Rhetoric Student Essay Contest Winners

The Rhetoric Program is delighted to announce the Spring 2021 Student Essay Contest winners. With nearly 180 submissions, the Spring 2021 cycle saw the most submissions the program has had to date. The following undergraduate students were awarded for their essays:

• Jose Arellano, “The Effects of the BRI on ASEAN Nations,” Instructor Kristi McDuffie
• Madilyn Bernhard, “Are Warehouses Worth the Harm They Produce?,” Instructor Isaac Willis
• Anniston Brant, “Female Serial Murder Research Proposal,” Instructor Jordan Sellers
• TJ Byun, “Pandemic (Deluxe) by COVID-19,” Instructor Tracy Anne Travis
• Isaiah Calaranan, “The African Diaspora and Music in America,” Instructor Neal Liu
• Samar Chehab, “Research Proposal: COVID-19 Lockdown and Eating Disorder Development,” Instructor Jordan Sellers
• Storey Childs, “The Effect of the ERA on US Law,” Instructor Emily Renne
• Xiaoyang Chu, “Cultured Meat:  World-Changing Technology Is on The Way,” Instructor Mary Hays
• Daniela Del Bosque Siller, “The Successful Use of Rhetoric in Sources Related to Gender Discrimination in Healthcare,” Instructor Kristi McDuffie
• Kate Friedman, “What are the influences mass media has on body image of adolescent women of color?,”  Instructor Jordan Sellers
• Jeremy Hughes, “Should Everyone Adopt Plant-Based Diets?,” Instructor Weston Morrow
• Brenna Hurtado, “Disability Rights in the Workplace, ” Instructor Kristi McDuffie
• Kaden Kirby, “Stigma and The FDA Gay Blood Ban,” Instructor Cassidy Short
• Mayura Kulkarni, “Freshwater Scarcity in Developing Countries,” Instructor Curtis Dickerson
• Mason Mitchell, “A Solution to Mental Disorder Diagnoses: Molecular Genetics,” Instructor Cassidy Short
• Patricia Moreno,  “Synthesizing Sources on the Factors Contributing to Health Disparities amongst Women of Color,” Instructor Alixandra Shuger
• Giselle Munoz, “Use of Rhetoric in Conversation with Bilingual Education,” Instructor Erin Hoffman
• Arisu Oya, “Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Learning,” Instructor Rebecca Weber
• Noah Pogonitz, “Rhetorical Analysis: "What's the Point of College?," Instructor Jordan Sellers
• Emma Prybylski, “Synthesis of Retail Pet Sale Legislation and Puppy Mill Sources,” Instructor Weston Morrow
• Maeli Sanchez, “The Impact of Screentime on the Mental Health of Young People,” Instructor Hollis Druhet
• Jacob Wagner, “An Argument for a Rhetorical Change in Right to Repair,” Instructor Tessa Crosby
• Tianle Wu, “Self-contradiction, Fallacy and Out of Focus: Will Renkl Convince Her Audience?,” Instructor Ryan Flanagan

The following students were awarded for the Summer 2021 contest:

• Willy Choe, “Music: More Than Just an Art Form,” Instructor Suzanne Valentine
• Marina Betancourt, “How does an authoritative style parenting approach breed more benefits in a college student when it comes to their physical health, behaviors, and mental well-being?,” Instructor Meg Cole

Winners receive a $50 award (if U.S. residents) and potential publication in I Write: A Writing Guide for the Undergraduate Rhetoric Program at the University of Illinois. Please join the department in celebrating the writing of these students!