiction Winner

• First – Ian Addison
• Second – Rhiannon Slotnick
• Third – Amariah Talley-Woodson

2023 Poetry Winner

• First – Naomi Gut
• Second – Max Griffin
• Third – Kyndall Lewis

2022 Fiction Winner

• First – Classidy Scales
• Second – Heather Phipps
• Third – Alexandra Gavirio
• Fourth – Alura Reed
• Fifth – Juan Rodriguez

2020 Fiction Winner

• First – Akane Sturtevant
• Second – Lydia Gilbert

2020 Poetry Winner

• Akane Sturtevant

The English Department chooses the winner of this award with the utmost seriousness, for it values highly the commitment to the study of literature which it represents. Dr. Hart retired from Albion College in 1982 after more than thirty years as one of our most respected teachers. As Joseph J. Irwin, former chairman at Albion, once wrote, Dr. Hart was “an inspirational educator who led, cajoled, pushed, or pulled students toward a love of learning and toward an enduring relationship with English and American literature.” Dr. Hart was also one of Albion’s most productive scholars, having published three books and some fifteen articles. Dr. Hart, who passed away in 2011, came to represent for his colleagues the love of learning for its own sake, and this award was named in his honor partly to remind ourselves each year of the values which he asserted in the face of narrow specialization and pre-professional obsessions.

Awardees include:

• 2019 – Evan Rieth
• 2018 – Emily Allison and Travis Brady
• 2017 – Kathleen Casebeer and Emily McCaleb
• 2016 – Audrey DeGroot

This endowed prize is designated for recognizing overall excellence in the English major. Sally Ann MacArthur & Forrest Heaton met as students at Albion in 1958. They were married in Albion’s Chapel, 27 August, 1960. They shared two years of dating at Albion and thirty-seven grand years of marriage. Sally died 23 February, 1997. The family set up this endowment in memory of Sally, to honor her strong interest in literature—particularly Shakespeare and Twain, to express their appreciation to Albion for the educational foundations provided to Sally & Forrest, and to assist Albion students in their securing their own educational foundations.

Awardees include:

• 2024 – Isaiah May, Quinn Natschke, Alura Reed
• 2023 – Oli Beeker and Sondra Sewell
• 2022 – Samantha Semerau and Aura Ware
• 2021 – Jordan Revenaugh
• 2020 – Kierra Bush

This endowed scholarship is designated for a first- or second-year female student with an interest in literature. Sally Ann MacArthur & Forrest Heaton met as students at Albion in 1958. They were married in Albion’s Chapel, 27 August, 1960. They shared two years of dating at Albion and thirty-seven grand years of marriage. Sally died 23 February, 1997. The family set up this endowment in memory of Sally, to honor her strong interest in literature—particularly Shakespeare and Twain, to express their appreciation to Albion for the educational foundations provided to Sally & Forrest, and to assist Albion students in their securing their own educational foundations.

Awardees include:

• 2023 – Leslie Rivas and Sydney Gartman
• 2022 – Ashlynn Reed and Alura Reed
• 2021 – Sondra Sewell and Anikka Thorson
• 2020 – Lucy Nevrly

The Joseph J. Irwin Society is an English Department honor society.

Awardees include:

2024 Awardees

• Quinn Natschke
• Leslie Rivas
• Ashlynn Reed
• Alura Reed
• Heather Phipps
• Isaiah May
• Hannah Stutler
• Madison Davis

2023 Awardees

• Oli Beeker
• Lucy Nevrly
• Grant Partnidge
• Sondra Sewell
• Jacqulyn Shaeter
• Annika Thorson

2022 Awardees

• Allyson
• Lydia Gilbert
• Kenna Childress
• Olivia Grantham
• Alaina Pellar-Kosbar
• Samantha Semerau
• Tess Rennalls
• Amber Blackmon
• Aura Ware

2021 Awardees

• Abigail Burris
• Hannah Gracin
• Jordan Revenaugh
• Eryn Star
• Ashley Cadilac
• Marlo Scholten
• Grace VanDorn
• Akane Sturtevant

