Former Hilltop Views Editor-in-Chief and St. Edward’s University alumnus Claire Cella was recently recognized as one of four finalists in the Norman Mailer College Nonfiction Writing Competition for Four Year Colleges.

The competition is affiliated with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Norman Mailer Center and Writers Colony, and recognizes students on a national level. Applicants are required to submit a creative nonfiction work with a maximum of 15 pages double-spaced.

There are three categories for student applicants, including High School, Two-Year College, and Four-Year College. For each category there is one winner, four finalists and up to 15 semi-finalists.

Finalists receive the award title of Norman Mailer College Nonfiction Writing Competition Finalist. For Cella, receiving the award is a source of encouragement in itself.

“Winning the award was such an encouragement for me to continue working on my writing and exploring my talent,” Cella said. “As a writer, it is hard to receive feedback on your work and winning this award was the positive reassurance I needed to say, ‘I can do this. I can write.’ It has given me the extra motivation I needed to strive to publish my work in journals.”

Cella submitted an essay titled “For How Do I Hold Thee,” originally written for a creative nonfiction course taught by Professor Kelly Mendiola. Cella took the course during her final semester at St. Edward’s.

“When I first wrote the essay, I had no intention of submitting it anywhere; it was only for the class.  But after getting positive feedback from both Mendiola and my classmates, I decided to submit it to the Norman Mailer contest after I had found out about it,” Cella said.

Cella submitted her application in April, and was notified of her achievement on Sept. 16.

 “In total, I most likely spent about three months writing, crafting, revising and perfecting the essay,” Cella said.

Cella received a Fullbright English Teaching Assistantship Grant and is currently in Bangkok, Thailand, preparing for a position as an English teacher at Princess Chulabhorn’s College in Phitsanulok, Thailand.

“I hope to continue my writing, and even try to submit for publication while I am here, but I will need to see how demanding my teaching job is,” Cella said. 

Minh Phuong Nguyen of the University of Missouri received the Norman Mailer College Nonfiction Writing Competition for Four Year Colleges. He received a cash award of $10,000.