Kristin Janssen Honored for Excellence in Writing by Dordt College

2012 Jun 18

Kristin Janssen of Hospers, Iowa, was recently recognized by the Dordt College English department for outstanding writing in Dordt College's annual Purple Martin Writing Contest, a contest that has been held for 15 years. Janssen is a senior with a major in secondary education and English/language arts, and with an emphasis in middle school subject area. She also has minors in the Kuyper Scholars Program, middle school classroom, and teaching English as a second language (k-12), and was awarded first place in the fiction category for her work "Confessions."

While cash prizes are awarded for first and second place, there is more to the contest than the awards. English Professor and Dean for Curriculum and Instruction Leah Zuidema described the contest as "a way for us to celebrate our students and their creative talents."

Members of the English department read and judge the entries. And choosing a winner is not always easy. Professor of English Mary Dengler explained that "something is excellent when it reflects life or is truthful in its representation of life."

Dengler said that the best writing "develops an argument with reasons and examples in a way that is powerful, authentic, winsome, and convincing." These are qualities found in the winners of this year's Purple Martin awards, she said.

Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive Christian college rooted in the Reformed tradition. U.S. News & World Report, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review all list Dordt on their best colleges lists. Dordt is home to approximately 1,400 students. To learn more about Dordt College, visit www.dordt.edu.