Winners in 2026 Jessie O'Kelly Composition Award

The English Department and the Program in Rhetoric and Composition are proud to announce the 2026 winners of the annual Jessie O'Kelly Freshman Composition Award.

This year's winner is Hunter Thomas, a recreation and sports management major in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation. He will receive a $500 scholarship award for his paper, "Why Turf?", about the dangers athletes face when playing on artificial turf. Upon receiving the award, Thomas shared about his experience in Patricia Logan's Composition I class: "Composition might have been the most important class I took as a freshman. Everything I learned in this class was something I was able to apply to almost every other class I took. Coming straight from high school, taking Composition I as one of my first college classes helped me develop important writing and communication skills that I continued to use throughout my freshman year. If I could go back and choose my classes again, taking Composition I early on would definitely be something I would do again."

Runner-up is Westin Spencer, supply chain management major in Walton College of Business. He will receive a $300 award for his paper, "Managing the United States Military Budget," for Maria Hare's Composition I class. As a Marine Corps veteran, he chose to investigate an issue that he had experienced. "I always wondered how the military had a seemingly unlimited budget, but the living conditions and support for the troops was always lackluster. This assignment allowed me to analyze that very question I had for myself and dig deep into how the national defense budget is divided up, as well as find areas where it could improve. However, I did not want this paper to only resonate with veterans or active-duty service members. Although this paper highlights the effects of the current budget on service members primarily, it also discusses how this could affect the civilian population by decreasing taxes….Overall, this was a very eye-opening assignment that I was very excited to submit for the Jessie O'Kelly Composition Award, and I am honored and proud to have earned runner up!"

According to the team of judges, the composition papers submitted this year were outstanding. LewEllyn Hallett, associate director for the Program in Rhetoric and Composition, which oversees the contest, said, "The papers ultimately chosen are exemplary of student work in first-year Composition. We design our writing courses to put students on a solid path for developing effective writing strategies and processes that they can apply throughout their college courses and in their careers. This year's Jessie O'Kelly Award entries demonstrate students' progress toward that goal. We are pleased to recognize these exceptional writers."

About the Award: Jessie Freyschlag O'Kelly, for whom this award is named, was a beloved instructor for the English Department from 1944 through 1968. Upon her death some years later, her colleagues, friends and students established the Jessie O'Kelly Freshman Essay Award in her honor. The English Department and Program in Rhetoric and Composition are privileged to maintain this tradition, to honor her and our composition students who do such effective work.

This year's qualified submissions were papers written for Composition I or II in the spring or fall semesters of 2025 and submitted for judging in spring 2026. Early in the spring 2027 semester, a call for submissions will go out for the 2027 Jessie O'Kelly Award. Students who have written papers for Composition I or II in spring or fall 2026 are eligible to enter. Watch for that announcement here and on the Rhetoric and Composition webpage.

About the Program in Rhetoric and Composition: The Program in Rhetoric and Composition develops and manages writing courses that help students become better writers, thinkers, researchers and rhetoricians. These courses emphasize the development of the reading, writing, thinking and research skills necessary for student success in the university and beyond. In addition to first-year writing, the program offers undergraduate courses in developmental writing, advanced composition, essay writing, and technical and professional writing.