Exceptional
First-Year Writing
The Rutgers Writing Centers’ Exceptional First-Year Writing initiative spotlights outstanding reflective essays written for College Writing, the University’s first-year writing course. Essays are developed in response to the first project of the course, which asks students to read as writers - to demonstrate an understanding of the form and rhetorical strategies of an assigned text, Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Why Italian?” - then apply these strategies toward their own personal reflection.
2023-2024 Nominees
Samad Arastu
Ashley Arkais
Minahal Azhar
Vivian Cheng
Bailley Georgieva
Jose Jimenez Gratereaux
Charlie Heap
Ariel Ifrah
Sarah Jung
Matthew Kalender
Aileen Lim
Joshua Mariano
Peter Palles
Ruqayya Pervez
Amisha Raikar
Colin Scerbo
Brynn Sillick
Brandon Son
Amy Walejewsky
Sophia Wyllie
Adams Yakubu
Why Church?
“My parents, mentors, teachers, and friends would only teach Jewish law and history so it was all I ever knew. In spite of the environment that I was being raised in, I made an unexpected decision to volunteer my Sundays to help out at the local Church a few months after I turned twelve years old.”
Why Spanish?
Spanish and I have a close-knit relationship. To some extent, I could even say that Spanish and I grew up together.
Why Christianity?
No one needs to change to become a Christian. All they have to do is show up as themselves. This is the kind of Christianity that I believe in, the kind that nestles in our hearts.
Past Nominees
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2022-2023
- Feb 26, 2024 Why Spanish?
- Feb 26, 2024 Why Christianity?
- Feb 26, 2024 Why Pharmacy?
- Feb 19, 2024 Why Stay?
- Feb 19, 2024 Why Not Arabic?
- Feb 19, 2024 Why Paper Books?
- Sep 28, 2023 Why Poetry?
- Sep 28, 2023 Why Oluwatomisin?
- Sep 27, 2023 Why Immigration Law?