By CHARLES ROMERIL
charles@du2.byu.edu
Winners of the George H. Brimhall Founders' Day Essay Contest received their awards last night.
Essay contest winners were honored Tuesday night at the Franklin S. Harris Founders Day Dinner.
Six BYU students received awards for their essays. The essays were judged by four English teachers and two administrators.
In the graduate category Patrick Madden, a graduate student from Whippany, N.J., majoring in English, received first prize. Second prize was awarded to James Richards, a graduate student from Salt Lake City, majoring in English.
Madden will receive $750 for first place and Richards will receive $450 for second.
In the undergraduate category there was a tie for first place. The two recipients of the first place reward were Naomi Frandsen, a junior from La Canada, Calif., majoring in English and Cristie Charles, a senior from Provo, majoring in English.
There was also a tie for second place in the undergraduate category. Steven Craig, a senior from Phoenix, majoring in English was one of the recipients. The other winner was Tom Johnson, a senior from Tacoma, Wash., majoring in English.
The first place winners in the undergraduate categories will receive $500. The second place winners will receive $350.
The winners of the contest all read their stories at the Founders' Day Dinner. The theme of the essays was this year's homecoming theme "On the Wheels of a Dream."
Madden, the winner of the graduate category, said he related his essay to a stake president in Uruguay. He said he actually thought of a different idea to write on the night of the deadline.
Madden said he will use the money for his wife. "I'll pay for my wife and son to visit her family in Uruguay, She hasn't seen her family for a while."
Frandsen, one of the winners in the undergraduate category, said that she was excited about her title. Her essay was titled "This Dream Cometh".
She said she came up with the title in her New Testament class and had to use it for an essay.
Frandsen said her essay is about dreams being fulfilled. "Our dreams aren't what we call dreams but they are real life."
Charles, the winner in the undergraduate category, said she was shocked to learn she had won.
Charles said her essay used personal family experiences and tied it in with the theme and Brimhall's life.
"I wrote it more to record my experience with my family then for the contest," Charles said.
The George H. Brimhall Founder's Day Essay contest started five years ago when Brimhall was honored as a founder. His family sponsors the yearly essay contest.
Information on the BYU founders is available in the Brimhall Gallery of the George H. Brimhall Building.
Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Oct 1998
