Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly
Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly is a collection of writing that represents the effort, commitment, and talent of students who complete our first-year composition courses. The Composition Program firmly believes that students can learn a great deal about writing by reading and studying the work of their peers. Fresh Voices is a required text in most sections of ENGL 102, 113, 133, and 134. The essays featured in the collection are typical of the intellectual engagement encouraged in Cal Poly’s writing classes.
Each year, hundreds of students submit their work to be considered for publication in this collection. While the selection committee (which is comprised of composition instructors) generally accepts about twenty essays to be included, we always have many ambitious and dynamic pieces from which to choose. We value the work of these writers because they took sophisticated approaches to the same assignments you are likely to meet in your English 134 course.
We invite you to look through the previous editions of Fresh Voices to see the kinds of essays you will be asked to write in your first-year composition courses.
Print release form for inclusion in Fresh Voices
Fresh Voices 2011-2012
Navigating Our Lives & Our Worlds
The selection committee is pleased to present the following students who have had their work published in this edition:
- Ariana Chini, "To My Parents, Ellen DeGenres and God"
- Kelly McBride, "The Man Behind the Camo" and "Beauty Ideals: Eating Away at the Cal Poly Population and the Nation"
- Rachael Burham, "Stubborn Like My Father"
- Andrew Chang, "Inner Journey"
- Amanda Faver, "They Graded the First Drafts"
- Regina L. Reiff, "Hidden Identities"
- Devon Fernandez, "A Break from the Bullshit"
- Christine Mulder, "The Last Goodbye"
- Stacy Fischbach, "Making Inappropriate Decisions"
- Clara Davis, "Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder"
- Shannon Reilly, "I'm Free When I Sing"
- Matthew Bezkrovny, "Street or Strip"
- Meredith Frisius, "Equal Access For All: A Proposal to End Access Ostracisms Through Retrofitting of All Residence Halls to be ADA Compliant"
- Steven Le, "She Will Tear You to Shreds and Stitch You Back Up"
- Dagmar Derickson, "The Twilight of My Writing Career"
- Zachary Wishbow, "What's a Kid, Without Some Ritalin?"
- Jessica Fong, "Gaming for the Future"
- Noelle Ricco, "Wolf Connection"
- Derek Sereno, "It Just Makes Cents"
- Kelly Allyn, "Cancer Alley"
- Chelsea Ainscow, "Gleequality"
Fresh Voices 2010-2011
The selection committee is pleased to announce that the following students have had their work published in the 2010-2011 edition of Fresh Voices:
- Jennifer Balidio, "Sweet to the Last Sip "
- Trevor Brumm, "My Coming Out Story "
- Olivia Cercone, "Music Education: A Gift to California Public Schools "
- Liliana Cervantes, "Save Their Lives, Save Their Futures "
- Mitchell Goulette, "My Sister’s Cure "
- Catt Hasbrook, "Cut, Slash, Mix & Mash: Behind the Booth with DJ Mikey Lion "
- Julianna Hein, "The Woman Behind the Weave "
- Van Anh Ho, "A Person Who Changed His Fate "
- Calvin Joyce, "Pedal "
- Taylor Kilbride, "Make It Beautiful "
- John Larwood, "Naturally Deceptive "
- Brian Middaugh, "Video Games Are Not Evil "
- Chun Hui Pek, "Nothing Like a Fishbone "
- Victoria Phillips, "Major Decisions "
- Kyleigh Rogers, "Small Beginnings "
- Kris Schobert, "Shine On "
- Kelsey Shimasaki, "Becoming a Writer "
- Erin Vickerman, "Amtgard "
- Eileen Wu, "Much Needed Improvements to Cal Poly Dining "
The collection also features images that were generously contributed by Marya Figueroa, Angela Rezai, and Svyatoslav Markeyev.