MCC students win national literary competition MESA, Ariz. --  Two Mesa Community College students took home top awards at a national literary competition sponsored by the League of Innovation, a consortium of community colleges across the nation.

Bill Alewyn won first place in the One-Act Play category for his work titled, “The Falkner Hemingway Letters.” David Klose placed second in the poetry category for “Dividing by Zero.”

Linda Speranza, Maricopa County Community College District Fine Arts Coordinator, said, “I take great pride in our students and their ability to shine on the national stage. Bill and David were up against students from a lot of top schools and demonstrated the quality of the students that we produce here at MCC.”

Alewyn said the recognition means a great deal to him.

“It's an award, an honor, a recognition, and one always appreciates being recognized for the work they do, creative or otherwise,” said Alewyn, 60, of Coolidge. “I would like to thank my MCC instructors in creative writing: Joshua Rathkamp, Katy Grant, Tim Florscheutz and Meredith Martinez.  These folks are a constant (and often thankless) source of encouragement and inspiration and know-how to their students at MCC, myself included.”

Each year, the League for Innovation invites community colleges across the nation to participate in the annual Student Literary Competition. The competition provides a means to showcase a selection of the best works being created by community college students. After Klose and Alewyn won at a local level in Maricopa Community College District’s Artists of Promise competition, they moved on to compete at the national level.

The submissions are judged in one of four categories: Fiction, One-Act Play, Poetry, and Essay. First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention are awarded in each category. National winners for First, Second, and Third place receive cash prizes. All national-level entries receive a Certificate of National Merit, and are published in the League's Student Literary Competition publication, produced by the current host college.

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Contacts
Dawn Zimmer (480) 461-7892 Dawn.Zimmer@mesacc.edu
Sally Mesarosh (480) 892-1393 Sally.Mesarosh@mesacc.edu

About Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College provides outstanding transfer and career and technical programs, workforce development, and life-long learning opportunities to residents of the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. MCC excels in teaching, learning and empowering its more than 40,000 students who attend annually to succeed in a local and global community.  Mesa Community College is one of ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa County Community College District. For additional information please visit http://www.mesacc.edu.

About the League of Innovation
The League is an international organization dedicated to catalyzing the community college movement. The League hosts conferences and institutes, develops web resources, conducts research, produces publications, provides services, and leads projects and initiatives with member colleges, corporate partners, and other agencies in a continuing efforts to make a positive difference for students and communities.