The Prism annual writing and art competition’s due date has been extended until April 8, leaving students with less than a week to submit their work for cash prizes and become solidified in the school’s history.
The Prism contest is run by the Department of English, Literature, and World Languages and has been going on since 1978. Students can submit essays, poetry, short fiction, and art projects into eight categories that ELWL faculty will judge.
Each winning entry will go into the annual journal “The Prism.” First-place entries in each category receive $150, and the second-place entries receive $75. Announced winners and honorable mentions on The Prism’s website will be invited to a recognition event in the fall to coincide with the publication launch to showcase their work.
English professor Dr. Jamie Thomas has been working for The Prism as a judge since 2010 and has coordinated it since 2018. He encourages students to submit entries in each category to have their work critiqued and become comfortable with it getting judged.
“In the real world, our writing always exists,” Thomas said. “It’s important to put yourself out there because as we get into the professional world, we have to do that in our writing and our speaking. We have to put ourselves out there and it’s not always comfortable.”
As the coordinator, Thomas is in charge of reviewing entries to ensure they follow contest rules, selecting judges from ELWL, and compiling the judges’ decisions to establish the winners.
He has submitted his writing to contests, academic journals, and other publications, but recognizes there can come anxiety while entering. Thomas prioritizes anonymity, ensuring students that the names are removed from submissions during the judging process to try and take away potential nerves for anyone entering.
“We have two judges per category,” Thomas said. “We try to keep judges off of the categories that they may teach, and they don’t know who’s writing or whose art they are judging. They look at each submission in their assigned category individually and rank them without consulting with each other. They then talk about their rankings; they come to a consensus and submit their decisions to me.”
He is most impressed by the freshman and sophomore categories because he sees how well-crafted the younger students’ work is.
Thomas encourages students who are nervous or lack confidence to try and enter for the experience.
“I think it’s especially hard for the young writers to put themselves out there, so I’m always impressed by the quality work they put out,” Thomas said. “Not that they wouldn’t, but these are young writers who are doing really amazing things as far as essays and research papers and it’s cool to see. Even if you don’t win anything, it is still an important and rewarding act because you’re getting used to putting yourself out there.”
“The Prism” journal is a book that is published each year. It takes students’ creative endeavors and solidifies them as a part of history. Thomas believes it’s important to receive validation from peers and the community. He realizes students put in a lot of work and “The Prism” journal is a way to eternalize their creations while receiving recognition.
“So much of what we do is impermanent,” Thomas said. “Just on a daily basis we sort of live in impermanence and there is something special about being a part of something that you get recognized for, that you get remembered for and it makes you part of a community. That is something that impermanence can’t take away. It solidifies our place amongst everybody else.”
Marketing sophomore Camden Whyte was one of last year’s contest winners and has already entered this year’s contest. He originally found out about The Prism when one of his professors told him his research paper was well written and recommended, that he submit it into the “Freshman/Sophomore Research Paper” category.
“My reaction to finding out that I was one of the winners was a state of shock,” Whyte said. “I honestly wasn’t hoping for anything. I knew my paper was good, but I never thought it would place in the contest. I was more shocked because I didn’t realize I had won until eight months after they had announced the winners.”
Whyte suggests students get involved with the contest as it is a chance to be rewarded for their dedication and creativity throughout the semester. He thinks the amazing feeling of being recognized for hard work is enough of a reason for students to try and get involved.
“It is important that Ferris creates something like “The Prism” journal each year because students should get the opportunity to showcase their creative abilities and the hard work that they have done throughout the year,” Whyte said. “Plus, getting recognized as one of the winners is a great feeling and helps push students to keep working toward whatever it is they want in life.”
Submissions for The Prism contest are extended until Monday, April 8. The winners are expected to be announced around the week before finals. For more updates, rules, submission questions, and other inquiries regarding The Prism, refer to ferrisprism.com.
C.E. – EC/RS