NATCHITOCHES – Rachael Bergeron of Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee has been named the first-place winner of the 2022 Northwestern State University Louisiana High School Essay Contest. Bergeron won the honor for her story “The Howler’s Sunset.” Jessica Chu of Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport won second place for her story “Everyday Ghosts,” and Caroline Wilemon also of Caddo Magnet won third place for her story “The Cat and the Fiddle.” Three students received honorable mention: Alexis Dupuy of Belle Chasse High School for her story “Youth Mask,” Anna Jean Eaves of Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee for her story “Mama T,” and Cameron Gresham of Dodson High School for her poem “The Breathing Bayou.”
Writing on the 2022 contest theme “Supernatural Louisiana,” entrants were invited to either write a folk or fairy tale with a Louisiana setting or to write a fictional or poetic text with a supernatural component in a Louisiana setting.
“I have read the high school essays for several years now and this year had some of the stiffest competition that I can remember,” said Jason Church, chief of technical services at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training and co-chair of the contest. “I am delighted that this year’s essay theme brought out such great creativity and enthusiasm among the writers. All that submitted should be proud of their efforts. We are pleased to have the privilege to publish this year’s winning stories and poems. This set of stories set a high bar, and I am looking forward to what comes in next year.”
Contest co-chair Dr. Rebecca Macijeski, creative writing program coordinator and associate professor of English at NSU, was similarly impressed. “This was my first year reading entries for the contest. I was continually impressed by the level of inventiveness, detail and suspense these young writers showed in their work. It was an honor to read their accounts of the strange and wonderful Louisiana that lives in their imaginations and on the pages of their poems and stories. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get to work with some of these writers in my classes at Northwestern someday.”
Contest winners have been invited to attend the 14th Annual Louisiana Studies Conference on Saturday, September 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 Natchitoches campus of Northwestern State. This year’s conference theme is “Supernatural Louisiana.” Attendance at the conference is free and open to the public.
The first, second and third prize winners will each receive a $200 per semester NSU scholarship with a value up to $1,600 over 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 essay contest judges were Dr. Lisa Abney, Faculty Facilitator for Academic Research and Community College Outreach and Professor of English, Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center and Professor of English, Church and Macijeski.
The contest was sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center, the NSU Office of Recruiting, and the College of Arts, Letters, Graduate Studies and Research. The contest is annual, with a new theme to be announced in early Spring 2023.
For more information contact Rasmussen at NSU Box 3663, Natchitoches, LA 71497, rasmussens@nsula.edu, or call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332.
