OPUS Open Portal to University Scholarship

The ENGL 1000 Writing Studies 1 Literacy Autobiography contest began when Governors State University first started admitting freshman in 2014-2015. Winners from 2017-2020 are featured in OPUS. The submissions for the contest were literacy narratives written in response to assignments in GSU’s first-year writing course ENGL 1000, Writing Studies 1, typically taken during students’ first semester on campus.

The literacy narrative served as a foundational assignment in the first-year writing curriculum and asks students to reflect on and analyze the role that writing and reading play in their lives.

Of all the students who submit essays to the contest, four were selected to earn monetary awards and to be archived here.  First place:  $200; Second Place: $100; Third Place: $50; Honorable Mention: $25.

Awards were funded through the generosity of President Elaine Maimon and Dr. Mort Maimon.

Entries were judged by a committee appointed by the President’s and Provost’s offices.