ISSUED: 9 May 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — A Shepherd University freshman nursing major is the winner of this year’s Common Reading Student Essay Contest. Casey Rossi, Falling Waters, wrote the winning essay, titled “Breaking the Cycle: Ending the Neglect,” based on this year’s Common Reading book “Breaking Night” by Liz Murray.
“I am excited about winning,” Rossi said. “I come from a long line of writers. My mother and grandmother both like to write and have both published poems.”
Rossi wins $350 that can be used toward tuition, textbooks, or an education-related device or tech gadget. A panel of three faculty members using a rubric developed by the English department judged the entries.
Each year, Shepherd selects a Common Reading book to create a sense of community and provide a shared intellectual experience. The 2018-2019 Common Reading book is “The Girl with Seven Names: Escape from North Korea” by Hyeonseo Lee.
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