Jimmy Award Recipients

The 2019 Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Award Recipients-The Tenth Year of the Jimmy!

by Casey Gauntt 2019 Recipients

On Tuesday evening April 30, the six 2019 recipients of the Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Award, aka the “Jimmy,” were introduced by their nominating professors and feted at the charming Ostrich Farm restaurant in Echo Park Los Angeles. This was the tenth year the Jimmies have been awarded and the significance of this milestone was […]

Read more →

CHRISTINA SIMILIEN

by Casey Gauntt 2019 Recipients

Hi! My name is Christina Similien, and I am a senior at the University of Southern California. I‘m graduating this May with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Reading and writing are what sustain me, so to have spent the past four years submerged in stories and surrounded by […]

Read more →

CATALINA ACEBAL-ACEVEDO

by Casey Gauntt 2019 Recipients

My name is Catalina (like the island). I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in Key Biscayne, Florida. When I was five years old, I told my mother six words that changed my life. As she was picking me up from school one day, I looked up and told her “I want […]

Read more →

ISABELLA PREISZ

by Casey Gauntt 2019 Recipients

My love for storytelling began at a young age. I grew up listening to my father, a Danish immigrant, read me Scandinavian folk stories every night. My Grandma, an Italian immigrant, put paint brushes in my hand as a little girl. I’ve always been drawn to the way that color and word come together to […]

Read more →

ZHARIA O’NEAL

by Casey Gauntt 2019 Recipients

I moved to the United States from the British Virgin Islands when I still had all my baby teeth. Though I’d heard a lot about America, I was fairly certain that it wouldn’t be too eventful — nothing big, nothing life-changing, and certainly nothing to write about. I was wrong. I started writing stories […]

Read more →

FRANCISCO JAUREGUI

by Casey Gauntt 2019 Recipients

Frank. Franklin. Francisco. Panch. Panchí. Jeremy. Frankie. Stepping onto USC’s campus during move-in week, I needed to decide which version of myself I wanted to present for the next 4 years. As a son of two immigrant, hardworking parents of color, I already had a predetermined narrative attached to my character. “I don’t belong here,” […]

Read more →

STELLAR ENGLISH SENIORS HONORED AT THE 10TH ANNUAL JIMMY GAUNTT MEMORIAL AWARD DINNER

by The Jimmy Gauntt Award 2019 Recipients

Here is a link (followed by full text) to the wonderful article written by Susan Bell, Managing Editor of USC Dornsife Magazine Stellar English seniors honored at the 10th annual Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Award Six outstanding seniors nominated by faculty from USC Dornsife’s English Department are recognized for their commitment to the arts at an […]

Read more →

THE 2020 JIMMY GAUNTT MEMORIAL AWARD RECIPIENTS ARE ANNOUNCED-THE 11TH YEAR OF THE JIMMY

by Casey Gauntt 2020 Recipients

Professors David Roman and Danzy Senna, co-chairs of this year’s Selections Committee, recently announced the 2020 recipients of the Jimmy Gauntt Memorial Award, aka The Jimmy. The Jimmy is awarded to the top graduating seniors who have majored in English, Creative Writing or Narrative studies. Normally, six stellar seniors receive The Jimmy. Professor Roman explained […]

Read more →

Luke Van Lant

by Casey Gauntt 2020 Recipients

I’m honored to be one of the recipients of the 2020 Jimmy Gauntt award for the 2020 graduating class. Growing up 45 minutes away in Long Beach, I was awakened to the city’s unique creative energy while in high school. My friends formed bands, self-published zines, and were radicalized by the 2016 election cycle. A vibrant […]

Read more →

Fedja Celebic

by Casey Gauntt 2020 Recipients

I was born on October 14, 1997, despite not having been consulted beforehand on whether that was a good idea. I grew up in Newburyport, Massachusetts, only child to immigrants from Montenegro of former Yugoslavia. I didn’t cry much as a baby. In preschool, my teacher asked my parents if they read to me, or […]

Read more →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →