NDMU Students Recognized Nationally for Literary Excellence

By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director

BALTIMORE – A pair of Notre Dame of Maryland University students received national recognition after submitting literary work for a competition sponsored by the National Scholastic Honor Society for colleges and universities with a Catholic tradition.

Tiara Aragon ’27 won first place for her poem titled “My Father’s Portrait” in Delta Epsilon Sigma’s national writing competition, while Erika Smith ’24 received honorable mention for her critical/analytical essay titled “Ghosts of Our Past: Octavia Butler’s Kindred.”

Delta Epsilon Sigma’s writing contest is a highly competitive competition open to all undergraduate students at schools affiliated with the honor society, which currently has 119 chapters and over 45,000 members. Manuscripts may be submitted in any of five categories: Poetry, Short Fiction, Creative Nonfiction/Personal Essay, Critical/Analytical Essay or Scholarly Research. The first place winner in each of the five categories receives a $500 prize and publication in an upcoming volume of the Delta Epsilon Sigma journal.

Aragon is a digital media arts major, a Morrissy Honors program student, and a current editor for Damozel, NDMU’s annual student literary magazine. Her poem, written in the shape of a portrait, highlights her father’s immigration story, and how that story inspires her to work hard every day in recognition of his efforts.

“I attended a four-year literary magnet program in high school, so I had experience submitting work to these types of contests,” Aragon said. “But as a first-year student entering a national competition, I really wasn’t expecting much. It was such a pleasant surprise to find out that I had won. As I take on more communications classes, I’m realizing how much of an asset writing is as a skill, and I’m grateful to have opportunities like this to sharpen my skills and be recognized for creative writing.”



Aragon’s involvement with Damozel is another way to maintain her passion for literary projects. She recently finished editing entries for the upcoming 2023-24 issue, and she has been asked to read her poem at an event celebrating the issue’s release which is being planned for later in the spring semester.

“I usually say my poems out loud before writing them down, and the spacing on the page is determined based on how I speak it,” she said. “I’m very excited to speak this poem out loud at the Damozel launch event. The oral tradition is one of my favorite aspects of poetry.”

Smith is a psychology major, an English minor, a Morrissy Honors program student, and the treasurer for NDMU’s chapter in Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. Her submitted work for this competition, analyzing the potential villainy of the main protagonist in Kindred, was originally created for an assignment in her Women and/as Monsters in Literature and Culture course taught by Dr. Jeana DelRosso.

“Dr. DelRosso is the one who encouraged me to apply for this competition,” Smith said. “We have a real close relationship, which is an advantage of going to a smaller school like Notre Dame. I probably wouldn’t have even known that this opportunity existed if I attended a larger institution. It was exciting to be recognized nationally for my writing on a topic that I was passionate about.”

Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.