Essay Contest Asks Students ‘What is Home?’ Here Are Their Answers

July 12, 2022

Two years of isolation, quarantine, and social distancing brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic has brought new dimensions to an age-old question: what is home? In a recent essay contest for students at Baruch College, participants were prompted to explore this question and themes of “home.” The results were beautiful, provocative, and haunting.

In describing the contest, which is generously funded by the Shulman Family Fund, Weissman Professors Bridgett Davis and Gisele Regatao point to the profound impact the global pandemic had on students and how their concept of “home” changed over the last two years. The essay contest provided students an outlet for reflecting on their lives and sharing their stories.

“We have spent a lot of time at home these past two years and our relationship with our living spaces has changed,” wrote the contest judges, Professors Bridgett Davis and Gisele Regatao. “We now know there are many ways to transform or reimagine our homes. But home is not only a physical space; there are also many ways to think of home.”

Home: Exorcisms, UFOs, and Life in the Diaspora

Building the success of last year’s inaugural contest – which was suggested by alumnus David Shulman (’64) – Professors Davis and Regatao were able to expand the scale and scope of the project. They received 41 entries and ultimately selected six to receive cash prizes: $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, $500 for third place, and $200 each for three honorable mention essays.

In Gangster’s Paradise, first place winner Brianna Hobson (’24) wrote about her family’s home in the Bronx, weaving an otherworldly metaphor of ghostly possession into a story about how, ultimately, home is where she is free.

Sven Larson (’22) shared his account of how his neighborhood in Corona, Queens — which at one point led the city in the number of new coronavirus cases — was devastated by the pandemic. His essay, Unidentified Flying Objects, explores themes of persistence, grit, and survival while touching on gentrification and even extraterrestrials.

In her essay, third place winner Tamanna Saidi (’22) reflected on immigrant identity and solidarity against the backdrop of both Covid-19 and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

The three honorable mention essays were written by Kenia Torres (’24), James Reilly (’22), and Siddrah Alhindi (’23).

How Can I Read the Essays?

Winning essays were published in Dollars & Sense magazine, and the Department of Journalism, with the Harman Writer-in-Residence Program, hosted a reading and conversation with student winners of the “What Is Home?“ essay contest.

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