Matthew Niewnow, Hannah Sanghee Park, two English Alums, were two of five recipients of the 2013 
Ruth Lilly Fellowship, which is sponsored by The Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine. Among the largest award offered to aspiring poets in the United States, the $15,000 scholarship prize is intended to encourage the further study of writing and poetry.
See short interviews of both UW English-major poets, originally published in UW College of Arts and Sciences newsletter, Perspectives, in October, 2013 :
Crafting Boats and Poems: An Interview with Matthew Niewnow
Hannah Sanghee Park's Path to Writing
Since she was awarded the Ruth Lilly Fellowship, Hannah Sanghee Park has been chosen by the Pulitzer 
Prize-winning poet Rae Armantrout as the Academy of American Poets’ 2014 Walt Whitman Award winner. This prestigious award comes with a first book publication, $5,000, a month-long residency at Vermont Studio Center, and promotion on Poets.org. In addition, the academy purchases thousands of copies of the book for distribution to their members.