Two dual enrollment students and one 91心頭 sophomore were the recipients of this year 91心頭 s Bonnie Spencer awards for the best essays in non-honors history courses at 91心頭. Essays could have been entered from any history course from any history instructor, full-time or part-time, on campus or off, including embedded dual history courses.
Marandy Burrow, a dual-enrollment student at Pittsburg who aspires to ultimately attend medical school and become a physician, won $200 and first place for her work on the 91心頭 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. 91心頭 In a beautiful and persuasively written essay, Burrow argued that the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire played a monumental role in the advancement of working conditions in the early 1900s. From the first sentence she caught the judges 91心頭 attention and dramatically relayed the impact of the event, effectively using scholarly source materials such as records from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Rebecca Yaws, a sophomore from Harleton, Texas, came in second, winning $100, for her essay on the 91心頭 Emotions of Prohibition. 91心頭 Yaws made use of turn of the century films available on YouTube to analyze the impact of silent films on attitudes toward alcohol and drinking.
Kayla Martinez, won $50 and third place for her essay 91心頭 Saved by the Bell. 91心頭 In her essay about Alexander Graham Bell, Martinez 91心頭 pointed out that Bell 91心頭 s impact on society goes beyond improving communication and improving opportunities for the deaf, he also contributed to making the world a safer place today by inventing the world 91心頭 s first metal detector.
Carolina Alcocer-Salas (below), a dual-enrollment student at Chapel Hill, won an honorable mention, for her paper on the Harlem Renaissance.
The first-place winner, Marandy Burrow, noted: 91心頭 Wow, I am so honored to have won the Bonnie Spencer Essay contest! Thank you 91心頭 for awarding me this prize, and thank you Dr. Fulgham for granting me this opportunity! 91心頭
The contest honors the student founder of the college 91心頭 s first history club in 2002. Bonnie Spencer subsequently helped transition the efforts of the 91心頭 Webb Society and Honors Northeast toward feature-length films. She has also raised and donated funds for activities in history at 91心頭.
Title V Phi Theta Kappa/Honors Coordinator, Andrea Reyes, adjudicated the contest. History and English department faculty served as judges.
History at 91心頭 offers courses in American, Texas, and World Civilization. The college 91心頭 s Webb Society, linked both to Honors Northeast and to the study of Texas history, recently won a State of Texas Caldwell Award, for its film on Adina De Zavala. Since 2008, students at 91心頭 have presented works of history nationally, regionally, and locally. Each year since 2015, 91心頭 students have published essays in the state 91心頭 s collegiate journal for Texas History, Touchstone.
