Cash prizes will be awarded to students who submit creative works that showcase successful experiential or remote learning
The College of Fine Arts and Communications is launching its second straight “Share Your Story” Creative Works Contest allowing students to highlight out-of-classroom opportunities with the possibility of receiving a cash prize. Students are encouraged to submit creative works that exemplify how they have answered President Worthen’s call for experiential learning — any opportunity that enhances classroom learning, such as internships, study abroad programs, conferences, tours and symposiums — as well as learning gained during the remote instruction period. These learning opportunities must have occurred during the 2019-2020 academic year — September 2019 to August 2020. Three essays and three visual art submissions that best exemplify how experiential or remote learning has shaped a student’s development will be selected from the entries. A $350 cash prize will be awarded to first place submissions, $200 to second place and $100 to third place. A total of $1,350 in prize money will be awarded. The winning creative works will also be featured on the college’s experiential learning website and social media channels. “We are excited to hear about and highlight the incredible things our students are doing to reach beyond the classroom,” said Ed Adams, dean of the college. “Experiential learning opportunities shape, strengthen and prepare students to ‘go forth to serve.’ Showcasing these experiences is just one of the many ways we show that we are a college of experiential learning.” Contest entries will be evaluated on how the submission exemplifies the benefits of experiential learning, engages the reader or viewer, represents BYU’s mission of “entering to learn, going forth to serve” and answers the questions included in the contest prompt. To be eligible for the contest, students must participate in classes or ensembles of the College of Fine Arts and Communications. Students whose experiential learning opportunity was made possible through college or university funding, such as a grant or scholarship, should indicate in their submission where those funds are from. In 2019, hundreds of students throughout the college participated in experiential learning opportunities, and many entered their experiences into the “Share Your Story” contest. The winning entries were shared on the college’s experiential learning website and social media channels, as were a selection of additional entries. Sydnee Gonzalez, a journalism student who was awarded second place for her essay entry in 2019, indicated that she participated in the contest to show other students the value of pursuing experiential learning opportunities. “I gained real-world experience that I never could have in the classroom,” Gonzalez said. “The ‘Share Your Story’ contest is a great way to not only showcase the awesome learning opportunities that we have as students, but also to encourage us to reflect back on those experiences and see how they’ll help our career paths.” The “Share Your Story” contest runs April 24 until Sept. 30. Visit cfaccontest.byu.edu to view a complete list of contest rules or to enter an essay or digital media submission.