On Monday evening May 1, the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the English Department hosted the 14th annual James Gauntt Memorial Award dinner. “The Jimmy” was bestowed upon six outstanding graduating seniors majoring in English, Creative Writing or Narrative Studies. Also in attendance to receive his Jimmy awarded in 2022 was Eli Gruen who was unable to attend last year’s dinner. The celebration was held once again on campus at the Moreton Fig restaurant in the Epstein Family Alumni Center. Over 20 faculty members were on hand to introduce and sing the praises of the award recipients at the dinner hosted by Professor David Roman and award committee co-chair, Professor Danzy Senna. Also attending were Jimmy’s parents, Hilary and Casey, his sister and brother-in-law, Brittany and Ryan Kirby, and their son, Jimmy’s nephew, Hunter. It was another memorable and very heart-warming evening. With deep gratitude to the generosity of the R.C. Baker Foundation and its steadfast financial support of the Award, there are now eighty-five “Jimmies” since its inception in 2010.
Majors: Narrative Studies; Literary Editing & Publishing 2023 Jimmy Award Recipient
Graduating from USC felt like an impossible dream to me. I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to study under such a distinguished faculty and staff and to learn alongside so many talented students. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in narrative studies, which essentially is a degree in storytelling across different mediums and cultures. I will continue my studies at USC working towards a master’s degree in literary editing & publishing. In other words, I believe in the power of stories.
As an undergrad, I lead a creative writing workshop with residents at a drug and alcohol treatment facility not affiliated with USC. Encouraging others, especially those who may not believe in the power of their voices, feels like the most important thing I get to do.
My hope is to continue being a part of storytelling, perhaps as an editor in a publishing house or even as a writer. Or more importantly, in ways I can’t yet even imagine. What has always drawn me to stories is the magic that happens when a voice reaches out from off a page, across a stage, through a painting or photograph, or along the rhythm of a piece of music. The ways we crave connection and the mad hope required to pour something of oneself into creative work to reach someone else strikes me as so beautifully and vulnerably human. I can think of no greater privilege.
Major: EnglishMinors: Cinematic Arts; Screenwriting2023 Jimmy Award Recipient Though my freshman-self imagined it would never happen, my time at USC comes to a close and thus I look back with fondness over how I spent my years at the esteemed university. Not only have I taken classes from world-renowned professors on a variety of topics, […]
Major: English (Creative Writing); Communication 2023 Jimmy Award Recipient Studying English (creative writing) at USC was transformative. My professors tore down the walls I built up against a career in academia, encouraging me with positive feedback to continue exploring my interests and pour myself into my writing as much as I could. The dreaded expectation […]
Major: English (Creative Writing)Minors: Education and Society; Psychology2023 Jimmy Award Recipient My objective is to become an English Language Arts educator. Upon graduation from USC, I’ve been accepted at Stanford University to work towards completing a one-year dual credential and Masters of Education program. My desire to teach English stems from the ways my world […]
During my first semester at USC, I took Playwriting I, an upper-division theatre elective and my first-ever Narrative Studies class. On the first day, our professor asked us to share why we wrote. When she said this, I immediately wanted to drop the course. I had never really written anything beyond the five-paragraph high school […]
Majors: English (Creative Writing) and Spanish2023 Jimmy Award Recipient My interest in the literary arts has held for years, and upon entering college, I knew I wanted to invest my course of study in literature, so I majored in both creative writing and Spanish. I specialize in the short story and am continuously compelled by […]
