The Helios Program for Integrated Liberal Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville hosted the inaugural writing awards in the Nohr Gallery. The awards were created by Dr. Amanda Tucker and Dr. Katie Kalish, professors of English and co-directors of the Helios Program.
“We created the Helios Awards to celebrate the outstanding work being done by students in the program,” said Tucker. “We established two award categories: one for the Helios Gateway, which includes first-year courses built around a shared reading list, and one for the Helios Pathway, which encompasses upper-level courses organized around broad themes such as Law and Conflict Resolution, Global Citizenship and Environment and Sustainability. Our goal was to recognize the distinct types of work that emerge from these two different parts of the curriculum.”
In the Helios Gateway category, first-place honors went to Hannah Peterson for “A Generational State of Mind” and John Ruedinger for “The Exposure Effect.” Ramesh Prasad Joshi received second place for “As Long as There Is Inequality, There Will Be Potential Revolution.” Honorable mentions were awarded to Brooke Castens, Samantha Sullivan and Sydney Top.
In the Helios Pathway category, Michael Beadle and Matty Olson both took home first place with their pieces “Lithium Mining in Nevada: Environment vs. a Sustainable Future” and “Songs of Generations.” Lily Simon took home second place in the category with her piece “The Feminization of Poverty.”
Student authors were also recognized with awards for their creative writing. Kaz Bresnan, Jessica Kinney and Matty Olson were honored for their work.
The Helios Program offers courses in more than 20 academic areas. The program allows students to complete certifications to improve their skills in areas they normally wouldn’t cover in their average course path at UW-Platteville without adding time until graduation.
“Our goal was to create a program that helps students transition smoothly into college and have a more meaningful experience in general education,” said Tucker. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see the outstanding work being done in Helios courses. I was also amazed by the Pathway Award submissions—they covered such a wide variety of topics, yet all were deeply engaged with important societal issues. It left me feeling proud, grateful and even more hopeful for the future.”