Amaryah Armstrong wins Corinne Dale Award and Crabb Award

by Shannon Smith

Amaryah Armstrong, Senior BU English major, recently won the new Corrine Dale Award for Achievement in Writing about Gender. She took a gender studies class in the Fall 2009 semester with Dr. Caresse John where she wrote the paper as a final project for her class. Dr. John then contacted Amaryah asking her if she wanted to submit the paper for the award. Amaryah then edited her piece with the help of Dr. John and her advisor, Dr. Annette Sisson.

The paper is entitled "Community and Creation: Life and Survival in Tony Morrison’s Sula." Amaryah attempted to connect several things within the paper: how community is tied to creativity in the novel and how this community creates an alternative way of survival inside of an oppressive dominate culture.

Of course, Amaryah was delighted to have won the award. “It was really exciting. It’s funny because I took a couple classes with Dr. Dale, and she was always really challenging and she was always trying to prove to me I could handle the English major.”

Amaryah’s paper also went on to compete against papers from all departments across campus for the Alfred Leland Crabb Award which she also won! Congratulations, Amaryah!

Shannon Smith is a Junior BU English Major.