Click the image to see the work.
In 2025, my former student Ajani Hickling claimed top prize, out of several hundred Boston University student contenders, for his essay, “Third Worlds.”
In my 2023 memoir class, Addison Schmidt wrote “When Making Croissants, Don’t Look in the Mirror,” a lyric essay that explores the technical and emotional aspects of baking croissants. The essay was published in Kitchen Table Quarterly.
In 2021, the Writing Program assembled a time capsule of writing about the pandemic. Stacy Wang’s “Where Are You From?” was included.
In 2026, Haily Ng, a student in my 2025 memoir class, will see the publication of “What Does it Mean When I say “我愛你“?”, an essay about intergenerational trauma, in Bowdoin College’s The Foundationalist.
In 2025, Robert Rodriguez, a student in my fall public health class, wrote “Split in Two,” an essay chosen for publication in BU’s 2026 Deerfield. The essay describes living in two worlds, the memory of home and a campus where the threat of ICE is a constant fear for immigrant students.
Another top prize winner! In my spring 2025 memoir class, Lana Ghazale wrote about the comingling of love and grief for a homeland under siege by the Israeli Occupation in her essay, “Learning to Live.” Her work represents an act of resistance on a campus that has suppressed dissent about American’s funding of genocide.
Melanie S Smith 