In November 2020, the University Writing Program began inviting submissions for distinguished writing. Each piece of writing is first nominated by an instructor, then submitted by a student in ENGL1105 or ENGL1106. Published writing includes the text itself, keywords, citation information, the project description or prompt, and the rights permissions provided by the author. This page will be updated as the program leadership team receives and publishes additional submissions.
For more guidance on recommending students to submit distinguished writing and the link to the share permissions, please visit the University Writing Program handbook or email writing -AT- vt.edu with any questions.
An archive of all Distinguished Student Writing submissions is located here.
2024
Anonymous. (2024, March 29). Make Yourself at Home: How Student Housing Impacts the College Experience. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Burgiss, Katie. (2024, March 17). Impacts of Art Practice and Appreciation on Mental Health in College Students. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Burt, Chloe. (2024, March 30). Embracing the Uncomfortable: Should Colleges Mandate Sex Education? Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Crawford, Mackenzie. (2024, March 4). The Cost Effectiveness of Dairy Cow Embryo Transfers. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Das, Sweta. (2024, March 29). Adapting to the Age of Automation: Navigating AI’s Impact on the Workforce. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
DeWorken, Quinn. (2024, April 1). Cyberbullying: Impacts of Social Media, COVID-19, and Demographic Factors. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Diogo, Caique. (2024, April 10). Finding the Optimal Time for Exercise: A Debate Between Performance and Consistency. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Doan, Phuc. (2024, April 16). From Rags to Riches to Whatever the First Google Search is… Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Fikes, Caitlin. (2024, February 29). Annotated Bibliography. Hokies Write. [Annotated Bibliography]
Gasch, Alex. (2024, March 13). Patrick Boyle: Hedge-Fund Manager turned Podcaster. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Howard, David. (2023, September 15). The Perfect Balance: How Competition has Pushed Me and Pulled Me Back. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Jethra, Ila. (2024, April 29). Gendered Manifestations of Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Exploring Discrepancies and Dynamics. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Ngeno, Kyla. (2024, September 12). Impacts of Diversity in High School. Hokies Write. [Exploratory Proposal]
Persad, Lucio. (2024, (2024, September 26). International Students and American High School. Hokies Write. [Exploratory Proposal]
Philbrook, Ashlyn. (2024, March 21). Seeing Ourselves: The Impact of Queer Representation in Children’s Media. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Rossi, Ava. (2024, March 21). From Working Out to Working Hard: The Impact of Physical Activity on Academic Performance. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Sipes, Madison. (2024, April 15). Inheritance of Expectation: The impact of Parental Pressure and Cultural Dissonance on Second-Generation Immigrants. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Trefil, John-Tyler. (2024, September 16). A Life-Long Road Trip. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Wenzel, Pedro. (2024, April 15). Artificial Intelligence Developments and its Effects on and Beyond Information Security. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Williams, Andrea. (2024, March 13). The Influence of Lauryn Hill. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Wolfe, Mia. (2024, April 25). “Do You Even Lift Bro?”: Exploring the Gender Gap in Gyms. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
2023
Adcock-Howeth, Ian. (2023, September 14). Literacy: How I Fell In, Out, and Back In Love With it. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Adcock-Howeth, Ian. (2023, October 10). Reading Spaces: How Environments can Make or Break the Reading Experience. Hokies Write. [Reading Spaces]
Behe, Luke. (2023, November 25. “Ask What Social Media Can Do For You, Not What You Can Do For Social Media.” Hokies Write. [Worknets]
Browning, Jocelyn. (2023, October 13). Discovering My Reading Sanctuary. [Reading Spaces]
Buckiso, Olivia. (2023, September 12). Subtracting Algebra From the Equation: Should the College Algebra Requirements be Changed? Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Analysis]
Burgiss, Katie. (2023, October 20). My Daily Reading Expedition: a Story About Reading Spaces. Hokies Write. [Reading Spaces]
Burgiss, Katie. (2023, September 11). Reading through time: A Literacy Narrative. https://hokieswrite.com/docgallery/ [Literacy Narrative]
Dominguez, Diego. (2023, October 17). How I Wrestle with Reading. [Reading Spaces]
Gardiner, Julia. (2023, October 17). Place Association Leads to Better Productivity and Mental Health. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Gordon, Brooke. (2023, September 26). Language, Lingua, Ururimi. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Graham, Lily (2023, November 9). Because We Care: Different Ways to Help Those Affected by Agent Orange. Hokies Write. [Worknets]
Graham, Lily (2023, September 17). The Gradual Click: A Childhood Journey to Literacy. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Jain, Rishita. (2023, October 20). Rishita’s World of Reading: An essay of how our reading qualities impact our experience while reading. Hokies Write. [Reading Spaces]
Li, Dingkun. (2023, September 18). As I Stumble Along. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Mir, Haadi. (2023, October 18). Just One Rep: The Powerful Passion of Alex Leonidas. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Neithardt, Sam. (2023, September 18). You’re Still Allowed to Imagine: A Literacy Narrative. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Perks, Makenzie. (2023, September 5). Friends in Books :The Language of Makenzie Perks. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Ramos, Christian. (2023, November 25). Exploration of International Text. Hokies Write. [Worknets]
