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Senior Wins Prestigious Young Writers Award for Nonfiction Essay
Senior Wins Prestigious Young Writers Award for Nonfiction Essay
For the first time, a Sage Hill School student has won a coveted Bennington College Young Writers Award.
Senior Carlos Orozco was recently chosen as the second-place winner in the nonfiction category of the awards for his descriptive personal essay called “A Trip to Home Depot.”
He found out he won Saturday, April 15 when his baseball coach texted him and asked if he could post the news on Sage Hill Baseball’s Instagram page.
“It was exciting! [English teacher Arlie] Parker had told me no one had won anything before, so I knew it was a big deal and I was just really happy. It was a good day!”
The competition was tough -- Bennington College received more than 2,000 entries from students around the world this year.
“I just submitted it, not really thinking much,” Carlos said. “I didn’t really think I was going to win for this. It was a good surprise.”
Each year, students in grades 10 through 12 can submit their writing one of three categories: poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. All entries must be original work and sponsored by a high school teacher. Only two students are awarded in each category.
Mr. Parker said he couldn’t be more thrilled about Carlos’ achievement.
“It’s like a home run of writing. We’ve entered this Bennington contest ever since I’ve been here.”
“It’s like a home run of writing. We’ve entered this Bennington contest ever since I’ve been here.”
The essay is about Carlos’ father, and Carlos describes wanting to be near him and taking trips to Home Depot with him as a young kid.
“I think if you read his, you easily could have picked his to be first place,” Mr. Parker said.
With this award also comes a $250 scholarship for Carlos, who is attending Rice University in Houston next year. While he enjoys writing, his goal is to become a doctor.
“I never really thought I was a good writer, honestly. … But I like writing about my life. It’s always just something I’ll do in the future as a hobby.”
He has also been recognized twice in his high school career by the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards. One of those was an honorable mention for this same essay.
“I really just wrote something I was passionate about,” Carlos said. “I’m glad it got recognized; I wasn’t expecting it to, but that’s just a plus.”
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.