Ali Clingan ’25 Awarded 2023–24 Jack Godfrey Memorial Scholarship

Clingan is the fourth English major to win the scholarship since it was established in 2014.

By Chloe Kim

Ali Clingan ’25, an English major and creative writing minor, has been awarded the 2023–24 Jack Godfrey Memorial Scholarship. Clingan is the fourth English major to win the scholarship since it was established in 2014.

Godfrey, a University of Maryland student who was killed in 2014, enjoyed creative writing. His family created the scholarship to encourage students who shared Godfrey’s passion to “keep telling great stories.”

Clingan is part of the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House Living and Learning Program and currently serves as one of the poetry editors for the UMD undergraduate literary journal Stylus. She enjoys writing in multiple genres, including realism, fantasy, science fiction, scriptwriting and creative nonfiction.

We spoke to Clingan about the scholarship, her writing inspirations and her experience as an English major at UMD.

What sparked your interest in writing?

I’ve always loved to read. I wrote a novel when I was about 13, so I was committed to it from a young age. For high school, I went to an arts school called Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in the creative writing track, so that was the first place where I was really able to nurture this passion.

Who are your biggest writing influences?

I grew up on Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, so I have to credit some of my love of reading and interest in writing to those books. In high school, in my creative writing classes, I had two amazing teachers who were so kind and generous and helped me realize what direction I wanted to go in and helped me become a better writer. I’m also really inspired by music. I love Twenty One Pilots, Hozier, boygenius, Maggie Rogers. Those are a few of the artists I’ve been listening to a lot lately that I’m really enjoying.

How are you liking your experience at UMD English?

I love the English department. I’ve had great professors who are really helpful, and everyone genuinely cares about what they’re learning. I also think it's great that there are so many classes to choose from. This upcoming semester, I'm taking a class on science fiction, which is super cool. My favorite classes are my workshop classes. All we do is read stories and write stories and talk about stories, and that’s my ideal way to spend time.

What’s it like living in the Jiménez-Porter Writers' House?

The Writers’ House is the most relaxed and fun writing environment ever. The teachers are truly amazing. It's also great to have a smaller group of writer friends who you can rely on both in and out of the classroom. I can always say, “Hey, does anyone want to read over this piece that I'm working on?” and there's always someone who is willing to do that.

What’s ahead for you?

I'm taking a class on publication for the Writers’ House, I'm taking a fiction workshop and I'm taking a creative nonfiction class. So I have a lot of writing this semester, which I'm excited about. With the scholarship, this is the first time I’m seeing a lot of recognition for the work that I’ve been doing for a long time, so it is very validating. It makes me feel like I’m on the right track.