Mimi Levitt Sponsors Essay Contest at Hunter College: $2500 First Prize
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Spring, sports, balmy weather and the bustle of the college cafeteria did not distract the many students who crowded into the Faculty Dining Room to read, share thoughts and collect prizes along with award-winning writers Francine Prose, Carol Higgins Clark and Lewis Burke Frumkes, head of the Hunter Writing Center. Sponsor and benefactor Mimi Levitt was on hand to applaud and enjoy the young Hunter students who were finally being given recognition, many for the first time.
Francine Prose gave important advice to the budding writers: take a passage of jargon and translate it into plain English. Write as if you were actually talking to someone. Read all the time and as much as you can. She admitted that she learned to write by reading, not taking classes. She concluded with “have faith in what you’re doing.”
The title of the essay contest was the same for all the writers: “The Most Important Lesson I Ever Learned.” The top winner of the $2500 prize was Jonathan Mezelaar who wrote of depression and good people who are kind to you.
Lorianna Roman won $1000 and dedicated her essay to her grandmother, who recently died. She concluded, “Family is my life.”
This memorable day will be indelibly etched in the minds of the faculty, students, friends and family who attended.#
