Two MAPW Students Win National Honors

KENNESAW, Ga. (Mar 11, 2022) — MAPW students Tyra Douyon and Haley Hamilton have won national honors in different areas of professional writing. Tyra, concentrating in creative writing, has won the Tin House Young Adult Workshop award and Haley, concentrating in composition & rhetoric, has had a proposal accepted for the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). In addition, Haley received a CCCC Care Grant, which will cover the cost of attending the conference.  

As a result of her award, Tyra participated in the Tin House Young Adult Fiction workshop online in January 2022.  She presented excerpts from her novel-in-progress, “Shout Me Home,” which she has been work shopping in MAPW classes. Tyra competed with over 1,000 applicants nationwide and was among the 21% of applicants who were accepted.  

“I was finally able to talk with authors, agents, and writers that specifically wrote in my genre and wanted to help shape my novel for YA readers,” Tyra said of her participation in the workshop. “The agent I spoke with is interested in the book and wants me to officially query her when I'm ready.” 

Tyra’s novel follows a teenager living in New York City as she struggles to care for a younger sister and a mentally ill mother. “My book has evolved to become a novel-in-verse or a hybrid novel all because of the great feedback about the poetry in the book and my spoken word performance,” Tyra said of the impact of the Tin House experience. “I can say that not only has my book evolved, but I've grown as a writer too.” 

Haley’s proposal, "Imaging New Possibilities," for the Teacher-to-Teacher session at CCCC looks at innovations and technologies in peer review. “To pare it down to a thesis,” Haley said: "the longitudinal use of Google Drive as a collaborative, peer review tool in first year composition fills an essential need, particularly during Covid, to adapt user-friendly tools that students can use seamlessly in face-to-face and virtual spaces." 

Haley notes that her capstone thesis committee, Dr. Laura Howard and Dr. Letizia Guglielmo were helpful in developing her ideas.  Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton walked her through the process of making the proposal and applying for the grant. 

“I love teaching first year composition,” said Haley, a second-year Teaching Assistant, “so I am looking forward to meeting others that are like-minded at this conference. Teaching, in my experience, is made better by collaboration with peers, so I am most excited about making connections and discovering new strategies to be the most effective teacher I can be for my students.” The conference runs online this week, March 9-12.