Seeds and All: Sophie Kerr Prize Winner Sky Abruzzo

Each spring, Washington College awards the Sophie Kerr Prize—the nation’s largest literary award for undergraduates—to a student whose writing exemplifies both excellence and promise. This year, the 2025 prize ($74,000) was awarded to Sky Abruzzo, a writer whose voice is rooted in curiosity, observation, and a deep relationship with the natural world.

In her introduction to her Sophie Kerr portfolio Seeds and All, Abruzzo wrote:

“I began to form an undeniable connection between myself and the environment. The inseparability blinked into existence: humans (the shapes of their hands) and the natural world (roots curled around rocks) are intrinsically linked and impossibly interesting. With this inseparability came an aching desire to understand the intentionality of poetry and paintings, and trees (poetry while it is still written in wood grain) and river beds (paint while it is still rocks and shells).”

It’s a perfect summation of her deep interest in environmental writing.

Sky grew up in Manassas, Virginia, where her storytelling began early—in a second-grade spiral notebook filled with spy adventures starring her and her friends. “I thought I was going to be a spy, actually,” she laughs. “But I’ve been writing for as long as I could read.” That same love of words led her to a performing arts high school, and ultimately to Washington College, where she found a home as an English major with minors in creative writing and journalism in the Writing Program and the Literary House community.

During her time at Washington College, Sky honed her craft not only as a writer but also as a thoughtful observer of the world around her. Her work in environmental writing, especially under the guidance of professors like Elizabeth O’Connor and Sean Meehan, became central to her portfolio. “A lot of my writing stems from personal experiences, especially with nature,” she says. “And I have no idea what kind of writer—or if I’d even be a writer at all—if I hadn’t had those opportunities.”

Still, Sky approaches this moment with humility. “I feel a little bit like an imposter,” she admits. “I’ve worked alongside so many incredible writers… and then I was the one that got announced.” But the prize, she adds, is not just an ending—it’s a beginning. “If I could somehow offer those same opportunities to young writers,” she says, “that would be everything.”

The Spy caught up with Sky Abruzzo several days after the award ceremony to talk about her craft.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length.