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Sophia Friedrich, 17, of Ionia won third place in a statewide Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) creative writing contest. The competition included entries from 28 community colleges in Michigan. 

“I'm really excited that I placed third,” she said. “I never expected to place at all, and I was shocked that out of all the people from different colleges that I got chosen for third place.” 

Her short fiction entry, “Taken,” offers a different take on the life of a pumpkin. 

“I was inspired by a science experiment in my class,” Friedrich said. “When my English teacher informed the class about the writing competition, I started brainstorming different things about fall. The first things that came to mind was Halloween and pumpkins, and later that day I had a lab where we were exploding pumpkins which is where I got the inspiration to write a story about Halloween from a pumpkin’s perspective.” 

The judge’s comments on her entry were: “Wow! What a twist ending! The author told a brutal and vivid tale of something we all find festive and fun each year in October. Great job of using an entirely unexpected point of view.” 

Friedrich is part of the Early College program at MCC. She is studying for her associate of science and arts degree. She isn’t sure what career she wants to pursue, but is interested in science and engineering. 

“I entered the competition because I like writing and wanted to try out the writing competition,” she said. “I wanted to see how my writing compared to others.” 

To view her entry, visit https://www.montcalm.edu/2106.