Office of University Communications 

Missouri State student named finalist in national writing contest

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State University student Katie Schmidt was chosen as a finalist in a national writing competition sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Schmidt, a senior social work major from Camdenton, Mo., submitted an editorial piece, “Waiting on the World to Change.”

Contestants were required to respond to the prompt: what advice would you give the next United States President on preventing and responding to threats of genocide and related crimes against humanity? The contest was judged by Mia Farrow, actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador; Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson; and John Prendergast, co-chair of ENOUGH, a project of the Center for American Progress.

“Katie is among several of our undergraduate majors who have received recognition beyond our campus,” said Dr. Etta Madden, interim director of the School of Social Work. “We’re delighted that through the skills learned and enhanced in social work, she has brought positive attention to the university.”

Schmidt is the founder and president of the Missouri State chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition.