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Four Wake Students Place in Phi Beta Kappa Writing Contest

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From the press release:

RALEIGH – Four outstanding high school students are winners of the annual writing contest sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Wake County.

This is the forty-eighth year of the contest, which is open to juniors and seniors in all Wake County high schools, public and private. The contest focuses on literary analysis. All submissions must be scholarly interpretations of literature prepared as part of the regular work of an English class.

Junior Division winners are:

  • First Place: Jack Davis, a student of Palmer Seeley at Cary Academy, for “Beautiful Little Fool: The Evolution of the Cool Girl in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl”
  • Second Place: Dylan Jones, a student of Priscilla Chappell at W. G. Enloe Magnet High School, for “The Unwilling Acolytes: The Significance of Claire Zachanassian’s Entourage in The Visit”

Senior Division winners are:

  • First Place: Laura Naslund, a student of Marcia Jones at Ravenscroft School, for “Like Creator, Like Creation: Raskolnikov and Dostoevsky’s Parallel Spiritual Journeys”
  • Second Place: Chloe Pacyna, also a student of Marcia Jones at Ravenscroft School, for “Leading Ladies: The Principal Women of Oedipus Rex and Hamlet”

All winners receive book awards and certificates from the Association. First and second place winners also receive cash awards. The Association [honored] the winners, their teachers, and their families at its Spring Banquet the evening of April 28 at the Carolina Country Club. Guest speaker is Robert T. “Bob” Geolas, President and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina.

“As always, we received a diverse and interesting collection of essays,” according to Association President Michael Blanchard of Raleigh. “Wake County is fortunate to have talented students, dedicated teachers, and supportive parents who care about scholarship. We encourage every public and independent high school in Wake County to participate.”

The Phi Beta Kappa Association of Wake County is made up of alumni members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest undergraduate honor society. Founded at The College of William and Mary in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa fosters and recognizes excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. For information on the Wake County Association, visit the website at http://www.pbkofwake.org/.