By: Dr. Shane Rasmussen
NATCHITOCHES – Lalani Williams of Southside High School in Youngsville has been named the first-place winner of the 2025 Northwestern State University Louisiana High School Essay Contest. Williams won the honor for her play “Bayou Secrets.” Ashlyn Underwood of West Monroe High School won second place for her performance of “Cabaret,” and Liss Gabriella Navarro Hernandez of Chalmette High School won third place for her play “The Haunting.” Two students received Honorable Mention: Ellise Bryant of C.E. Byrd High School for her play “Ghosts” and E’Mantyi Mosby of Airline High School for her essay “Desire’s Baleful Cradle: A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Writing on the 2025 contest theme “Louisiana Dramas,” entrants wrote a literary analysis addressing a play or dramatic musical, performed a performance of a song from a dramatic musical or a monologue from a play, or wrote a short one act play set in Louisiana.
“It’s a privilege to be able to spend time with work by young writers from all over the state each year,” said Dr. Rebecca Macijeski, associate professor of English and coordinator of the Creative Writing Program at NSU. “The range of creativity, research and expression is always inspiring. If I get to work with writers like these in the Creative Writing Program at NSU, I will be one lucky individual.”
Contest winners have been invited to attend the 17th Annual Louisiana Studies Conference on Saturday, Sept. 13 to read their essays to the Conference participants prior to having their work published in the Louisiana Folklife Journal which is published by the Louisiana Folklife Center. The Louisiana Studies Conference will be held on NSU’s Natchitoches campus. This year’s conference theme is “Louisiana Dramas.” 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 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 essay contest judges were Jason Church, chief of Technical Services at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training; Daniel Gordy, assistant professor of criminal justice and English at NSU; Shea Montgomery, instructor of English at NSU; Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center, and professor of English at NSU; and Macijeski.
The contest was sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center, the Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies, the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Recruiting at NSU. The contest is annual, with a new theme to be announced in early Spring 2026.
