An essay written by a rising junior at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts placed third in the 2016 Northwestern State University Louisiana High School Essay Contest.

Bryce Moulton, of Natchitoches, wrote an essay titled “I AM FROM.”
Participants in the essay contest wrote on the theme “Louisiana Inspirations,” addressing the prompt “What experience in Louisiana has inspired you the most?” The first, second and third prize winners will each receive a $200 per semester NSU scholarship with a value up to $1,600 for four years. All of the contest winners will receive a cash prize in honor of their accomplishment.

The essay contest is open to all Louisiana students in grades 9-12 regardless of type of school institution, including students in all types of private educational environments, as well as home schooled students.

“This year’s essays were simply outstanding,” said Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center and co-chair of the contest. “The essays conveyed a sense of gratitude these student writers feel for their families, their communities and their state.”
Contest winners were invited to attend the eighth annual Louisiana Studies Conference to be held Saturday, Sept. 17, to read their essays to the conference participants prior to having their essays published in the Louisiana Folklife Journal which is published by the Louisiana Folklife Center. The Louisiana Studies Conference will be held on the NSU campus. The theme is “Sacred Louisiana.” Attendance at the conference is free and open to the public.

The contest was sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center, the NSU Office of Recruiting, the NSU Writing Project and the College of Arts, Letters, Graduate Studies and Research. The contest is annual, with a new theme to be announced in early spring 2017.