2020 Awardees

• Abigail Amat
• Malyn Berger
• Seth Bivins
• Logan Bohlinger
• Kellie Brown
• Kierra Bush
• Tyler Eyster
• Temi Fadayomi
• Nora Gaffney
• Gabrielle Henriksen
• Lauren Huggett
• Emily Kinser
• Brieanna McAuliffe
• Marcus Olah
• Margaret Whitlock

The Judith Lockyer Award for Excellence in Literary Study is intended to recognize talented students who are highly committed to the study of literature. Dr. Lockyer retired from Albion College in 2019 after over thirty years of service. She was known for her engaging teaching and her mentoring of students, and for her conviction that the study of imaginative literature prepares us to be empathetic, responsible citizens. Throughout her career, Dr. Lockyer was a tireless advocate for gender, ethnic, and racial awareness and equality; her many achievements include playing an instrumental role in establishing the Anna Howard Shaw Women’s Center, as well as creating Albion College’s gender and ethnicity course categories. We named this award in her honor to remind ourselves each year of the way Dr. Lockyer combined the love of reading and writing with a firm commitment to the value and diversity of human experiences, voices, and literatures.

Awardees include:

• 2024 – Leslie Rivas
• 2023 – Lucy Nevrly
• 2022 – Lydia Gilbert and Amber Blackmon
• 2021 – Eryn Star
• 2020 – Tyler Eyster

This scholarship was created by the family of J.D. Reed and designated for a worthy and deserving student majoring in English and pursuing the study of creative writing.

J.D. was an Albion College alumni who was a poet, novelist, and journalist whose love of writing was evident throughout his career.

Awardees include:

• 2023 – Tre’sure Lott
• 2022 – Amanda Duncan
• 2021 – Amanda Duncan-Williams and Olivia Grantham
• 2020 – Akane Sturtevant
• 2019 – Akane Sturtevant

Nominated and voted on by the English Department, this award is based on the recipient’s

Awardees include:

• 2023 – Juan Rodriguez
• 2022 – Ashlynn Reed
• 2021 – Aura Ware and Morgan Frazier
• 2020 – Jordan Revenaugh
• 2019 – Jessica Behrman

Awarded each year, this prize is earned by the student whose achievement as a writer—whether in journalism, creative writing, or expository writing—most clearly merits recognition for reflecting our own goals as teachers of writing.

Awardees include:

• 2024 – Elizabeth Dicks and Ashlynn Reed
• 2023 – Lucy Nevrly
• 2022 – Olivia Grantham and Samantha Semerau
• 2021 – Akane Sturtevant and Jordan Revenaugh
• 2020 – Margaret Whitlock

This scholarship honors an Albion College English major who has achieved excellence in writing and has specific interest in and talent for advertising and public relations.

Awardees include:

• 2023 – Bella Bakeman
• 2022 – Juan Rodriguez
• 2021 – Aura Ware, Olivia Grantham, Sondra Sewell
• 2020 – Aura Ware
• 2019 – Jordan Revenaugh

Dr. Hal Wyss taught in the Albion College English Department from 1970-2005. A beloved professor, he specialized in American literature, with a particular love for Hemingway, Frost, Twain, Faulkner, and Melville In addition to courses on composition and linguistics, Professor Wyss developed and taught courses on horror and science fiction, the work of individual authors, literary criticism, and interdisciplinary studies of the environment; he was also named Teacher of the Year and College Advisor of the year during his time at Albion.

An avid birdwatcher and fisherman, Professor Wyss authored two books, on eagles and hummingbirds. As a resident of Albion, he was also deeply involved in the community, holding leadership roles with the Albion First United Methodist Church, the Albion Academy of Lifelong Learning and the Albion Rotary; in addition, he was a member of Albion Community Theatre, the Albion Historical Society and the Riverfront Committee.

In commemoration of Professor Wyss’s significant and long-lasting impact at Albion College and on the town of Albion, his family, friends, and alumni established this scholarship to encourage a promising English major with at least sophomore standing and a minimum GPA of 2.7, with preference given to a student from the town of Albion.

Awardees include:

• 2023 – Ashley Booth
• 2022 – Madison Davis and Sondra Sewell
• 2021 – Amanda Duncan-Williams and Alex Butler
• 2020 – Autumn Simpson
• 2019 – Abigail Adams