UPEI celebrates third annual MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing event
UPEI celebrated its third annual MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing event today in recognition of the importance of effective writing as a foundational skill for academic success and lifelong learning. The award-presented to 51 students and two faculty members this year-was established in 2011 by the MacLauchlan family to honour H. Wade MacLauchlan's contributions to the University and his 12 years of service as UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor from 1999-2011.
UPEI's Vice-President Academic, Christian Lacroix, acted as the event's master of ceremonies. 'It's an honour for me to host the MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing again this year,' said Lacroix. 'By celebrating writing excellence, these awards send a powerful message on the collective importance of writing across all disciplines. Congratulations to this year's award recipients.'
Student readers included Christian Norton, a third-year science student, and Brittany Thompson, a fourth-year arts student. Norton read his submission, which told the story of his interest in biology, how it started at such an early age, and continues today. His submission also describes his future plans, upon graduation, which include medicine and dermatology studies. Thompson then read an excerpt from her University 203: Introduction to Leadership e-portfolio.
Dave Atkinson, journalist, writer, broadcaster, and author was the event's special guest speaker. 'Being able to communicate clearly and effectively with the written word is, for me, the most important thing you can learn in school and in life,' Atkinson told the crowd. 'We write to inform, to entertain, to teach, and to inspire. I'm honoured to be affiliated with the MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing.' Atkinson also read an excerpt from his new book 'Wereduck.'
The MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing distribute up to $30,000 annually in awards. The family has made previous contributions to the Harry W. MacLauchlan Scholarships in Entrepreneurial Leadership, MacLauchlan Arena, Robertson Library, athletic scholarships, and student prizes in mathematics and entrepreneurship.
Congratulations to all UPEI award recipients!
2014 award recipients:
Faculty of Arts: Lydia Banks; Jessica Cameron; Vanessa Chew; Jocelyn Claybourne; Julie Collier; Vanessa Fehr; Adam Francis; Elliot Ince; Shen Si Jiang; Yumi Kanayama; Keri McCaffrey; Brandon MacKenzie; Connor Mycroft; Michael Pass; Marc Pineau; Sierra Roberts; Brett Roche; Joseph Sentance; Courtney Starkman; Brittany Thompson; Chris Thompson; Marianne Tremblay-Abel; and Blair Vessey
School of Business: Ryan Cassidy; Lucas Currie; Elysia Drost; Lan Guo; Nathan Hood; Lingye Hu; Katherine Koughan; Ryan McCarvill; Sara MacKay; Melanie McKenna; Dylan McIsaac; Krista Lee Oliver; Caroline Reid; Jessica Smith; Ryan Taylor; and Ogechi Worji
Faculty of Education: Stephanie Coles; and Ruifang 'Freya' Qi
School of Nursing: Jessica MacKinnon; Julia MacMillan; Katherine Slysz; Robyn Soulsby; and Elizabeth Thomson
Faculty of Science: Katie Fullerton; Christian Norton; Ayodeji Ebenezer Ogunmadeji; and Jessica Reynolds
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: Nancy Brochu
Faculty and Staff recipients: Bill Chalmers; and John Cameron
