(Longview, Texas)—LeTourneau University held this spring the inaugural “LETU Writes: A High School Writing Contest” for high school students and is pleased to announce the winners.

This first year, the new writing contest received more than 30 submissions in categories for fiction writing and poetry writing.  High school writers participating were from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The annual prize was promoted in schools and through the LETU website, www.letu.edu, where future participants will be able to find information about next year’s contest when it is posted in the fall.

 

“We were excited to receive so many short story and poetry submissions from high school writers in this region,” said Aaron Brown, an award-winning poet, contest judge and director LETU’s Student Writing Center. “It was a difficult contest to judge, but very rewarding to see the imagination and skill of young writers. We look forward to running the contest again next year.”

All first-place winners in each genre will receive a $100 gift card award in lieu of participating in the East Texas Writer’s Festival, which originally had been scheduled for this summer on the LETU campus, but which had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

In Fiction writing, David Yang of Plano, Texas won first place for his entry titled “Two Minutes and Three Seconds” about a competitive swim meet.

 

“David's short story takes a competitive swim meet and electrifies the experience by slowing down time with his talented description,” Brown said. “The story quickly becomes so much larger than a competition—as we learn the drive and toil it takes for an athlete to thrive.”

 

Two entries received honorable mention: “Dear John Aaron” by Caleb Cracknell of Beaumont, Texas, and “The Dream” by Bridget Cunningham of Longview, Texas.

 

In the Poetry competition, Jazzmin Garcia of San Antonio, Texas, won first place for her entry titled “Trailer Parks” about a lonely woman befriended.

 

“Jazzmin’s poem demonstrates all the successful elements of a poem—her work is grounded with descriptive images, a compelling narrative, and a sense of that something has been lost as the narrative unfolds,” Brown said. “In her poem, Jazzmin tells the story of a woman who is ignored, abused, but also befriended in a community all too familiar with struggle.”

 

Two entries received honorable mention: “Stained Morning” by Sabine Wetterling of Austin, Texas, and “You are the Sun to my Moon” by Rachel Miranda of San Antonio, Texas.

 

LeTourneau University is the Christian polytechnic university in the nation where educators engage students to nurture Christian virtue, develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, integrate faith and work, and serve the local and global community. LETU offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across a wide range of disciplines online and at LETU’s 156-acre residential campus in Longview, Texas, located 120 miles east of Dallas and 60 miles west of Shreveport, Louisiana. For additional information, visit www.letu.edu.