Rebecca Jewell is shown receiving her writing competition award from NNYLN Director John Hammond. .

POTSDAM - With nearly a year invested into research, writing and re-writing, a SUNY Potsdam graduate student has been named the winner of the second Researching the North Country Writing Competition.

Rebecca Jewell received a $1,000 cash prize and a certificate from the Northern New York Library Network during its Annual Meeting held May 21, 2009 at Clarkson University, Potsdam for her essay on "Suffrage in St. Lawrence County: As Reported in the Local Newspapers."

Submissions for the Northern New York Library Network’s writing competition were judged on quality of the scholarship; originality of topic and treatment; and use of local libraries, archives, and cultural resources.

Miss Jewell is currently enrolled in SUNY Potsdam's Masters of Arts degree in English, which is an interdisciplinary program comprised of literature, composition, and communication.

Her paper included extensive use of the Network’s Northern New York Historical Newspapers website (news.nnyln.net). Ms. Jewell said her honors Independent Studies Professor Lisa Wilson recommended the digitized newspapers as a resource for her to use.

"I wanted to do a local project and be able to use local research. I am interested in what happened around here," Ms. Jewell said. "The contest was about local research, and that helped with my focus.

"The writing competition was a great opportunity for me. I didn’t even expect to be considered," she smiled. "I hope to keep sharing (my findings). Research never ends."

Miss Jewell’s winning essay, along with the names and essay titles of all entrants may be found on the NNY Library Network’s website at www.nnyln.org , and click on "Researching the North Country Writing Competition - Winner."