A Celebration of Student Success and Alumni Partnerships at “The Gathering”

The English Department and Caldwell University Alumni Association hosted “The Gathering” on May 1, celebrating student accomplishments in English.  Among the awards presented included the Excellence in Writing Awards, named after former English department faculty and chairs. These awards are made possible by the generosity of Caldwell University alumni.  Dr. Patricia Verrone, Caldwell University professor of English and event organizer, notes, “Engaging alumni with these awards keeps them aware of what is happening in our department and is a way for them to give back.  We hear from so many alumni who ask ‘What can we do for the English dept?’ As you can tell, we stay very connected to a number of alumni.”

Event goers were also treated to a poetry reading by Sister Elizabeth Michael Boyle, O.P. and the Tower Poets.

Matt Regan ‘06

In addition to the awards ceremony, the event featured alumnus speaker, Matt Regan ’06.  Regan spoke eloquently about how majoring in English at Caldwell has helped him not only in his career but also in life, noting that those who will be educating future generations about the written word outside of the constraints of social media (beyond 140 characters in twitter, for example) will be English majors.

Additional photos from the event can be viewed here.