First-Year Students Excel in Writing 105 Competition
First-year students participated in the 2009 Writing 105 Research Essay Contest last fall, which recognizes students who engage in serious intellectual inquiry through their writing. Cash prizes are awarded for the quality of writing, style, accuracy and sophistication of thought. Prizes were recently awarded to Ashley Gillan (first); Ryan Prothro (second); and Danielle DeVost(third), whose research papers can be viewed through the links below.
A Case Against Physician-Assisted Suicide
Ashley Gillan of Sandown, N.H., choose to research and write about a topic that she says is both controversial and one she feels strongly about, but which hasn't been in the news much recently. "I enjoy writing most of the time, but I have to be interested in the subject," she says. Gillan's intended major is Biology, with a concentration in Pre-med. read more…
The Treatment of Animals in Factory Farms
Ryan Prothro of Cambridge, Mass., is passionate about animal rights and chose to conduct research on animal protection laws and how animals are treated on the nation's factory farms. "I wanted to learn more about the subject but in a way that was not conventional," she says. "I had also recently read an article on the horrible aspects of factory farming, and decided that this would be in interesting topic to research." Prothro loves to write and spends a lot of free time on it. "I feel as though I am most clear when I can write things down: writing gives me clarity." She intends to major in Environmental Science and is also interested in exploring another major or minor in writing. read more…
The Devastation of Alzheimer's Diseaase
Danielle DeVost of Hebron, N.H., is very involved, along with her grandparents, in volunteering at the New Hampshire Veterans Home. "It's something that I do every chance that I get," she says. "I wanted to learn more about Alzheimer's Disease because I have witnessed it firsthand with the patients." She "absolutely loves writing" and says it's "a great way of expressing myself." DeVost's intended major is Business Administration with a minor in Communication Studies. read more…
