Baldwin Wallace University will be hosting their first, “Power of the Pen,” regional competition for middle-school students in the Northern school district. 

Since this is the first time Baldwin Wallace will be hosting this event, faculty are eager to show off the campus to a younger population of student scholars. 

The event will be taking place on Saturday, March 14 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will be held in Marting Hall and Gamble Auditorium for the awards ceremony. This event is a part of a series of many writing competitions for middle-school students at the 7th and 8th grade levels. Students will compete either as a solo writer or in groups. 

In the past, Baldwin Wallace has been approached with the idea for hosting this event; however, due to limited timing and space, this was not an option. Yet, because the seeds had been planted many years prior, this allowed Baldwin Wallace to make the accommodations for this year’s event possible. 

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Guy Farish, was able to be a part of the process in making this event possible going into the Spring semester.  

“It was up to us to find an appropriate sized venue to accommodate the middle-school students, to make sure there are faculty and student volunteers, and to providing funding from not only my office [The College of Arts and Sciences], but from the BW Provost Office for things like trophies and food,” said Farish.  

Furthermore, Lee Ann Jindra, administrative specialist and BW coordinator for “Power of the Pen,” highlights that despite running the logistics side of the event, she wants to push many students to recognize that writing skills.

“Writing skills today are very important. There are many English majors that are hired for jobs because of their ability to write, their ability to communicate,” said Jindra. “As Business majors or any major, you need to know how to write to communicate effectively, and that is a very sought-after skill in the job market.”  

 Faculty in the English Department will also be helping the event to run smoothly and are encouraging anyone to volunteer to help show students where to go, act as runners for the judges, and with retrieving scores.  

Denise Kohn, English Department chair, is one of the many faculty that is eager. 

 “We need BW students to participate on that date,” said Kohn. “We just want BW students to be on-campus to talk to the middle school students, teachers, and to just be friendly hosts.”  

Aside from student volunteers, Baldwin Wallace University will utilize this event to showcase its campus to middle-school students, parents, and teachers within the northern regional school district.  

Kohn said this is a great opportunity, not only, for Baldwin Wallace’s campus but its English Department.

“We just want to support young writers, so, this is a way for us to reach out to the community, and to emphasize the importance of writing in everybody’s life,” said Kohn. “Writing is so important whether people are English majors or not. And, we just want to celebrate. To have students come to BW, I think is an excellent way to do that.”

To sign-up to volunteer for the event, students and faculty should contact Kohn at [email protected]. Lunch will be provided to all who attend, including volunteers.