Nick Ostdick, winner of the Viola Wendt Award in Creative Writing receiving his award from B.J. Best.

L to R: Nick Ostdick, Dr. Lara Karpenko, B.J. Best (Liz Cook was unable to attend the banquet).

Gordon folsom Award in English

Elizabeth Cook: Born and raised in Madison, Wis., Elizabeth came to Carroll in fall 2005. Thanks to the stellar English Department, she gained greater confidence in her writing, both academically and creatively, and in her approach to analyzing literature. She has twice contributed poetry to Carroll's Century Magazine and is finally brave enough to read it to others, whenever she gets a chance.

Viola Wendt Award in Creative Writing

Nick Ostdick: A fiction writer, Nick hails from the Chicago suburbs. He was the editor of Century Magazine and presented his work at the 2008 Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature conference in East Lansing, Michigan. In the fall, he'll begin his MFA in creative writing at Southern Illinois University. He had a beard before it was in vogue to have beards.