State University Students Receive Carothers Awards for Excellence in Writing

Seven students at the Minnesota State Universities have been honored as recipients of the Robert L. Carothers Distinguished Writers Award.

The annual award recognizes one student from each of the seven Minnesota State Universities who has demonstrated excellence as a writer. Each state university uses its own selection process to choose a student for the honor, and each recipient is awarded $100.

The awards are made possible through the personal contributions of the friends and colleagues of Dr. Robert L. Carothers, a poet and scholar. Carothers was president of Southwest State University from 1983 to 1986 and served as chancellor of the Minnesota State University System from 1986 to 1991. He is now president of the University of Rhode Island.

This year's Carothers Distinguished Writers are:

• Matt A. Moyle, Bemidji State University. A senior with a double major in French and history, he enjoys writing poetry and short fiction about history and literature, especially about the ways that nature describes human response to historical events. Moyle is from Maple Grove, Minn.
• Elizabeth K. Hermanson, Mankato State University. Hermanson graduated from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato with her associate's degree in 1966 and from Mankato State University with her bachelor's degree in English this spring. She was awarded the Mary Jane Young Scholarship at Mankato State University last year. Hermanson worked eleven years as a reporter and editor of her community's weekly newspaper, the Wells Mirror, Inc., and she lives in Wells, Minn. with her husband, Ross.
• Margaret Emmett Farrell, Metropolitan State University. Farrell received a commercial art diploma from Hennepin Technical College and a spiritual director certification from the Center for Spiritual Guidance in Minneapolis, Minn. She is currently a senior majoring in writing at Metro State.
• Tenessa Gemelke, Moorhead State University. A native of Ghent, Minn., Gemelke is a senior pursuing a major in English-writing with a grade point average of 3.97.
• Patricia Taylor, St. Cloud State University. Having earned her bachelor's degree in English from Michigan State University in 1992, Taylor went on to complete her master's degree in English at St. Cloud State in May with a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. Taylor has had two poems published in Upper Mississippi Harvest Art and Literary Magazine, and she has presented papers at a number of national meetings. She is from Burlington, Vt.
• Anthony D. Hemingsen, Southwest State University. A native of Renville, Minn., Hemingsen is a senior majoring in literature and creative writing. He has been named to the Dean's List at Southwest State.
• Judy Thorn, Winona State University. Thorn graduated from the College of St. Benedict with her associate of arts degree in liberal studies in 1974 and from the University of Minnesota-Waseca with her associate of science degree in animal health in 1976. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree at Winona State.