E very spring, students submit essays to the Assayers essay contest.
“We read and rank these essays, publishing the very best in Assayers, which is a text that we use in all sections of Composition I,” head chair of the English department Dr. Doug Sonheim.
“Essays that are selected by members of the English faculty for inclusion are assigned and discussed each semester as examples of strong writing.”
This year, the following students’ essays were published in Assayers: Brandt Epley, Brandi Lynn George, Corey Hiscocks, Rachel Swayne, Hannah Holmes, Stormi Martin and Breandan Conyers. The names are listed in the order that they appear in Assayers, which is the order in which they were ranked by the English faculty. Epley, George and Hiscocks, the top three winners, each received a monetary prize of $100, $75 and $50, respectively.
Freshman Brandt Epley was awarded first place for his essay, “Rock-Bottom Faith,” about his best friend’s struggle with drug abuse. However, Epley while capable of writing a deep and meaningful essay, is also able to enjoy life. He has a lighter side. Last semester, Brandt Epley was an English major, and as for next semester he said, “Maybe women’s studies? Does OBU have that?”
He is thinking of pursuing writing as a career.
“I’m sure I’ll publish a few novels before I die in the X games,” he said.
Epley also claims that writing is no longer a passion of his.
“Now I’d rather just talk to spare myself carpal tunnel,” he said.
He claims to have felt “richer” after having been informed that he won first prize. This may have been due in part to the monetary prize, which he described as “$932, 284, 057, 818, 3816 minus $932,84,057,818,3816.”
Sophomore chemistry major Brandi George, second place winner for her essay, “Oh, The Horror!” which describes the development of her passion for chemistry, said she was “ecstatic,” upong finding that she won. She feels that her love of science enhances her writing ability, even if people do not ordinarily associate science with creative writing.
“I like to think that every area of my life is touched by my passion for science,” George said. “I know that my friends all think I’m a little crazy from time to time, but I suppose being stuck in a lab for hours on end makes me a little loopy, and very fun to be around, especially in the wee hours of the morning.”
Third place winner, sophomore Christian studies major Corey Hiscocks, seeks to write for a greater purpose.
“Writing, to me, is a form of worship and prayer, like music to others,” Hiscocks said. “I try to use my words to encourage and inspire.”
His passion for Christ is illuminated in his essay “A Night on the Beach,” which describes how one can experience the presence of Christ in all aspects of life.
“A wide range of subjects are covered in these essays, including, to mention a few, a surprising laundry-room miracle in Daniel-South, a famous and infamous pinky finger, the loss of one’s parent, the lessons of lazy summer days and a flight to a futuristic dorm room,” Sonheim said. “Such a wide range of topics is not surprising, for as Dr. Johnny Wink [professor of English] says in the preface to Assayers, we write essays because we want to say something about ‘this great blue world of ours and our curious places in it.’”
This year’s Assayers contains a variety of quality essays, but it was special in a very different way as well. The magazine was dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Tom Greer, professor of English.
“Significantly, the cover art for Assayers this year comes from the collaborative poetry/photography/music event celebrating our faculty exchange program with China,” Sonheim said. “Specifically, the cover art is a photo by former OBU art professor Larry Thompson, overlaid with a poem by Johnny Wink, ‘Conejo Blanco’ [White Rabbit, Greer’s nickname],” said Sonheim.
All in all, Assayers is a way for students to be recognized for their writing, especially students who are not English majors but have a passion for the written word.
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