Mr. Steven A. Sultan and Mrs. Susan E. Sultan established the Jon Sultan Writing Award in memory of their son, Jon, who was an integral part of the first Integrative Studies cohort in 1995. School of Integrative Studies (SIS) will present the Jon Sultan Writing Award to a first year student who shows exceptional talent, versatility, and potential as a writer. The Sultan Award winner receives $1000.00 at the end of the spring semester.
The 2019 winner is Fairfax, Virginia native Casey John Klemmer, who is an Integrative Studies major with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies. Casey was inspired to declare the Women and Gender Studies concentration after taking WMGST 200 – Intro to Women and Gender Studies and WGST 208 – Intro to LGBTQ+. Both of these courses allowed him to explore parts of his own identity that he had not had the chance to do so previously. These courses exposed to him new ideas that were fascinating and forced him to think critically. While on campus, you can find Casey working in the Women and Gender Studies Center which is located in the JC and is open to all. After college, Casey plans to travel the around the world so that he can be exposed to different cultures, languages, and other ways of life which he hopes will inspire a career path that involves helping others.
Winners of the Sultan Award from the past years are now using their writing skills to earn them research grants! Alicia Rodriguez (2016 winner) and Olivia Stanford (2014 winner) have both applied for and won a grant from the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Studies, & Research Activities (OSCAR) and Sylvia Barely (2015 winner) is in the process on preparing her proposal now. Associate Professor, Cher Chen, has been a mentor and inspiration to these three young ladies.
March 26, 2019
