Beverly Native, Mount Carmel Senior Recognized For Prestigious Writing Award October 14, 2005

Chicago – The National Council of Teachers of English has selected Mount Carmel senior Andrew Clott as a 2005 NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing winner.

High schools nationwide selected 2,359 of the best young writers to participate in the contest. Out of these scholars, Andrew was one of 628 students recognized for his outstanding performance in writing.

“It’s really nice to be honored for something like this,” Andrew said. “Also, this is something that will look really good on my college transcript, so I’m pretty excited about that.”

The contest took place in March. The task for all participants was to write an impromptu essay in a two-hour time frame. Students were provided with a few statistics and quotations, a dictionary and a thesaurus. Other than those modest tools, they wrote the essay without any other help.

According to the NCTE, all compositions were read by two judges –one high school and one college English teacher. In selecting the winners, the judges looked for writing that demonstrated effective and imaginative use of language used to inform and move an audience.

With such a short time to write the essay, experience and ability were vital factors for Andrew, who has a clear appreciation of why he’s been able to develop into an effective writer.

“I guess I’ve always been inclined to be a good writer, but one of the keys for me is the English teachers I’ve had in my life,” Clot said. “I had an English teacher named Alan Jentzen at St. Barnabas, and then my four teachers at Mount Carmel have been incredible. All of those teachers have helped me become a good writer.”

Mark Antonietti, the English Department chair at Mount Carmel, taught Andrew his freshman year. Sean Daly, Dean of the Honors Program, led Andrew his sophomore year, and Mary Stamler, a 20-year Mount Carmel veteran, taught Andrew last year. This school year, Andrew is under the leadership of John Haggerty, Mount Carmel’s Assistant Principal who teaches one Honors Literature course.

Antonietti, also a Beverly resident, always knew Andrew had special talents.

“What always stood out to me about Andrew Clott was that he was never afraid to use his true voice. That says a lot about him as a person, not just as an author,” Antonietti said. “In my class, he was a confident person who was always willing to show something of himself in his writing.”

With his college days approaching, Clott is starting to form ideas of his future. His top choice is Washington University in St. Louis, where he intends to major in History or English. Down the road, Andrew wants to get a Law Degree or an M.B.A. For now, he’s still focused on leaving a strong impression at Mount Carmel.

“I’ve made some lifelong friends here. What a positive experience this has been for me,” Clott said. “Mount Carmel’s such a special place because we get kids from all over the Chicagoland area. There are so many different backgrounds here and so many different outlooks on life.

“We know there are differences here, but everybody is so accepting of each other. I’ll carry those experiences throughout my whole life. I’m accepting of others and I have the ability to adapt to different people in different situations. Those are skills I’ll need in the work force and in life.”

Contact Info:

Matt Kellam, Director of Communication

P: 773.324.1020  x245

F: 773.324.2468

Email: mkellam@mchs.org