First-Year Writing Exemplary Essay Awards went to Johnathan Smith for his WRIT105 essay “The Busta Cake Mistake” and to Kelly Naspo for her WRIT106 essay, “The Not-So-Authentic Native American Experience.” Honorable Mentions were given in WRIT105 to Malak Bayoumy for her essay “Toxic Relationships in the Media: The Bad and the Ugly” and Jessica Sconfienza for her essay, “The War on Drag.” WRIT106 Honorable Mention went to Annabelle Kempf for her essay “Disenfranchised Grief: Exploring the Complexities of Hidden Sorrow.”

The Outstanding Multimodal Composition award was given to First-Year Writing student Adrianna Sewell for her original song: “Natural Hair: The Beauty That We Need” while an Honorable Mention was given to Maya Chavez Velasquez for her website, “Mental Health Stigma in the Latino Community” Instructor: Jessica Taylor.

Awards were also given for outstanding work in the Professional and Public Writing major courses. The Excellence in Public Writing Awards went to Siddhi Sundaram for “Depression, has the Narrative Changed?” as well as Donaelle Benoit for her Grant Proposal, “Making Communities Brighter“, while the Excellence in Professional Writing Awards went to Brielle Bogash and Sadie Bevando for their presentation for a Global Community, “Etiquette in Japan“. The Excellence in Writing for Social Media award went to Gina-Marie Zoccoli for her campaign for Alchemy Scent Bar. And the Text Power Telling Awards went to Allison O’Donnell and Dillan Ortiz.

A Writing Workshop for Sexual Trauma Survivors

Student Session: Wednesday, April 13 @ 5:30pm

Faculty/Staff Session: Wednesday, April 20 @ 5:30pm

Facilitated by Writing Studies faculty Jackie Regan and Jessica Restaino, and developed as part of the CHSS Dean’s Office Interdisciplinary Initiative, we invite participants to “Text, Power, Telling: A Writing Workshop for Sexual Trauma Survivors.”  to reserve a spot in one of our two workshop sessions. Space is limited.

To learn more about this workshop, visit the “” website. Our thanks to the CHSS Dean’s Office, GSWS, the Office for Social Justice and Diversity, and CAPS for their support.

Questions? Contact Jackie Regan (reganj@montclair.edu) or Jessica Restaino (restainoj@montclair.edu).

Link to flyer

Why Public and Professional Writing?

Employers want to hire people with excellent written communication skills. Because all professional fields require some form of writing, our PPW major will prepare you to become a strategic, flexible writer. You will learn about the various forms of writing you are likely to encounter in the workplace and how to adapt your writing for different audiences and purposes. You will also compile a portfolio of work that you can show to prospective employers.

What can Public and Professional Writing do for you?

The Public and Professional Writing Major focuses on writing that serves professional goals or the public interest (or both). We invite students from across the university to focus on writing as a way to develop the critical writing, learning, and thinking skills necessary to all aspects of professional life. Through Public and Professional Writing, you will—

• Learn how to best meet the needs of your target audience
• Create professional documents, including proposals, reports, presentations, websites, client correspondence, and digital media
• Become adept at working in collaborative environments by drafting, editing, designing, and revising documents with others
• Gain familiarity with a variety of tools used for writing in a digital environment
• Become familiar with the professional, cultural, and political dynamics of a global workplace

Our alumni have accepted positions in a variety of careers, taking positions in grant writing, social media, public relations and more. All of them learned how to incorporate effective written communication into their jobs through Public and Professional Writing.