UW-Waukesha's Samantha Below Receives Creative Writing Award

The University of Wisconsin-Waukesha's Samantha Below, Waukesha, has been recognized for her creative writing by the August Derleth Society.

Below was a finalist for the August Derleth/Hugo Schwenker Award for her essay "Chopin's Etude in A-flat Major.

Below, a homeschooled high school student, was enrolled in Andrea Lochen's English 101 class last fall. Her winning piece stemmed from a narrative essay assignment that asked students to write about an event that shaped their life.

"Samantha wrote about her grandfather teaching her to play the piano, specifically Chopin, and her struggles doing this," Lochen said. "It was descriptive, funny, and very poignant, and honestly one of the best essays I've ever read by an undergraduate student."

Lochen returned the essay to Below with glowing comments and followed up with her to discuss revision.

"When I told her it was good – like really, really good – she seemed surprised and flattered, but willing to put more effort into the revision," Lochen said. "I encouraged her to submit to the August Derleth contest because I thought she would have a really good chance at winning. I'm incredibly proud of her for placing as a finalist, but I'm hardly surprised."

The writing contest was open to students throughout the UW Colleges. The August Derleth Society, a Sauk City-based organization, promotes and preserves the work of the Wisconsin native, a prolific writer who died in 1971.