Perry Hall Grad Wins Nation’s Top Student Literary Prize

At 22, Lisa Jones can now add the nation's top student literary prize to her lengthy list of accomplishments. 

Jones, a Washington College senior, won the college's Sophie Kerr Prize during a reception in New York City Tuesday evening. It comes with a $61,062 check—believed to be the largest cash award given to a senior this season, according to a college news release. 

Jones grew up in the small community of Fork, north of Kingsville. She graduated from  before majoring in anthropology and minoring in creative writing at the private liberal arts college in Chestertown.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Jones made the dean’s list every semester. She worked as a writing center consultant and in the Geographic Information Systems Lab. Last spring she learned about Maasai culture while studying abroad in Tanzania.

Chosen from among five finalists, Jones' winning literary portfolio included personal essays about her experiences in Tanzania and growing up in a small town, according to a college news release. 

“She takes a place that means a lot to her, whether her hometown or a country in Africa, and, through a constellation of anecdotes and the powers of description, makes that place come alive for others,” said Kathryn Moncrief, the chair of the Sophie Kerr Committee. “Her writing was intimate, honest and vivid.”

In December, she began working as the grants and contracts coordinator at the International Youth Foundation in Baltimore. She will graduate from Washington College on Sunday.