The Center for Ethics invites students to participate in its Learning Liberty Essay “Write-Off,” where students will have up to two and a half hours to write an essay of 1,000 words or less on the following prompt:

Does a liberal arts education in the 21st century prepare students for responsible citizenship in their community, nation, and the world?

Participants will be allowed to bring a single piece of paper with an outline/notes to the write-off, but they must compose their essay without the assistance of artificial intelligence. The write-off will be proctored by a faculty member. Coffee and cookies will be available.

Location: Alumni Hall, Room 5

The first-place winner will receive $500 and two runners-up will receive $200 each. 

A panel of faculty, staff, and outside guests will blind review essays.

Possible avenues of inquiry that relate to the prompt:

• The value of liberty and its connection to the good life
• Your experience/things you have learned during Learning Liberty colloquia and/or your time at Saint Anselm College
• A relevant public issue or public figure
• Creativity is encouraged
   

Apply here by noon on Tuesday, April 7 →

The growth in mindfulness over the past decade has been astounding. More individuals and organizations are recognizing the physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits of embracing mindfulness as part of daily living.

Mindfulness is the intentional directing of awareness to the present moment in a focused and sustained manner with nonjudgement. Mindfulness is thus paying attention to our attention moment by moment, by moment. By being mindful, among other things, we learn how we create our reality.

Leadership is concerned with identifying new realities and helping the organization adapt and align to the changes they imply. Leadership is thus about paying attention to what is arising each moment within the spheres of the relevant domains at the time.

This seminar will discuss mindfulness, its impact, and how it is practiced, and will propose how practicing mindfulness can be extremely helpful to the role and tasks of leadership.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Light refreshments will be available. Register here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/mtkpavk
 

Meet the Speaker:

Annabel Beerel is an Executive Leadership and Ethics consultant. She hosts a variety of seminars on Leadership, Change Management, Ethics, and Mindfulness. She is the former Distinguished Chair of Ethics at SNHU and interim Dean of Religious Life at Wellesley College. She has written several books on leadership and ethics and speaks at a variety of conferences.

Powerful writing has the ability to shape perspectives and drive change. In this dynamic six-week workshop, you will engage in both group and one-on-one sessions in order to immerse yourself in the art of persuasive op-ed and opinion writing. You’ll have an opportunity to learn from nationally recognized experts in writing and editing, including being able to ask questions about your work. Fifteen participants will work directly with Trent Spiner, an editor-in-chief and former national political reporter, in one-on-one sessions designed to help you craft and publish an op-ed on a topic of your choice. This class will be a journey to craft impactful narratives that inspire meaningful action in your community. All classes will be conducted via Zoom. A majority of previous participants of this workshop were successfully published in local and statewide news outlets.

What You'll Gain:

- Develop, write, and pitch at least one compelling op-ed.

- Group classes focused on brainstorming, drafting, and pitching op-eds.

- Facilitated conversations and Q&A sessions with op-ed experts.

Participants will also receive individualized coaching sessions for hands-on writing, editing, and pitching to media outlets. Those include:

- Two one-hour coaching sessions with Trent Spiner, drawing from his extensive experience as an editor-in-chief and presidential campaign reporter.

- Concrete results: a draft op-ed, pitch letter, and actionable leads for publication.

Dates:

May 29, 2026 (group session)

Noon - 4 p.m.

Held via Zoom

June 26, 2024 (group session)

Noon - 4 p.m.

Held via Zoom

One-on-one coaching sessions will be individually scheduled.

Audience: Open to all New Hampshire residents, with a special emphasis on those engaged in advocacy or working at mission-based non-profits.

Apply here by midnight on May 15, 2026: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkzcyNfHbIslRonjJpnQ2g2k-gp8dRDF4M98yrPnBYQuKPRA/viewform?usp=publish-editor

The registration fee for accepted applicants is $299. This fee covers two four-hour workshops and two hours of one-on-one coaching. All classes will be conducted via Zoom.

Questions? Email Hannah Deignan, hdeignan@anselm.edu

About the Facilitator:

Trent Spiner is a nationally recognized expert in writing and editing who served as a presidential campaign reporter at POLITICO, executive editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader, and president of the New Hampshire Press Association.

Support for this program comes from a $2 million endowment created by the N.H. Secretary of State's Office and the Center for Public Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship awarded to Saint Anselm College in 2013. The Endowment was created from a settlement reached between the New Hampshire Securities Bureau and Tyco International, LTD in 2002 and is administered by the University of New Hampshire Foundation.