WCC Student Receives Double Honors At National Competition

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Jun 18 2015 8:17 AM

Dothan, Ala. – Winning a national award is an honor. Winning two in the same competition is almost unheard of. Wallace Community College-Dothan student Destiny Brooke Pinyan recently received first- and second-place awards in the 2015 Literary Analysis Writing Contest, sponsored by Sigma Kappa Delta Honor Society (SKD). The awards were given at the 2015 SKD Convention held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Ms. Pinyan’s English Instructor, Brandi Wallace knew that she won two awards. So did her brother, Phillip, who accompanied her to Albuquerque. At the awards, the Pinyons were surrounded by other students who had worked diligently all year on essays and chapter competitions. When the awards portion of the ceremony arrived, the anticipation level elevated in the room. “The convention itself was a big deal, but this award ceremony capped the experience for these students,” said Phillip.

 

When it came time to announce the results for Literary Analysis, National SKD Vice-President/President Elect Joan Reeves took a moment to explain how hard the competition was this year because of the amount and quality of entries. “It is important to know that the entries are blindly judged and that the judges know nothing about the students themselves, only the quality of their work,” she said. They announced the winner for second place by reading the essay title “Chains of Duty.” Ms. Pinyan was a winner. Her face lit up and she walked to the front of the room to receive her certificate.

 

When she turned to go back to her seat, Ms. Reeves asked her laughingly to “stay put.” The 2015 Literary Analysis first place essay, “A Contrasting Relationship,” was announced, and Brooke Pinyan reached out her hand to accept her second award.

 

“As soon as I heard my name for second place, the thought never occurred to me that I would win first,” she said. The applause given by her peers and the regard shown by the SKD staff exemplified just how big a deal winning first and second place was. “It speaks volumes about her determination and drive to be the best she can be. The fact that the judges chose her papers without knowing the authors’ names is truly impressive,” said Brandi Wallace, Ms. Pinyon’s English instructor at WCC.

 

Brooke’s winning essay will be published in the 2015 Hedera helix, Sigma Kappa Delta’s annual literary journal.

Pictured below:

Ms. Joan Reeves, National SKD Vice-President-Elect, applauds Destiny Pinyon for winning the first- and second-place awards in Literary Analysis at the 2015 SKD Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

 

 

 

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