St. Jerome’s University (SJU) is pleased to announce this year’s winners of the 2021 Betty G. Headley Senior Essay Award. The annual competition honours the memory of the mother of SJU graduate Sara Elizabeth “Sally” Headley, BA ’04 (English Language and Literature). The award features essays written by upper year undergraduate students that are distinguished by their eloquence, originality, and persuasive power.

Congratulations to Gillian Adrianne Wagenaar for her winning course related essay submission “The Coxswain’s Widow: Charity, Wisdom, and the Working Class in the Life and Death of James Maynard”. The category is for essays written for a third or fourth year level course taught at St. Jerome’s University or any University of Waterloo campus or affiliated institution. The winning submission is awarded a $1,500 prize.

Two writers tied for the winning entry in the personal essay category. Congratulations to Valerie Josic,  “Better a Cracked Voice”  and Yasmina Mashmoushi,  “The Path Less Travelled: A Personal Essay” - who will receive a $500 prize for their entries.

Media Folder:  Media Root	Media Folder:  Media Root	Media Folder:  Media Root
Gillian Wagenaar	Valerie Josic	Yasmina Mashmoushi

All 2021 submissions to the Betty G. Headley Senior Essay Award were reviewed by the Award committee comprised of  Department of English, Lecturer, Mark Spielmacher, PhD; Department of History Associate Professor, Ryan Touhey, PhD; and Department of Religious Studies, Associate Professor, Cristina Vanin, PhD. SJU’s Librarian, Lorna Rourke also participated in the work of the committee.
 

“As always, the review committee had a challenging task selecting the best essays from all the submissions that were received,” stated Rourke. “This year’s winning essays are excellent and reflect the skills and hard work of our undergraduate students…as always, we are grateful for Ms. Sally Headley’s donation, which enables us to offer this competition every year.”