SAN ANTONIO – Sixty-seven San Antonio-area students from 20 schools entered this year’s Battle of Flowers Texas History Essay Contest.
The contest is a competition for seventh graders who write about a Texas History moment of their choice.
Judges and educators said they want students to find creative ways to highlight unique aspects of the Lone Star State’s past.
“I think it’s so important that these young students are engaged and learning about the past because they are our future,” essay contest chair Ann Beuhler said. “And the more they know about the past, the better prepared they are for making decisions and actions in the future.”
Students are given 350-700 words to write an essay on a Texas History topic as long as it fits under this year’s theme.
2025 is the first year the contest has created divisions for public and private schools, allowing more winners from in and around San Antonio.
First-place winners received a new Macbook Air laptop and will ride in a special float during May’s Battle of Flowers Parade.
Second-place winners received $500 and third-place winners earned a $250 prize.
The top three-winning students’ schools will also receive monetary awards to further the Texas History curriculum in the classroom. First-place schools will receive $2,000, second-place schools $1,000 and third-place schools $750.
Here is the list of the winners, their writing topic and the schools they represent.
PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION
1ST PLACE: Mahalia Hudson, Angel of Goliad
Alamo Heights Junior School, AHISD
Teacher: Robert Ramos
Principal: Stuart Guthrie
2ND PLACE: Makayla Tovar, Texas Archives War
Hawthorne Academy, SAISD
Teacher: Gerardo Lagunes-Hernandez
Principal: Marissa Mendez
3RD PLACE: Micah Wood, Sam Houston
Great Hearts Forest Heights, Charter School
Teacher: Raymond Kite
Principal: Paul Gustowski
PRIVATE SCHOOL DIVISION
1ST PLACE: Brooklyn Martinez, Fort Sam Houston
St. Pius X Catholic School
Teacher: Luigi Biever
Principal: Genese Bell
2ND PLACE: Chantelle Siddiqui, President JFK Assassination
St. Matthew Catholic School
Teacher: John Drye
Principal: April Hallfrisch
3RD PLACE: Wallis Hager, The Cottonwood Witness
St. Luke’s Episcopal School
Teacher: Cecilia Corso
Principal: Mike Jenkins
