Scranton English Department Leaves Mark at International Honor Convention

By Marcus Smith '27, Student Correspondent

Every year, Sigma Tau Delta, the international English Honor Society, hosts a convention that gathers some of the most brilliant of the next generation of writers and literary scholars.

This year, 11 student members of Mu Omicron, The University of Scranton’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, attended the annual convention “Second Lines and New Beginnings” from March 29 to April 1, in New Orleans, where they presented papers ranging from short stories to poetic criticism.

Almost 200 different universities and colleges from across the globe attended the closing ceremonies on April 1, where awards were presented to around 70 presenters for outstanding works in their categories, ranging from original prose to LGBT literature to pop-culture analysis.

Out of those 68 recipients, two University of Scranton alumni and one current undergraduate won awards, putting Scranton in the upper tier of universities to be awarded, with three in total.

The following students presented their papers at the convention:

Emily Carey ʼ26, a public policy and philosophy double-major from Monroe Township, New Jersey, presented “Uttering Identity.”

Adelle Confer ʼ26, an English and Philosophy double-major from Canton, presented “Clifton and Madhubuti: Assassination, Hopelessness, and Dejection.”

Lauren DeSantis ʼ26, an English and Philosophy double-major from Copiague, New York, presented “The Emerald Standard: Limitations on Irish Women in Lady Gregory and W. B. Yeats’ “Cathleen Ni Houlihan” and James Joyce’s ‘Eveline.’”

Amanda Karpiak ʼ27, an English major from Scranton, presented “Death In Edinburgh.”

Jenna LaBarca ʼ26, an English and Criminal Justice major from Tuckahoe, New York, presented “Annis’ Departure from the World of Spirits and Passage to Freedom.”

Faith Montagnino ʼ26, an English major from Morganville, New Jersey, presented “Grief as Protest: Reimagining the Elegy in Danez Smith’s ‘not an elegy for Mike Brown.’”

Gabriella Palmer ʼ26, an English, Theatre and Philosophy triple-major from Phoenixville, presented “The Inheritance of Vivienne Dupree.”

Nya Rowe '26, an English major from the Bronx, New York, presented "The Art of Dorian Gray: Victorian Aesthetics in Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray.'"

Marcus Smith ʼ27, an English and Theatre double-major from Schuylkill Haven, presented “The Scranton Anomaly.”

Lauren Spratt ʼ26, an English major from Philadelphia, presented “Women and Proto-Feminism in Victorian Literature.”

Benjamin Storman ʼ27, an English major from Scranton, presented “Journal of an American Janitor.”

The students were chaperoned by Billie Tadros, Ph.D., and Madeline Gangnes, Ph.D., both associate professors in the Department of English and Theatre who also serve as faculty moderators for Mu Omicron.

Two Scranton alumni also presented works of poetry, for which they won awards.

Bethany Belkowski ʼ24, who has a double-major in English and Public Policy and Service, presented “She Punctuates Her Conversation With Snatches of Song” and Elias Kerr ʼ23, who has a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy presented “trans [re]formation - part 1.”

Belkowski won an honorable mention for the Stemmler/Dennis LGBT Awards, while Kerr placed second, both in the creative works category.

In addition to the alumni, Carey won third place for the Stemmler/Dennis awards in the critical essays category for her work “Uttering Identity,” an essay that she wrote in a class that she took with Dr. Tadros.

Likewise, Kerr’s poetry flourished while studying with Dr. Tadros during their undergraduate years at Scranton.

According to Kerr, that tutelage, along with presenting their work at Sigma Tau Delta’s conventions, helped them “become a more confident, empowered, and healed individual.”

Kerr also discussed how important the Sigma Tau Delta community is to them, and the meaningful impact they have had among the literary community.

“People will always come up to me after I speak on a panel or give a reading, often bringing up how they heard me read the previous year, or how my book has helped them through similar challenges,” Kerr said. “Being able to use the written word to share my personal story and experiences with others has made a world of difference for me; I feel like I am giving back to a community that has always given to me.”

Kerr also expressed a desire to stay involved with Sigma Tau Delta for a long time, saying that “I hope to continue to be a part of the convention for years to come, and share my work, my stories, and my experiences with other writers from around the country.”

Additionally, Confer, DeSantis, LaBarca and Montagnino, Mu Omicron chapter’s executive board members, presented a Roundtable research discussion titled “What We Owe Each Other: Survival, Storytelling, and Care in Jesmyn Ward’s ‘Salvage the Bones.’”

Beyond the presentations and awards, members of Scranton’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta were deeply involved in ensuring that the conference ran smoothly, ranging from serving as regional representatives to inaugural leaders of new groups, helping to give back to the literary community.

Dr. Tadros and Kerr were also both appointed as inaugural mentors for the new National English Honor Society Poets Laureate Award, where they will help aspiring poets in high school serve as poetic voices for their communities.

So far, they have mentored three young poets who gave a reading at the convention this year as a part of that program.

Both Kerr and Dr. Tadros were recognized for mentoring those students at the awards ceremony on April 1.

They both also took part in a panel called “Distinguished Voices in Contemporary Poetry,” where they discussed this new mentorship position.

Scranton’s contributions did not stop there, though, as Montagnino, Mu Omicron’s president, served both onstage and behind the scenes as the 2025-2026 Associate Student Representative for the Eastern Region, a position that she described as “an incredibly fulfilling, albeit different, experience compared to my trips to St. Louis and Pittsburgh as a convention attendee.”

As a student representative, Montagnino took on numerous responsibilities, such as coordinating the schedules that helped the convention run smoothly, introducing keynote speaker Jesmyn Ward and running after-hours events for the convention attendees.

“I loved being able to introduce myself in person to the people I had been working to support for so long,” Montagnino said.

She also was excited to see everyone getting to know each other and making connections with people from other places.

“It was beautiful to witness the connections fostered by students from diverse parts of the country,” Montagnino said. “Watching attendees make friends from other universities, show up for one another, and encourage each other was truly moving, and I feel blessed to have had a hand in creating that space.”

Sigma Tau Delta recognizes and encourages excellence among undergraduate and graduate students in all aspects of English language, literature and related fields such as journalism, theatre, creative writing, media and film studies, communications, marketing, linguistics and education, including literacy initiatives.

Marcus Smith '27, Schuylkill Haven, is an English and theatre double major at Scranton.