December 9, 2022

Honors Project to Be Presented at Jo Young Switzer Center

Ely Cook

From Dec. 7 to 16, Professor Ings’ First Year Writing Seminar Honors class titled “A Place of One’s Own” will be hosting a literary and visual art gallery on the second floor of Manchester University’s Jo Young Switzer Center.

Ings’ Honors students were required to write about “a place of significance” in their first essay of the year. Now that the semester is coming to a close, their final leadership project is to display one paragraph of their writing, which is written in both persuasive and creative writing techniques. As well as displaying their writing, the students provide images that “complement” their writing appropriately.

One of their biggest goals in this project was to authentically and honestly explain and show why the place they picked made holds significance in their personal lives. Not only is this their final project of the class but it is also their leadership project as well. In fact, Ings states: “the Honors project is 95% student run: my part is just to reserve the space and order the panels that will hold up their projects.”

Students in the FYWS class learned a variety of things while working on their projects. Penelope Eash decided to write about the house she grew up in on Shipshewana Lake. “I enjoyed getting to write about a place that holds so much meaning to me,” she said. “I learned that everyone defines the term ‘place’ in their own way, through their words and visual art, and everyone’s place holds a special meaning to them.”

Madysen Rees wrote about a place she and her family went on vacation to every year, because it was a place that shaped her personality. “I enjoyed being able to use whatever picture and the freedom the most,” she said. “I learned more about the depth of meaning this place has to me as well as my family after sharing my writing with my dad.”

Evan Creager wrote about the neighborhood he used to live in, because he wanted to enjoy all the little things that make me think of home. “I enjoyed getting to think about what I enjoy most of being back home,” he said. “I learned about the special connections everybody has to a certain place. My classmates and I all feel a similar connection to different places.”

Lauren Kauffman wrote about her church, because, as she says, “it is where I find the most comfort and I have gone their every Sunday morning since I was born.” She continues: “I enjoyed writing about the place that is most meaningful for me because it helped me think more in depth about why it’s so special and the things, I appreciate about it. It is more fun for me to write about things that I know a lot about. I learned a lot about how to write more creatively and descriptively with this assignment.”

The literary and visual gallery opens Dec. 7 and closes Dec. 16. It will be in the Beauchamp balcony lounge of the JYSC during that time.