Two University of Alaska Southeast Juneau students tied for first place in the spring history writing contest sponsored by the Gastineau Channel Historical Society and the UAS Writing Center, the historical society announced.
Senior Stephanie Harasim and freshman A.J. Schultz each took a moment in Gastineau Channel history and developed a fictional character who experienced that event, according to the historical society. Harasim’s piece, “October 9, 1914,” imagines the indignation of a Juneau resident at a new local ordinance setting the speed limit at 8 mph. Shultz’s rendering, “The Unaccounted Man,” is a moment-by-moment description of a miner caught in the 1917 Treadwell cave-in. Both stories build in a surprise ending.
Each student won $250 and a 2023 membership in the historical society. Their stories are published in the current edition of Gastineau Heritage News (available online at juneauhistory.org). Sophia Gimm, who earned an honorable mention and is also a UAS student, wrote about an imagined encounter on the ill-fated ship, the Princess Sophia, which sunk near Juneau in 1918. Her story will be published in the fall edition, according to the historical society.
Judges included writing center director Jessy Goodman; Forest Haven, professor of anthropology and Native studies; Kevin Maier, Ph.D., professor of English; Kolene James, student equity and multicultural services manager, Native and rural student center; and Laury Scandling and Rich Mattson representing GCHS.
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