Honors Student Wins Sandra Brown Excellence in Literary Fiction Scholarship
April 23, 2016
By Altheria Gaston Caldera / John V. Roach Honors College
Hayley Zablotsky
John V. Roach Honors College student and Honors undergraduate program assistant Hayley Zablotsky has been awarded the Sandra Brown Excellence in Literary Fiction (ELF) Scholarship! The full-tuition scholarship is awarded annually to a rising junior who has demonstrated academic excellence and remarkable potential as a fiction writer.
Hayley is a writing major and women’s studies minor from El Dorado Hills, California. When the coordinator of the ELF award, Honors Professor Dan Williams, let her know she had won, Haley’s initial reaction was “Really!” Though she tried to remain calm and collected, Hayley admits that winning the award was a huge surprise. As a Chancellor’s Scholar who already has a full-tuition scholarship, Hayley views the ELF award as validation that her writing has potential. She is inspired by knowing that someone appreciates what she writes. Since she hopes to have a career as a writer, this award affirms that she’s “going in the right direction.”
Hayley feels that this award challenges her to achieve an even higher level of excellence. This desire for excellence is seen in her goals for the next two years—completing her degree while writing a novel. After graduating from TCU in 2018, Hayley will either pursue an M.F.A. in creative writing, go to cooking school to learn culinary arts, or move to New York to begin her writing career in that crucial publishing location. She is leaning towards “getting out into the real world.”
Hayley offers thanks to her professors: Dr. Dan Williams, Matthew Pitt, Alex Lemon, and Dr. Karen Steele.
Congratulations, Hayley!