English Majors Win President's Student Leadership Award
The Department of English is pleased and proud that two of our outstanding English majors received University-wide recognition: Lum Chi and Max Pritchard won 2024 President's Student Leadership and Service Awards. The award recognizes students for their exceptional leadership and service to the University of Minnesota and its surrounding communities.
A Creative Writing minor, Lum Chi was a 2020-2021 Dean’s First-Year Research and Creative Scholar for the English department literary magazine Great River Review. Since early 2023, Lum has volunteered at the after-school program 826 MSP, working with youth on creative writing and homework and helping create an annual student publication. She is Fiction Editor for the 2023-2024 Tower undergraduate literary magazine. In addition, Lum is Outreach Director for English student group FUSE and Communications Director for the Creative Writing Club. This past fall she served as the first undergraduate representative to the English department’s EDI committee. The senior is also the recipient this year of a Sue W. Hancock SEEDS of Change Award. Says English Chair Kathryn Nuernberger, "Lum exemplifies positive, inclusive leadership."
Honors junior Max Pritchard founded the student group the Creative Writing Club and serves as President. He also is a Copy Editor at The Wake magazine. Max is currently leading a campaign for UMN Students for Climate Justice. Volunteering with off-campus group MN Environmental Justice Table, he interviewed workers and authored articles to support communities on the front line of environmental harms. He is the Arts & Humanities Managing Editor for the CLA Office of Institutional Advancement, where he started as a content creator. The English department asked him to speak to students about his strong engagement with on and off-campus communities as part of the career readiness unit for ENGL 3001 classes. Says English Lecturer Heather Holcombe, “What makes Max special is the way he connects his studies and his practices as a citizen."
