Photo: Lillian Blacker

The Belmont High School English Department will present the annual Lillian F. Blacker Prizes for Excellence in Writing on Wednesday evening, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Holland Library at Belmont High School. This year, we will honor seniors Abigail Mohr (first place), Cameron Anderson (second place), and Alexander Park (third place) for their outstanding writing. 

Belmont residents are cordially invited to attend.

This year’s ceremony will begin with an exhibition of the creative projects produced by some of the 80 seniors who participated in the pilot Capstone Project. A dozen of those students will be presenting their work, science-fair style, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the library. If the Capstone program is adopte by the Belmont School Committee, it’s likely that most students will move towards creating projects instead of a senior thesis though AP students will still do the traditional thesis.  

Family and friends established the Blacker Prizes more than 20 years ago in memory of Lillian F. Blacker, a longtime Belmont resident who was active in community affairs and was director of the Harvard Medical News Office. She is remembered by the school and the community as a true lover of literature and language.

The Blacker Prizes are presented each year to three seniors for outstanding writing ability on their senior theses.  Each senior reads, researches, and writes a lengthy thesis paper investigating a literary topic. English faculty members determine the winners after an extensive reading process.

At the awards ceremony, the three Blacker Prize winners will read from their papers and discuss the evolution of their ideas. A panel of seniors will discuss their topics and the senior thesis process. Teachers, parents, administrators, and friends are invited. Underclassmen are encouraged to attend the ceremony to learn more about the senior thesis process. Refreshments will be served.