MCC student receives recognition at Skyway Writer's Festival

McHenry County College student Paula Lauer, a resident of East Dundee, was recently recognized in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference 2021 Writers Competition and Festival.

Lauer won first place in the Fiction category of the competition with her story "Queen of the Bees," a sensitive, multilayered short story about a young girl navigating complicated family dynamics.

"One of the aims of MCC's English department is to encourage students to develop their voices as writers," said Starr Nordgren, instructor of English and department chair at MCC. "It is affirming to see their talent and diligence recognized at the state level."

Lauer was enrolled in MCC instructor Ted Hazelgrove's creative writing class in the fall of 2021, where she had a chance to workshop the piece.

The ISCC consists of eight colleges, and the Writer's Competition is held annually each fall. This year, there were a total of 85 submissions in four categories (creative nonfiction, fiction, drama, and poetry). The first round of competition happens at the school level.

After soliciting submissions, each school's coordinator selects the pieces that will move on to the statewide competition. Typically, schools only submit one entry per student to the final round. Winners are then selected by a panel of writing professionals/judges selected by the host school, which in 2021 was the College of Lake County.

To learn more about English courses at MCC, visit www.mchenry.edu/english.