Owensboro Community & Technical College recently concluded its Spring 2025 Common Reading program, which included a series of writing workshops and a student essay contest inspired by the anthology “This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women.”
The program drew strong interest from students and community members, with each of the four workshops reaching capacity. Attendees worked with regional authors Amy Bellamy, Greta McDonough, George Ella Lyon, and Frank X Walker to craft personal essays focused on identity, memory, and belief.
Thirty students submitted essays for the accompanying “This I Believe” contest. Topics included kindness, grief, friendship, resilience, cultural identity, and faith. OCTC English faculty served as judges and said the entries were notable for their quality and sincerity.
Cheyenne Marshall earned first place for her essay titled The Cheesecake, The Cure, writing, “The right remedy will always be togetherness, love, and cheesecake.”
Laura Atkinson Ramburger took second with Reading the Write Way, stating, “Annotation is like building a friendship.”
Third place went to Jasmine Maddox for The Trickle-Down Effect, which included the line, “It is not a waste to show kindness.”
Honorable mentions were awarded to Rebecca Condor (The Power of Small Kindness), Sui Tha Par (The Mystery of My Wonders), and Matthew Boarman (I Believe I Know Nothing).
The winning essays will appear in the Spring 2025 edition of Skylark, OCTC’s student literary and arts journal. The writers were recognized during a reception held April 15.
The program was organized by OCTC English faculty and supported by the OCTC Foundation. For more information or to read the winning essays, visit OCTC’s Common Reading page.
