Embracing Activism and the Written Word:  New DU Awards Celebrate Student Work, Honor Sinsinawa Sisters

Tapping into a passion for environmental justice and highlighting the complexities of immigration earned students two newly established awards this year, named for influential Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. 

Sowing Seeds of Change

Jariel Ramos, a political science major and climate activist, received DU’s inaugural Sr. Sheila Seeds of Change Award, an honor created to recognize students for their meaningful contributions to sustainable practices. The award is named for Sr. Sheila Fitzgerald, OP, a founding member of Fields of Sinsinawa, a farmer-led mission for holistic soil-care practices. 

Through the Schmitt Scholars program, Jariel is working to create a grassroots student organization that will empower young adults to embrace environmental action and justice. 

“Learning about Dominican’s history with sustainability and environmentalism is what inspired me to pursue initiatives on campus,” Jariel said. “I’m invigorated to do the work to make our campus greener while fighting for environmental justice.”

In high school, Jariel lobbied Wisconsin elected officials to take action on Earth-friendly legislation addressing water system contamination by PFAS, known as forever chemicals, and protecting the growth and harvesting of wild rice, which is used by the state’s Indigenous communities. 

“To me, climate activism is just a fancy way of saying I care for the planet and I’m taking necessary action steps myself,” he said. 

Writing from the Heart

Stories that are personal can connect to many. That is the case for winners of the inaugural Sr. Marcella Hermesdorf, OP, Emerging Writers Award. Celebrating writing excellence and honoring Sr. Marci’s contributions as professor of English, the award was proposed by English professors Dr. Jodi Cressman and Dr. Maggie Andersen.

Johanna Rose Ignatius, a sophomore, was the winner in the Creative Genre category for her autobiographical account, Between Accents and Alphabets. In it, Johanna revisits the challenges she encountered with American English after arriving in the U.S. from Bangalore, India, as a child. The piece is also a discovery of how words, languages and accents form one’s identity.

“Over time, I became two versions of myself,” Johanna wrote. “With my American friends, my voice was lower, flatter and careful to match theirs. At home, my words rose higher, lighter and full of Indian rhythm. I could move between worlds with just the sound of my voice. It was the beginning of my American life, just as my accent and languages were reshaping themselves to fit into a new world.”

Mikayla Guadalupe Saldana, also a sophomore, was the winner in the Scholarly Genre category for her essay, Undocumented: The Weight of a Word, which explores how the word undocumented “evolved from a single descriptor to a powerful symbol of fear, resilience and identity” among immigrants.

“The evolution of ‘undocumented’ mirrors a nation’s ongoing struggle between exclusion and recognition,” Mikayla wrote. “It demonstrates how language evolves alongside social consciousness, reflecting the values and blind spots of a society.”

Both winning pieces were written for first-year Critical Reading, Writing and Speaking classes, and were selected from 40 nominations that were reviewed by a committee of professors, said Megan Chesney, lecturer at DU.

Johanna and Mikayla read their pieces during Dominican’s SI (Scholarship and Ideas) Expo in the spring.

“People connected with Johanna and Mikayla’s words and were moved by their voices,” Chesney said. “Through their readings, the audience was able to recognize the collective linguistic, cultural and identity experiences of our students.”

To read the winning entries, visit https://www.dom.edu/magazine/fall2026/student-writing-award.