Writing Studio News and Notes – Faculty Edition (March 2024)

The end of the spring semester is always busy, but it’s also a vital time to celebrate our students and all they have accomplished. In that spirit, we invite you to join us in the coming weeks for the Writing Studio’s 16th Annual Undergraduate Writing Symposium and 3rd Annual Undergraduate Creative Writing Symposium and Arts Showcase.

Continue reading for more details including the schedule-at-a-glance and our list of presenters, but here is the quick version:

• This year’s Undergraduate Writing Symposium will be held on Friday, April 5th, from 3:00-6:00 p.m. in Commons Center 237. Full schedule now viewable online.
• This year’s Undergraduate Creative Writing Symposium and Arts Showcase is being held on Wednesday, April 10, 3:00-6:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall, 2nd floor. Full schedule now viewable online.

Both events are easy to drop into for whichever portions one’s schedule allows. For both events, light refreshments will be served starting at 3:00. The UWS on April 5 will be followed at 6:00 p.m. by a reception, for which all are welcome to stay.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to support the inspiring student presenters lined up for each event and celebrate the important place of writing of all kinds within the undergraduate experience.

16th Annual Undergraduate Writing Symposium

Join us for our 16th Annual Undergraduate Writing Symposium on Friday, April 5, between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. in Commons Center 237, which is generously co-sponsored by the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons and the Vanderbilt Libraries.

After kicking off at 3:15 p.m. with brief opening remarks from Melissa Gresalfi, Dean of Residential Colleges and Residential Education, the event’s sixteen student authors (eight first-year students and eight upper-division students sharing honors theses, independent study, and other advanced writing projects) will present on panels beginning at 3:30 p.m., 4:15 p.m., and 5:00 p.m. with a reception to follow.

2024 UWS Schedule-at-a-Glance

Friday, April 5 | Commons Center 237 | 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• 3:00-3:15  Panelist Check-In; Light Refreshments Served
• 3:15-3:30  Welcome and Opening Remarks from Melissa Gresalfi, Dean of Residential Colleges and Residential Education
• 3:30-4:10  Spotlight Panel
• 4:15-4:55  Concurrent Session 1, Panels A & B
• 5:00-5:55  Concurrent Session 2, Panels C & D
• 6:00  Closing Remarks and Reception

View the 2024 Undergraduate Writing Symposium’s web-based program to access the full schedule of presenters as well as bios and abstracts for all.

RSVP via the event’s Anchor Link page appreciated.

The Undergraduate Writing Symposium creates a space for the Writing Studio and wider Vanderbilt community to celebrate undergraduates’ achievements as writers, thinkers, and scholars.

This year’s theme of “Finding Our Voices, Entering into Dialogue” spotlights students’ emergent voices as they dare to grow as writers, exploring, experimenting, and answering the call to join a wider dialogue through earnest engagement with the words and views of others.

List of 2024 UWS Student Presenters

• Paige Elliott (’24)
• Dara Elqadi (’24)
• Caroline Jacobs (’24)
• Indu Kumar (’24)
• Justin Luckner (’24)
• Sophia Podolsky (’24)
• Sawyer Sussner (’24)
• John Hague (’26)
• Claire Arney (’27)
• Isabella Beard (’27)
• Samantha Brabeck (’27)
• Rachel Koh (’27)
• Mary Meacham (’27)
• Gerard Monteiro (’27)
• Rachel Sobers (’27)
• Drew Spiegel (’27)

Undergraduate Creative Writing Symposium and Arts Showcase

Creative endeavors have an essential place within a liberal arts education. We invite you to help us celebrate undergraduate creative expression during the 3rd Annual Undergraduate Creative Writing Symposium and Arts Showcase

The event will be co-hosted by the Writing Studio and Office of Experiential Learning and Immersion Vanderbilt on Wednesday, April 10, between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall, 2nd floor and generously co-sponsored by the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons and the Vanderbilt Libraries.

Under the 2024 symposium theme of “Finding Our Voices, Entering into Dialogue,” the symposium side of the event will feature panels of student authors sharing and reflecting on their poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and more.

2024 UCWS Schedule-at-a-Glance

Wednesday, April 10, 3:00-6:00 p.m. | Alumni Hall, 2nd Floor

• 3:00-3:15: Welcome and Opening Remarks by Professor Major Jackson (English, Director of Creative Writing)
• 3:15-4:10: Spotlight Panel (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry)
• 4:15-5:00: Session 1 – Panel A (fiction) and Panel B (nonfiction)
• 5:15-6:00: Session 2 – Panel C (poetry)

The 2024 UCWS kicks off in Alumni Hall with Opening Remarks at 3:00 p.m., followed by student presentation panels beginning at 3:15 p.m, 4:15 p.m., and 5:15 p.m.

View the 2024 UCWS web-based program to see who is presenting where and when and read short bios of our presenters as well as abstracts of their featured creative pieces.

Who’s Presenting Creative Writing?

• Eli Apple (’24)
• Liam Betts (’24)
• Molly Buffenbarger (’24)
• Avery Fortier (’24)
• Sanat Malik (’24)
• Shadhvika Nandhakumar (’24)
• Elyse Sparks (’24)
• Sawyer Sussner (’24)
• Claire Marie Tate (’24)
• Ilana Drake (’25)
• Nicole Reynaga (’26)
• TaMyra Johnson (’27)
• David Lemper (’27)
• Franklin Udensi (’27)
• Sarah Wermuth (’27)

Questions?

Please reach out to us at writiing.studio@vanderbilt.edu.