The 8th annual Julian Clement Chase Awards Ceremony was held Thursday, October 5 at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. For the first time, there are three Chase Prizes, one each for Creative Writing in Washington, Research Writing on the District of Columbia, and Social Impact in the District of Columbia. The prizes recognize and honor "appetite, boldness, the building of community, and the striving toward humane excellence" by undergraduate writers at GW. Each carries an award of $1,000.
Pulitzer-prize winning columnist Clarence Page served as keynote speaker, sharing stories about his work as a journalist and his love for the city of Washington. Veteran Katie Roxberry reflected on her own growing relationship with Washington after a childhood of travel around the country.
Amira Al Amin, winner of the Chase Prize for Creative Writing in Washington, read from her short story, “Whatever’s Next?” and reflected on the ways she had learned to find new voices in her fiction and for herself by stepping off campus and exploring the life of the city. Julia H. Russo, winner of the Chase Prize for Undergraduate Research on the District of Columbia, presented their work, "A Legacy of Disenfranchisement: Interrogating the Displacement of the Historical Black Foggy Bottom Community," which drew on archival documents and oral histories to highlight the unjust planning and real estate practices that made way for GW and federal offices in the neighborhood. Bailey Moore, winner of the Chase Prize for Community Impact, shared her work with Planned Parenthood of Washington DC to design "An Expanded Curriculum for Sisters Informing Healing Living and Empowering (SIHLE)," a mentorship program promoting frank and accurate discussion of women's sexual health issues among African American teens. All three works are posted, open access, to GWScholarSpace.
There were also three Honorable Mentions awarded this year: Sasha Agarwal for “Steadily” and John Lowrance for "The Evangelist" for creative writing, and Lauren Guzowski, "I Lost, But I Gained: DC Abortion Clinics, Self-help Feminism, and Making Space" for the research prize.
History of the Julian Clement Chase Prizes
The prizes are named for Sgt. Julian Clement Chase, a native of Washington, D.C., who loved his city, exploring it on foot and by bicycle. Upon graduation from DC's Wilson High School, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, served two tours in Afghanistan, and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for Valor. He was accepted to and set to matriculate as a freshman at GW in 2013, but was killed in action in 2012 at age 22. His family established the prizes to honor others who explore D.C. with the same intelligence, engagement, and excitement Julian did. They are offered by the University Writing Program, in collaboration with the Creative Writing Program and the Honey W. Nashman Center for Public Engagement and Civic Service.