Ramos, Christian. (2023, October 2). Publishing My Life. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Remondino, Sofia. (2023, October 31). College Trash: Should Virginia Tech spend more funds on educating students about their trash disposal program? Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Scratchard, Peyton. (2023, October 23). Sonja Lang: The Rhetorical Superhero of Constructed Languages. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Singh, Naina. (2023, November 10). Psychedelic Treatment for Psychiatric Disorders like Anxiety. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Smith, Claire. (2023, October 13). The Art of Floor. Hokies Write. [Reading Spaces]
Smith, Ella. (2023, November 10). Interactions Between Social Media and Mushroom Foraging. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Waller, Challen. (2023, November). The Promises and Challenges of Hyper-local Agriculture: Education’s Role in Creating Sustainable Food Systems. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
2022
Anonymous. (2022, October 24). Life as a Superhero: What a Way to Make a Livin’. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Boyer, Sammie. (2022, April 15). The Social and Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Consigli, Chris. (2022, April 13). High-Flying Recovery. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Cross, Victoria. (2022, September 16). Boxes, Blank Pages, and Brainwashing: A Literacy Narrative. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Li, Zekun. (2022, September 8). Literacy of My Upbringing. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Nguyen, Ivy. (2022, November 28). Consuming Critically, Consciously, and Confidently. Hokies Write. [Worknets]
Olejnicki, Lilly. (2022, November 20). From Smoking to Vaping: Philip Morris’ Reliance On Women’s Lack Of Self Confidence. Hokies Write. [Semiotic Analysis]
Smith, Tyler. (2022, November 28). Captions in Media: Using Research to Improve Accessibility. Hokies Write. [Worknets]
2021
Anonymous. (2021, October 19). “I’m Not Lazy, I’m Reading”: Putting an End to a Text Only Definition of Reading. Hokies Write. [Reading Spaces]
Anonymous. (2021, November 10). Our Worst Enemy. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Bates, Sophie l. (2021, November 1). The Elephant in the Room: The Quiet Suppression of Eating Disorder Correlation with Mixed-Race Individuals in the United States.
Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Chava, Keya. (2021, April 11). Change is Needed: A Micro-Anthology of the Prison Reentry System. Hokies Write. [Micro Anthology]
Edwards, Lee. (2021, November 5). How Eating Disorders Affect the Transgender Community. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Flinton, Aidan. (2021, November 4). Food Deserts: a Meta Analysis of Determinant Factors. Hokies Write. [ENGL1106]
Hanley, Nicole. (2021, October 22). Natalie Wynn: How Personal Experience Can Win an Audience. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Holmes, Justin. (2021, November 17). Challenges and Opportunities for Multilingual Writers in College Composition. Hokies Write. [Worknets]
Jeter, Calvin. (2021, April 11). The Stress Test: A Micro-Anthology of the Problem with Standardized Testing in the College Application Process. Hokies Write. [Micro-Anthology]
Kottas, Alp Kaan. (2021, April 11). A Necessity Everyone Cannot Have: A Micro-Anthology of Access to Healthcare in the U.S. Among College Students. Hokies Write. [Micro-Anthology]
Laub, Anthony. (2021, September 9). My Evolution of Literacy. Hokies Write. [Literacy Narrative]
Learish, Christopher R. (2021, November 16). Copyright & Fair Use: Application in the Digital Age. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
O’Dowd, Sean. (2021, November 17). Cinema in a Pandemic. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Oliver, Maddy. (2021, April 30). Mental Health of Student Workers in College Experiencing Parental Pressure. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Parker, Holly. (2021, April 25). The Effect of Ocean Pollution on Humans and the Environment. Hokies Write. [Research Poster]
Rivera, Ana. (2021, November 19). Food and How it Impacts the Immigrant Experience. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Silva, A. (2021, November 22). Sometimes, the problems that need to be addressed are not visible: How professional dancer Scott Doherty’s use of rhetoric teaches dancers that changing their mindset can lead to improvement. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Analysis]
Sun, Weixuan. (2021, September 26). A Literacy Narrative: What Color are the Sky and Clouds? Hokies Write. [ENGL1105]
Wall, Emily. (2021, November 19). Removing Societal Influence from Motherhood: Why Society Should Not Tell Mothers to Breastfeed. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
2020
Boron, Alec L. (2020, November 1). The Relocation of Global Supply Chains. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Davis, Alexander. (2020, October 29). Helena as Rhetorical Superhero in Ark Survival Evolved. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Deegan, Anne. (2020, October 25). Sustainably Successful: The Balance Between Kindness and Hard Work. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Delfino Perez, Manuela. (2020, October 14). “Hey, come over here”: What Makes a Rhetorical Superhero. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Superheroes]
Molina, Azaria. (2020, October 25). The Sacrifices for Change. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Analysis]
Murro, Lorena. (2020, October 25). My Thinking Booth: Essential Qualities of a Reading Space. Hokies Write. [Reading Spaces]
Reichard, Evan. (2020, November 13). Cultural Trends Influencing the Future of Geothermal Energy in Iceland. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]
Wombles, Alyssa. (2020, September 15). Computers, Consoles, the Future, Oh My: The Never-ending Journey. Hokies Write. [Digital Literacy Narrative]
Wombles, Alyssa. (2020, November 10). Digging into the Nitty Gritty: A Deeper Insight into the Work of Custodians. Hokies Write. [Rhetorical Analysis]
2019
Pepi, Matthew. (November 2019). On Weightlifting Supplements and Their Consequences. Hokies Write. [Sustained Research Project]