First-Year Tulane Scholar Wins Award for Outstanding Essay

Tulane University Posse Scholar Austin Mankin won the Purvis E. Boyette Memorial Award for writing the most outstanding freshman essay in a first-year English class.

Austin was awarded the Boyette for his essay entitled, “In Defense of Bad English.” The essay combines personal reflections on the dialect spoken in St. Bernard, Louisiana, where he grew up, and includes a wider exploration of linguistic prejudice in America.

“It was the first time I surrounded myself with people who didn’t sound the same as me.”

Austin said the piece was influenced by his experience leaving home to attend Tulane and the feelings he confronted once on campus.

“It was the first time I surrounded myself with people who didn’t sound the same as me,” says Austin. “My professor said the essay was great in her feedback, but I had no idea she liked it so much until the end of the semester when she told me she was submitting it for the Boyette.”

Austin is currently focusing on political science, but is also fostering a growing interest in environmental studies. He is considering potentially merging the two and pursuing environmental law.

“I feel very connected to Louisiana’s rapidly eroding coastline,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind spending my career protecting and restoring it in any capacity that I can.”