Northwest Nazarene University student Kiara Blanco recently represented NNU at the Writing Matters conference hosted by the College of Southern Idaho on February 19 and 20. The annual event brings together students, faculty and writers from southwestern Idaho to explore the power of storytelling, literary analysis and creative expression.
Blanco, a sophomore English Education major, presented a paper titled “Life in the Ring,” examining Jesmyn Ward’s novel Salvage the Bones. She originally wrote it for the American Novel course taught by Dr. Darrin Grinder, who also coached the paper’s development from class assignment to conference presentation.
Opportunities like Writing Matters allow students to share their ideas in a scholarly setting while engaging in meaningful dialogue with peers and faculty from other institutions. Each student presenter participates in a session designed to encourage thoughtful discussion and close attention to each piece of work.
Dr. Julie Straight, professor of English at NNU, accompanied Blanco to the conference and participated in the Favorite Poem Project reading, a portion of the event that invites participants to share and celebrate poems that have been meaningful in their lives.
NNU’s participation in the conference was made possible through a generous donation from retired Nazarene pastor and hospice chaplain Robert Dawley (’74). The gift honors the memory of his wife, Doris Foronda Dawley (’71), an NNC English major originally from Bolivia.
Doris Dawley devoted her life to education. After teaching junior high in Nampa, she and her husband moved to New York, where she earned a master’s degree in bilingual education from New York University. She went on to teach elementary school in Freeport, New York until her retirement.
Through the Dawley family’s generosity, NNU students continue to have opportunities to present their work, connect with fellow writers and celebrate the written word, an enduring legacy that reflects Doris Dawley’s lifelong love of education and language.
