NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s School of Education hosted the regional Educators Rising Conference Jan. 21. The conference brought students from six middle and high schools from five parishes in the region to network and participate in interactive competitions, according to event coordinator Dr. Kristen Authement.
Educators Rising is a national student organization that provides hands-on experience, mentorship and pathways into education careers.
Competition winners are as follows.
Creative Lecture
Junior High – first place, Khloe Kaufman, Northwestern State Middle Lab; second place, Presley Lapka, Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning
High School – first place, Carley Riley, BPSTIL; second place, Rene Lefebrve, BPSTIL; third place, Splendora Johnson, BPSTIL
Winners in Creative Lecture were, from left, Khloe Kaufman, Presley Lapka, Carley Riley, BPSTIL; Rene Lefebrve and Splendora Johnson.
Educators Rising Moment
Junior High – first place, Hannah Almasay, BPSTIL
High School – first place Jayden Doyle, Plainview High School; second place, Samantha Pueblo, BPSTIL; third place, Isabella Floyd, Plainview
Winners in Educators Rising Moment were, from left, Hannah Almasay and Samantha Puebla. Not shown are Jayden Doyle and Isabella Floyd.
Job Interview:
High School – first place, Madison Foster, Winnfield Senior High School; second place, Joe Lewis IV, Winnfield Senior High School; third place, Damontris Ford, Mansfield High School
Winners in Job Interview were, from left, Damontris Ford, Joe Lewis IV and Madison Foster.
Children’s Literature
High School – first place, Yuxi Zheng, Mansfield High School
Yuxi Zheng won the Children’s Literature competition.
Interactive Bulletin Board
Junior High – first place, Kinley Johnson-BPSTIL; second place, Braylee Johnson, Natchitoches Middle Lab; third place, Kylie Caballero and Charlee Ducote, Natchitoches Middle Lab
High School – first place, Ava Jones-BPSTIL; tied for second place, Jaidyn Griffin, BPSTIL and Annabell Harmeson, BPSTIL; third place, Caroline Church and Mia Hollier, Natchitoches Central High School
Winners of Interactive Bulletin Board competition were Kylie Caballero, Charlee Ducote, Braylee Johnson, Kinley Johnson, Mia Hollier, Caroline Church, Jaiyden Griffin, Annabell Harmeson and Ava Jones.
NSU student Shae’Aunna Johnson of Many is serving as state president of the Louisiana Association of Future Educators (LAFE) and Educators Rising Louisiana for the 2025-26 academic year.
Information on LAFE is available at https://www.lae.org. You can follow NSU’s chapter of Educators Rising on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nsula.edrising/. Information on NSU’s School of Education is available at www.nsu.la/SoE.