York’s English Department presents its annual awards

The English Department presented seven awards Oct. 22 to celebrate the accomplishments of students and teaching assistants.

Ilona Verseghy won two awards – the Department of English Retirees’ Scholarship and the Brian Hepworth Memorial Prize. Noelle Dykman won the Avie Bennett Prize in Canadian Literature; Andrea Giansante, the H.K. Girling Literature Prize; and Michelle Ferreira, the Lucille Herbert Memorial Scholarship. An honorable mention went to Elaine Zlotkowski in the Faculty of Arts Essay Prize. And Stephen Voyce and Jason Demers shared the Teaching Assistants’ Award for Excellence.

Right: Ilona Verseghy (left), winner of two awards, with presenter Prof. Karen Valihora

After her welcoming remarks, Julia Creet, English Department Chair, acknowledged her colleagues’ successes in publishing, and winning grants and fellowships. “The highlight of Faculty accomplishments was the achievement of R. Darren Gobert, who is the recipient of the 2007 John Charles Polanyi Prize in Literature,” she said.